sons gift of responsibility

[Amburst]

Hi Im new here just joined - so my apologies in advance if this is all messed up lol

my family surprised my son with a couple hermit crabs and I have done some researching over the last 2 days but finding conflicting info on supplies that are essential for their care.
can anyone answer a few questions:
1.UTH heaters what brand should i go for with a round maybe plastic habitat .
2. it came with jungle bedding and the info on care suggests min 6 inches of substrate- now that cage cant fit six inches so how do i go about the sand mixture i'm reading a lot about.
3. varied diet? do i feed them twice a day and always something different? ZooMed said to mix canned and pellets but Im not reading any good reviews.
4. lighting use a nightlight red heat bulb ?
5. misting them - with reg tap water or?
I would really appreciate any suggestions or info anyone has to offer I think I attached a photo of the current set up
https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=5EE59864

[Hermielover121]

Welcome to HCA
You need to get a bigger tank that cage is not suitable ( at least 10-20 gallon). Commercial foods like that are not good for them. Yes you need at least six inches or 3x as big as your largest crab. You only need to feed them once a day but it needs to be a variety here is the basic care.

Care Sheet: Basic Hermit Crab Care for All Species
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic? ... source=app
You need to delchloronate your water for spraying and also use that to make you substrate sand castle consistency.
Hope this helps you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[curlysister]

In order to avoid conflicting advice, I decided when I got my crabs 9 1/2 years ago that I would just stick to the HCA for advice and not take advice from other groups or sites. So far so good! LOL.
HermieLover already gave the link if you are on Tapatalk, but here's the link to the care sheets if you are on a computer. The care sheets pretty much tell you everything you need to know, but feel free to ask more questions if you need clarification on anything.

viewforum.php?f=120

[Amburst]

THANKS GUYS I APPRECIATE THE ADVICE
keep running into this tho- the heat and humidity
with my round open cage what source should I go with?
the guides yall provided I couldn't find UTH heat mats covered anywhere specifically
and most are recommended for glass use

[curlysister]

You are going to need to get a tank. The wire cage is not appropriate and the crabs will not survive in it.
If you have two small crabs, you would be okay with a ten gallon tank to start. But as they grow, you will need to upgrade to a larger tank. So if you could get a 20 gallon now, that would last for quite a while.
Once you have your tank, you will need to cover the top of it. Personally, my first two tanks just had plastic wrap over top to hold in the humidity. When you have substrate that is moistened (with dechlorinated water) and six inches deep, along with a covered tank, the humidity will increase. Crabs have modified gills, and need high humidity in order to breathe. If your humidity is good, you don't need to mist.
You will then need to get a UTH (called under tank heaters but always go on the back or side of the tank, never under) to help with the heat. I have my tank in a room where the temps vary greatly between seasons (old farm house, no a/c, only baseboard heat upstairs where the tank is, live on the Canadian prairies where the temp outside can be -40C in winter to +30C in summer. I actually have multiple UTH's so that I can plug or unplug as needed. I have a plexi glass lid on my tank now, and put a blanket on the top if needed too.
Some people use lamps for heat, but those can zap the humidity. As long as your crabs are in a room where there is a window and they get indirect light, you won't need another light source.

[GotButterflies]

Hi there! Welcome to the HCA, and the addicting world of crabbing!

I just wanted to mention that you don't have to buy a new tank. You can check places like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp, Letgo, etc for one! Search tank, reptile, aquarium, terrarium. It doesn't have to hold water. A lot of times you can find tanks with stands and glass lids for the price that you would have paid for just a tank in a store.

Good luck! We are here for you if you have any questions!