General Crabitat Questions

[aevvn]

Hi! I’m Aevvn and I just got crabs.

CURRENT HOMING QUESTIONS:
I’m planning on getting a cage here soon but for the meantime I just have two tiny ones. Is there a way to maintain humidity in these while I find a bigger cage? So far I have some gravel stuff (came with it) and coconut fiber which I wet every other day - every day. They’re at room temperature currently so it’s not hot enough to really make the water evaporate.

FUTURE CRABITAT QUESTIONS:
I have 6 crabs I’m trying to fit in. Should I get two tanks and space them out? How many gallons should the tank have per crab? What should I buy as a base - is calcium sand good? What soil should I plant the chia and pothos in? Should I mix the calcium sand with soil for those plants to grow or have a separate area for them?

Sorry this is a lot of questions in a row, I’m not too sure how to space them out!

[curlysister]

Welcome to the HCA and to crabbing!

You will need to use a tank (like a fish tank), not a cage. A cage won't hold in heat and humidity.
Calcium sand can NOT be used - it gets hard like cement when it gets wet, and we need the substrate to be moistened to sand castle consistency for the crabs to tunnel and molt.

Here is our Basics care sheet - it covers everything you need to get a basic tank set up:

viewtopic.php?f=120&t=119273

And here is the care sheet that tells you how many crabs of what size can be safely housed in what size of tank (keeping in mind that crabs grow and eventually a small becomes a medium becomes a large etc.
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=92541

[TitanStorm]

Hey there, new to hermit crabs (since Apr. 2024)!

So, I've seen enough search results to last me a lifetime about how to keep humidity up: Moss (), soil mixed into the sand (), misting (), I even have a system where I have a few paper towels that I often run under warm tap water and without wringing it, put the sopping towels on top of the screen lid of my crabitat so it drips into the tank and traps heat and moisture inside. This all works for a few hours. For instance, I mist the sand super generously and place the wet paper towels on top before leaving for school, then I come home after about seven hours and the humidity has dropped down from about 70-80% before I left to about 30-40%.

I've heard about air stones and bubblers, and they sound like they'd do the trick. Only a couple problems. I'm a student working on minimum wage, so my budget is a little restricted. I also only have a 16" × 8.5", 5 gallon tank (that's all I had space for), so I can't fit too many things in it. If someone could enlighten me about air stones and/or bubblers in general, or more efficient ways to both raise and maintain humidity, I'd be greatly appreciative!!!

[Jaydick484]

Hi!
I have had a similar problem until I got a silicone mat. It covers almost all of the screen lid, but I leave an opening for air. Then I use plastic wrap to cover half of the opening. So it's a combo of silicone, plastic wrap, and fresh air. The silicone mat was at the pet store in the reptile section. Hope that helps! It brought mine up to perfect % and I can now leave without feeling anxious for hours at a time. Even on a cooler rainy day.

[Jaydick484]

I spray first, if it's low on the open side, (only drops to 70%)then switch the opening to the other side. It goes up reliably quickly.

[curlysister]

Where are you located that you have an Australian and an Ecuadorian crab?

A 5 gallon will not be large enough for them for very long, even if they are micro or tiny sized now. E's are especially known to need more space. When someone is underground molting, you need to have enough space so that one crab doesn't come across another.

You can use plastic wrap over the top of your tank to hold in humidity.