First time tank and struggling with heat...

LizzieBeth92 · Post by **LizzieBeth92** » Sun Jun 30, 2019 10:22 pm

Hello! So my mother bought my two year old son two hermit crabs at the beach on Saturday (yesterday). I have never had hermit crabs before so I’ve done a lot of reading. I bought a 10 gallon tank and attempted to set it up. My struggle is I can’t get it warm enough or enough humidity. I got a small UTH and attached to the back like the man at the pet store said but the tank wasn’t warm enough so I went back and bought a second one... the tank is still only 73degrees and 60% humidity. Any ideas what I can do? I have salt water and freshwater inside with sponges to help with the humidity. I also want to make sure I have it set up okay for crabs. I tried to include things I read they liked on your group. My stuff at the bottom may not be quite thick enough but I ran out and wanted to get them out of the critter keeper so I can add more if needed.
(I can’t figure out how to post an image of my tank set up here)

Post by **curlysister** » Sun Jun 30, 2019 10:49 pm

Welcome to crabbing!
What do you have on the top of your tank?
What type of substrate are you using, and how deep do you currently have it?

Scarletfire · Post by **Scarletfire** » Sun Jun 30, 2019 11:34 pm

LizzieBeth92 wrote:Hello! So my mother bought my two year old son two hermit crabs at the beach on Saturday (yesterday). I have never had hermit crabs before so I’ve done a lot of reading. I bought a 10 gallon tank and attempted to set it up. My struggle is I can’t get it warm enough or enough humidity. I got a small UTH and attached to the back like the man at the pet store said but the tank wasn’t warm enough so I went back and bought a second one... the tank is still only 73degrees and 60% humidity. Any ideas what I can do? I have salt water and freshwater inside with sponges to help with the humidity. I also want to make sure I have it set up okay for crabs. I tried to include things I read they liked on your group. My stuff at the bottom may not be quite thick enough but I ran out and wanted to get them out of the critter keeper so I can add more if needed.
(I can’t figure out how to post an image of my tank set up here)

I take photos using Tapatalk. Phone app for forums.

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LizzieBeth92 · Post by **LizzieBeth92** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:10 am

I have part sand and part of the coconut stuff. I used more coconut and it is 5 inches thick. The sand is what I can out of so I slipped it down and it’s only 2 1/2 to 3 inches thick. The kid is a mesh screen. I thought that was my issue so I have a towel sitting on top right now covering it. I bought a kit at the pet store and argued with the man it wouldn’t hold in humidity but he assured me it would. I don’t want to use heat lights because it is in my 2 year olds room.

LizzieBeth92 · Post by **LizzieBeth92** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:20 am

Pictures of what I have done so far for the tank. I tried to copy things I have seen and read on here! If you see something bad please let me know! Our store is out of sand but I do plan to add more.

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Wlfwo · Post by **Wlfwo** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 9:06 am

I have a piece of glass duct taped over the mesh on my lid. Was under $20 to get the glass and have them cut it. My tank is a 20g long so the glass is larger.

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Sarah128 · Post by **Sarah128** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:26 pm

I would..
For the humidity mix the substrate did you mix enough water into it? It should be sand castle like.. (you also want about 6 inches if possible.) Then I would get some frog moss wet it and stick in in the tank.
For the heat I would simply insulate the tank.

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Post by **curlysister** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:35 pm

What type of sand is that? Something you got at the pet store? Or play sand? Some types of sand are not safe, which is why I am asking.

I used Saran Wrap over the top of my first two tanks. A towel won't hold in the humidity.

What's the temp in your tank?

Playsand mixed with EE and moistened with either dechlorinated fresh or dechlorinated salt water (water dechlorinated, then a marine salt such as Instant Ocean) to make it moist enough to hold it's shape.

Hermiesguardian · Post by **Hermiesguardian** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 10:12 pm

Welcome! Ditch the sponges. They hold bacteria. The water bowls need to be deep enough for them to fully submerge with a safe way out.

RiNiKy506 · Post by **RiNiKy506** » Wed Jul 03, 2019 11:02 am

You can get a glass canopy top for a 10gal tank for around $20. Your local pet store should have them, or check amazon. I love my glass canopy tops, I have one for each of my tanks. Just double check your tank measurements to make sure it will fit, different brands fit different tanks better. I’ve found that the MarineLand Perfecto brand fit most of my tanks perfectly, except for my 20gal. I think the Aqueon brand would have fit it a little better. Here is a link on Amazon to one
https://www.amazon.com/H2Pro-Canopy-Ga ... =8-1-fkmr3
The plastic wrap works well if you don’t want to buy a glass canopy top. I wanted to make the suggestion incase you were looking for a more permanent solution for an aquarium lid.

Edit to add:
Here is a link to an ultratherm from reptile basics. I think this is the size you would need for a 10gallon tank, measure your tank and make sure you cover the whole back from your substrate up. (with at least 6” of substrate)
https://www.reptilebasics.com/ultrathe ... -uth-6-x11
If you can return the other heat mats, they’re probably more expensive and the Ultratherm brand is great, they can be insulated over in the winter time to help hold heat. You shouldn’t have any problems with heating after that.
You can get regular bag of play sand from any hardware store, a 50lb bag for about $5.00. It’s better sand and way cheaper than the sand they market to us in the pet stores.

These are just recommendations on what I do/did with my crabby-crew, others have great advice for you also. I have 3 boys, and one of mine is also 2, he will be 3 next Thursday. He loves his crabbies and knows most of their names. It might take awhile for them bc they’re going to need time to destress but you will love sharing them with him. Everyone here is great, welcome to the site.

HCA: Hermit Crab Association