Reptile substrate ok for crabs?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:03 pm

I went to petsmart today to get crab substrate... there was pretty much nothing left. Over in the reptile section there were giant bags of calcisand and substrate (made from the same company i usualy get in the crab substrate) and the stuff looked exactly the same, even the back except it didnt have hermit crabs on the list. (the brand is T-Rex). I really need to get bigger bags because I'm always running out of substrate, and I'm about to upgrade to a bigger tat. Is the stuff thats safe for reptiles safe for crabs also?

ripshaw · Post by **ripshaw** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:19 pm

it really depends on what you bought. t-rex sells several different substrates. Forest Bed is safe for crabs. Jungle Bed should be safe as its just a combo of Forest Bed, coconut bark, and calci-sand, but coconut bark actually absorbs moisture so if thats what you bought be aware of that. Sani-chips, Aspen bed, and desert snow are not OK as they heavily absorb moisture. I'm not sure about cypress bed because it says its recommended for high-humidity environments but I would stick with what you know.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:35 pm

I bought a giant bag of calcium sand substrate (they were out of calci-sand brand) Its All Living Things brand. My grandma was pushing me to get this bag...

It says on the back its for lizards 6 inches and over and shouldnt be used for juvenille lizards under 6"... something tells me this might not be crab safe =/

I almost bought a bag of Jungle Bed, but the guy recommended this Bag-A-Beast block (one of those things you add water too). He said it was pretty much like the jungle bed and was half the price and its twice as much.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:56 pm

If you are looking for ways to cut corners on money (I remember your post on foods), have you considered using playsand as a substrate? It's a whole lot cheaper than calci-sand. I use playsand and use cuttlebone and eggshells for calcium.

As for Bed-A-Beast, I'm not sure. I remember there's a couple of those type substrates that contain fillers that aren't good for crabs. I think Bed-A-Beast was one of them. Could be totally wrong there though. I usually use Eco Earth.

ripshaw · Post by **ripshaw** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:56 pm

sales guy was right, "bed-a-beast" is good stuff. what you bought is almost certainly not safe for crabs. sand-like substrates specifically made for lizards are usually humidity absorbing with clumping agents to make litter clean-up easier. do not use it in your crab tank, take it back and either return it or exchange it for a different substrate

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:00 am

Couldnt find any playsand here =P I'll have to see if I can find any somewhere at home, theres way more places to look.

Ok so I can use the bed-a-beast but I should take back the sand. Ok I'll do that, thanks for the info

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:04 am

Thanks Ripshaw for the correction on Bed-A-Beast. Couldn't remember exactly!

Playsand can be found at places like Home Depot or Lowes. Local hardware stores might also carry it.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 8:57 am

and also when you get playsand, get the lighter or white kind, stay away from that orangeish, "construction site" looking sand as it is oily and nobody's quite sure just what that oil is- plus I've heard it has a diesel, chemical smell to it. I've been using play sand since I started a month ago, and I doubt I'll ever use anything else. It's cheap, looks nice, and the crabs can easily burrow in it.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:45 am

I live 2 minutes away from Lowes at home, but when I'm at my grandparents (which is usualy where I am most of the summer) there isnt a lowes or home depot =P (I have yet to check Ace though, but no one will take me over there) I couldnt find any playsand at wal-mart.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 12:08 pm

I'm also a reptile enthusiast along with crabs, the reason that the sand isn't a recommended substrate for lizards under 6" is the risk of impaction. Lizards along with other creatures are susceptible to ingesting sand, and if too much... it impacts in their intestines and you have a problem. Though lizards etc. of all sizes are at some sort of risk, smaller ones are considerably much more so. This sand should be just fine for your crabs!

Edited to add that when I first got my crabbies I had Calci-Sand. I didn't have or see any negative effects, though to be safe you might want to take ripshaw's advice and return it.