Temperature drops at night

[macx]

Hello, my name is Max and I am pretty new to hermit crabs, anyways I have a decent 10 gallon tank setup, sat and freshwater, lots of variety in food, fresh fruit , pellets and vegitables. I have plenty of hiding places and moss. My substrate is around 5" deep. There are also lots of extra shells and climbing toys for my little guys. I have noticed that during the night the temperature drops to around 72-74, I have a special reptile light for the daytime but I turn it off at night I also have an uth(under tank heater) on one side of the tank. My question is is it okay that the temperature goes this low at night? The thermometer and hygrometer are in the middle so I guess the side with the heat pad will be atleast 77. The temperature is usually 84-89 during the day and never goes lower than 82, humidity stays at least at 80. Do I need to do something to keep the tank warmer? I don't want to keep the tank's light on because I think it will bug the crabs during the night ( I have only seen them eating and coming out of hiding places mostly at night when the lights are out)
Thanks in advance!

[daws409]

Hi! Welcome to HCA! So minimum tank conditions are 80/80 (temp/humidity). Temps below 75 will cause them to slow down and become sluggish. Also, temps above 85 will cause them to overheat and possibly ditch their shells. I personally keep my tanks around 83 during the day and 78 at night.

What kind of UTH do you have? Zoomed tends to do little to nothing for heat. You'll want to get an ultratherm from http://www.reptilebasics.com or http://www.beanfarm.com These can be safely insulated. Zoomed's cannot.... If you have zoomed or flukers brand, you can insulate AROUND it using layers of tinfoil and cardboard or styrofoam. Be careful not to cover these... Can cause a fire! Lights tend to zap humidity so be careful with those as well.

Also want to add that most pellets (along with many other things targeted for them) are actually unsafe. You'll want to feed them a variey of proteins, fruits/veges, and calcium.
Safe food list: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92557
Unsafe food: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92556
Commercial food: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92555
Food pyramid: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92554

We recommend a minimum of 6" or 3 times your largest crab depth. Make sure you're not using reptisand or calcium sand. You can use plays sand from hardware store or eco earth. Most use a 5:1 ratio play sand:ee. And make sure it's sand castle consistency.

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[macx]

Thank you, Yes I do have a zoomed heater and have noticed it doesn't do much in terms of actually heating the tank much. I will look into getting the heater you mentioned. I am also going to add 2 more inches of substrate (I have a bag of Eco earth left) again thank you for your quick reply!

[wodesorel]

I let my tanks naturalize in the summer to those temps and always found the hermits to be the most comfortable then. It mimics their natural temps almost perfectly, with about a 10 degree drop at night. When it gets really hot the tanks will reach to 95 during the day and they do fine with a drop to around 70 at night.

If you wanted to keep them warmer all the time, swap out your day bulb for a moonlight or ceramic heater and leave it on 24 hours a day.

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[macx]

Okay, I think I will get a moonlight bulb. I just Checked on them and they are dragging all of the apple peices from the food bowl into their coconut hut, lol.

[GotButterflies]

Hello! Welcome to the HCA!
Definitely make sure your humidity stays at 80 or above. Hermit crabs have modified gills, and need the humidity to breathe.


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[macx]

Update: I just got a night time bulb and the temperature never drops below 80, even at night. It's stays at 80 at night and 81-84 daytime!


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[GotButterflies]

It's okay if it drops a few degrees temperature wise at night.


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[LadyJinglyJones]

I'm starting to think I should get a moon light - I went the thermostat rout, but the darn thing went wonky after two days & now I have to deal wigh the company to get a replacement.... if you do try a thermostat, keep an eye on it til you're happy with how it's working.

[macx]

Okay


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