Heating advice - Increasing temp

squeelvr06 · Post by **squeelvr06** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 8:59 am

Helloo,
So i've been having a lot of issues with the heating inside my tank lately. I live in an area that is usually quite hot and humid in summer and with a heat source the temp in my tank is usually fine. However this is my first winter with my crabs and the temp in the tank has dropped way colder than it should be. It tops out at about 23 degrees Celcius with my main ducted heater on in the house but then at night it can go down to like 17 degrees Celcius which I know is really bad. I have a heat pad on my tank on the left side wall, i'm not sure what brand I got it 2nd hand. Sometimes I put a bottle of boiling water in there without the cap to heat the air but it only lasts like an hour or so. If you have any advice on how to keep the tank better insulated or how to increase heat over winter I would greatly appreciate it

.

Post by **JoeHermits** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 9:13 am

There are a couple of things you can do.

1) If the pad isn’t already insulated (some manufacturers make them pre-insulated), you can use cardboard and/or aluminum to help reflect the heat back into the tank.

2) Add additional heat sources. You can add more or larger heat pads, otherwise a heat lamp or ceramic heat emitter will work. Aussie crabs have been noted to not mind basking under lamps or emitters but the lamps should be turned off at night to maintain circadian rhythm. CHEs can stay on all night.

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CrabbyLover77 · Post by **CrabbyLover77** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 11:39 am

Does the heat pad have adhesive on it? Or did you use tape to stick it on the glass? If it has adhesive on it, you can't remove and re-stick it (a fire hazard). However, if you taped it on, I'd suggested removing it and sticking it to the back of the tank. I had a heat pad on the side of my tank, and it didn't heat the tank a great deal. When I moved it to the back, it dispersed the heat much better, and upped the temp some.

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squeelvr06 · Post by **squeelvr06** » Fri Jul 15, 2022 9:34 am

JoeHermits wrote: ↑
Mon Jul 11, 2022 9:13 am
There are a couple of things you can do.

1) If the pad isn’t already insulated (some manufacturers make them pre-insulated), you can use cardboard and/or aluminum to help reflect the heat back into the tank.

2) Add additional heat sources. You can add more or larger heat pads, otherwise a heat lamp or ceramic heat emitter will work. Aussie crabs have been noted to not mind basking under lamps or emitters but the lamps should be turned off at night to maintain circadian rhythm. CHEs can stay on all night.

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I have a red reptile lamp that emits some heat, would that be fine to put inside the tank?

squeelvr06 · Post by **squeelvr06** » Fri Jul 15, 2022 9:36 am

CrabbyLover77 wrote: ↑
Mon Jul 11, 2022 11:39 am
Does the heat pad have adhesive on it? Or did you use tape to stick it on the glass? If it has adhesive on it, you can't remove and re-stick it (a fire hazard). However, if you taped it on, I'd suggested removing it and sticking it to the back of the tank. I had a heat pad on the side of my tank, and it didn't heat the tank a great deal. When I moved it to the back, it dispersed the heat much better, and upped the temp some.

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I just put it on with tape so i'll try moving it and see how they go, it'll probably give more even heating. Thanks lovely

CrabbyLover77 · Post by **CrabbyLover77** » Fri Jul 15, 2022 9:57 am

squeelvr06 wrote: I just put it on with tape so i'll try moving it and see how they go, it'll probably give more even heating. Thanks lovely

Yw!

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Post by **wodesorel** » Fri Jul 15, 2022 12:23 pm

squeelvr06 wrote: ↑
Fri Jul 15, 2022 9:34 am
I have a red reptile lamp that emits some heat, would that be fine to put inside the tank?

So, I actually used to heat my 135 gallon this way, using only a 40watt bulb inside. There are burn risks to the crabs obviously if using it inside the tank since they can reach it, but I did it for around 6 years and never had a problem. The biggest safety issue is that the crabs can and probably will go after the cord, and if they pick or pinch through it, it'll cause a short. Those claws are powerful and they get bored easily.

squeelvr06 · Post by **squeelvr06** » Sat Jul 16, 2022 4:50 am

wodesorel wrote: ↑
Fri Jul 15, 2022 12:23 pm
So, I actually used to heat my 135 gallon this way, using only a 40watt bulb inside. There are burn risks to the crabs obviously if using it inside the tank since they can reach it, but I did it for around 6 years and never had a problem. The biggest safety issue is that the crabs can and probably will go after the cord, and if they pick or pinch through it, it'll cause a short. Those claws are powerful and they get bored easily.

My bulb has a max 250 watt capacity, is that too hot? I was just going to thread the cord through an opening in the top of the lid and just have the bulb sit in the corner at the top of the tank so none of the cord's inside and they cant reach the bulb and burn themselves.

Post by **wodesorel** » Sun Jul 17, 2022 6:07 pm

You'll have to experiment with size to see how much heat gets lost out of the top since every enclosure and house is different, but I use a 150 watt ceramic bulb to supplemental heat an entire room for my reptiles in winter. I don't think you'll need anything near close to 250 watt for inside the crab tank!

HCA: Hermit Crab Association