is this heater big enough?

[Daniellebusone22]

I have a 4W heater pad on the outside back left hand side of my hermit crab tank. I also have a mini dome light with a daylight light bulb that I keep on for them during the day. My tank is 5.5 gallons. I have 3 crabs but they are really small. I plan on getting a bigger tank in the near future but this is what I have for now.

[CrabbyLover77]

I have a 4W heater pad on the outside back left hand side of my hermit crab tank. I also have a mini dome light with a daylight light bulb that I keep on for them during the day. My tank is 5.5 gallons. I have 3 crabs but they are really small. I plan on getting a bigger tank in the near future but this is what I have for now.

What is the current temperature in your tank? That will be the best way to tell if your heater is adequate or not. If your temperature is in the 75-80 deg range I would say your good. Does the daylight bulb put off heat too or just light? I use a clip desk lamp and clip it to the shelf my crabs are on. It has different settings and a timer too. I'm not sure if the crabs like it, but I like that I can see inside the tank during the day.
The only thing I would recommend is getting a bigger tank sooner rather than later (I know you said about upgrading soon). From what I've read on the HCA guidelines, the minimum size tank for hermies should be 10 gallons (except maybe for an isolation/temporary tank).

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