HCA: Hermit Crab Association

My wonderful husband bought me a ender the tank heater. Its actually a seed starter heating pad. He did a ton of reasearch and founf it was great to use for reptiles because it has a thermostat. The only problem is, in order for the thermostat to function properly you are supposed to place the sensor probe in the soil. My husband thinks im silly because im too concerned about placing the sensor in the habitat. I would most likelt bury it and run it along the bask side of the wall decor on the bavk of the tank. But im so concerned the crabs are going to seek out this probe even though its buried and something will happen. A little Hx on my crabs since I have not ever posted. I adopted them from a little girl who didnt like them anymore. They were in a little half gallon bucket with aquarium pebbles. I knew when i brought them home they would prob bury and i wouldnt see them for ever. So far this is true. They have been burried about a month so far. They have a 33 gallon exoterra. All the peoper equipment. I am adding the under tank heater because their tank is in my room and ita always cold in there. I like it that way. So it makes it difficult to keep their tank on the right temp. I currently check the smell in the tank once every few days to make sure it doesnt smell like dead crab. Im too afraid at this point to dig to find them. Im aure they are attempting to molt. They had been in a half gallon bucket for years and somehow managed to live. Any feed back is appreciated. I will post a tank pic. I have a monsoon mister for humidity. Maintains humidity very well. I plan on adding more stuff after they decide to come to the surface. Currently i only leave a tiny bit of food incsase they decide to emerge when im alseep or not at home.

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Your tank looks very nice! About how deep is your substrate? I'd suggest getting some more toys to climb, and maybe some hidey holes. I've heard they like cholla, and moss pits seem to be a favourite as well. Also, you don't really need the sponge in your water dish. They harbour bacteria. If your crabbies can't get out without help, you can line the bottom with pebbles, shells, etc. Or make sure there's a plastic plant within reach. Are those shells in the picture extras? If so, I would recommend replacing them with natural shells. Painted shells are toxic to the little guys.

Overall, it looks like it's coming along well! Your crabbies will come up eventually. You should only dig them up if they're shell-less, you have a flood, bacterial bloom, ant infestation, etc. If they're just down there doing their thing, leave 'em be. They know what to do. My littlest has been down since Thursday. Can't wait to see him when he comes back up.

Hiya! That was really nice of your husband to do all that research to find a heat mat that would work for your crabs - super sweet. You don’t want to mount the UTH under the tank for hermit crabs (for most lizards, geckos, and frogs the heater goes under the tank, but not for hermits), so I assume you’ll be mounting it to the side or back of your exoterra, above the substrate. I might be misunderstanding the directions you’ve provided for the probe - it says to bury the probe in the substrate? I would recommend mounting the probe elsewhere in the tank, off the substrate, to make sure you’re getting a proper read of the air temperature in the tank. The air is what you want to be heating- the substrate will heat up as well when the ambient temperature in the tank rises. For example, I also keep my crabs in an exo terra and my combo thermometer/hygrometer also has a probe, which I have mounted about halfway between the substrate and the lid of the tank, on the opposite side of the tank from my heater (which is mounted on the back of my exoterra).

A quick question: are your crabs super tiny?? I ask because i’m familiar with where the bottom of the door hits on exoterras that size and knowing that your substrate looks really shallow. Generally a minimum of 6” depth is what you’re looking for for small crabs. The water bowls also look really shallow (although it’s excellent that you have 2).

Also, you don’t need to put a sponge in their water dish - it can be a breeding ground for bacteria, and crabs don’t need them to be able to drink. Assuming it’s a natural sea sponge, you can clean it and then just put it on the substrate and your crabs will roll it around and much on it

What is the rock wall looking back drop you have? It looks very nice.

Moonlightdreams wrote:Your tank looks very nice! About how deep is your substrate? I'd suggest getting some more toys to climb, and maybe some hidey holes. I've heard they like cholla, and moss pits seem to be a favourite as well. Also, you don't really need the sponge in your water dish. They harbour bacteria. If your crabbies can't get out without help, you can line the bottom with pebbles, shells, etc. Or make sure there's a plastic plant within reach. Are those shells in the picture extras? If so, I would recommend replacing them with natural shells. Painted shells are toxic to the little guys.

Overall, it looks like it's coming along well! Your crabbies will come up eventually. You should only dig them up if they're shell-less, you have a flood, bacterial bloom, ant infestation, etc. If they're just down there doing their thing, leave 'em be. They know what to do. My littlest has been down since Thursday. Can't wait to see him when he comes back up.

I plan on adding a whole lot more decore once they come out of hiding in the substrate. I wanted to make sure they survived the transistion first. I will remove the sponge as suggested by a few of you now. I actually have the substrated at about 10 inches deep in the back and 4-5 inches in the front. I was waiting for more substrate to come in when they decided to hide. Once they emerge i have more sand and eco earth to add. I will prob buy larger watering dishes too. They are fairly small crabs. Well.....they were. No telling what they will look like when they deilcide to emerge. Oh and i will also remove the painted shells. I need to find some onle line. I will also add a moss pit as suggested.

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gunstreet.girl wrote:Hiya! That was really nice of your husband to do all that research to find a heat mat that would work for your crabs - super sweet. You don’t want to mount the UTH under the tank for hermit crabs (for most lizards, geckos, and frogs the heater goes under the tank, but not for hermits), so I assume you’ll be mounting it to the side or back of your exoterra, above the substrate. I might be misunderstanding the directions you’ve provided for the probe - it says to bury the probe in the substrate? I would recommend mounting the probe elsewhere in the tank, off the substrate, to make sure you’re getting a proper read of the air temperature in the tank. The air is what you want to be heating- the substrate will heat up as well when the ambient temperature in the tank rises. For example, I also keep my crabs in an exo terra and my combo thermometer/hygrometer also has a probe, which I have mounted about halfway between the substrate and the lid of the tank, on the opposite side of the tank from my heater (which is mounted on the back of my exoterra).

A quick question: are your crabs super tiny?? I ask because i’m familiar with where the bottom of the door hits on exoterras that size and knowing that your substrate looks really shallow. Generally a minimum of 6” depth is what you’re looking for for small crabs. The water bowls also look really shallow (although it’s excellent that you have 2).

Also, you don’t need to put a sponge in their water dish - it can be a breeding ground for bacteria, and crabs don’t need them to be able to drink. Assuming it’s a natural sea sponge, you can clean it and then just put it on the substrate and your crabs will roll it around and much on it

Hey, i mentioned about when i replied that the back substrate was deeper than the front but the depths i quoted were wrong. The back is about 7 inches deep. The front about 4. It has all settled some because it was deeper when i measured the first time. Should i be sort of packing it once i place my mixture in there? At the time i did not have enough substrate to make it all deep because i rescued them at the last minute....well adopted i guess. So i used what i had waiting for more sand and eco earth. It came in but they have been buried since i rec'd them. And i wouldnt believe it to be a good idea to place soil ontop of buried crabs? Am i right?
On the UTH. I say undertank. I never thought about having it on the sides. Unfortantely this mat is not sticky backed so im not sure how i would use it on yhe sides or back? And maybe i miss understand the prob too. Maybe i can mount it inside where yours i located too......i will do more research.
Also they are farily small crabs. In the shells they are currently in, if i make a circle by joining my thumb and pointer finger, they are about that big. And i dont have super large hands. I do plan on having larger water bowls. And adding more decor....once they come up from the depths. And the sponge is gone!

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GreatVegetable wrote:What is the rock wall looking back drop you have? It looks very nice.

That is actually something that comes with the exoterra tanks. Its artificial tree but i think its styrofoam type material. Looks sharp.

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BFiddes wrote:

gunstreet.girl wrote:Hiya! That was really nice of your husband to do all that research to find a heat mat that would work for your crabs - super sweet. You don’t want to mount the UTH under the tank for hermit crabs (for most lizards, geckos, and frogs the heater goes under the tank, but not for hermits), so I assume you’ll be mounting it to the side or back of your exoterra, above the substrate. I might be misunderstanding the directions you’ve provided for the probe - it says to bury the probe in the substrate? I would recommend mounting the probe elsewhere in the tank, off the substrate, to make sure you’re getting a proper read of the air temperature in the tank. The air is what you want to be heating- the substrate will heat up as well when the ambient temperature in the tank rises. For example, I also keep my crabs in an exo terra and my combo thermometer/hygrometer also has a probe, which I have mounted about halfway between the substrate and the lid of the tank, on the opposite side of the tank from my heater (which is mounted on the back of my exoterra).

A quick question: are your crabs super tiny?? I ask because i’m familiar with where the bottom of the door hits on exoterras that size and knowing that your substrate looks really shallow. Generally a minimum of 6” depth is what you’re looking for for small crabs. The water bowls also look really shallow (although it’s excellent that you have 2).

Also, you don’t need to put a sponge in their water dish - it can be a breeding ground for bacteria, and crabs don’t need them to be able to drink. Assuming it’s a natural sea sponge, you can clean it and then just put it on the substrate and your crabs will roll it around and much on it

Hey, i mentioned about when i replied that the back substrate was deeper than the front but the depths i quoted were wrong. The back is about 7 inches deep. The front about 4. It has all settled some because it was deeper when i measured the first time. Should i be sort of packing it once i place my mixture in there? At the time i did not have enough substrate to make it all deep because i rescued them at the last minute....well adopted i guess. So i used what i had waiting for more sand and eco earth. It came in but they have been buried since i rec'd them. And i wouldnt believe it to be a good idea to place soil ontop of buried crabs? Am i right?
On the UTH. I say undertank. I never thought about having it on the sides. Unfortantely this mat is not sticky backed so im not sure how i would use it on yhe sides or back? And maybe i miss understand the prob too. Maybe i can mount it inside where yours i located too......i will do more research.
Also they are farily small crabs. In the shells they are currently in, if i make a circle by joining my thumb and pointer finger, they are about that big. And i dont have super large hands. I do plan on having larger water bowls. And adding more decor....once they come up from the depths. And the sponge is gone!

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Huzzah! Happy to hear the sponge is gone. As for adding more substrate, the 7” depth at the back is good, but they’re active little buggers so the slope probably won’t last long you can add an inch or two of sub while they’re under, just don’t put in too much and don’t pack it down. If they’re small, though, it will likely be okay as is until they surface. With the front doors potentially posing an issue for maintaining a good sub depth, i and other crabbers here who use exo terras normally cut a piece of plexi to go inside the tank in front of the doors (so, the length of the tank, and the height of your desired sub depth plus an inch or two). This will let you deepens your sub but still be able to open the doors.

As for my heat mat, I should have explained myself more clearly. The mat is mounted on the outside rear wall of my tank, just above the substrate line. I have an ultratherm which is taped in place, and then I have Reflectix insulation over the mat to provide insulation (I live in Canada and it gets very cold here). Ultratherms can be safely insulated without posing a fire hazard - I don’t know that yours can be. If it’s a seedling mat of the type i’m used to (I do a lot of gardening) where the heating elements is contained within layers of other materials I wouldn’t recommend insulating, and I wouldn’t personally use it on a terrarium. That said, if it’s a heat mat that’s just a heating element with no surrounding material like an ultratherm then you might be okay. I would recommend looking up the specific brand you have and comparing it to the ultratherms.

Good luck!

gunstreet.girl wrote:

BFiddes wrote:

gunstreet.girl wrote:Hiya! That was really nice of your husband to do all that research to find a heat mat that would work for your crabs - super sweet. You don’t want to mount the UTH under the tank for hermit crabs (for most lizards, geckos, and frogs the heater goes under the tank, but not for hermits), so I assume you’ll be mounting it to the side or back of your exoterra, above the substrate. I might be misunderstanding the directions you’ve provided for the probe - it says to bury the probe in the substrate? I would recommend mounting the probe elsewhere in the tank, off the substrate, to make sure you’re getting a proper read of the air temperature in the tank. The air is what you want to be heating- the substrate will heat up as well when the ambient temperature in the tank rises. For example, I also keep my crabs in an exo terra and my combo thermometer/hygrometer also has a probe, which I have mounted about halfway between the substrate and the lid of the tank, on the opposite side of the tank from my heater (which is mounted on the back of my exoterra).

A quick question: are your crabs super tiny?? I ask because i’m familiar with where the bottom of the door hits on exoterras that size and knowing that your substrate looks really shallow. Generally a minimum of 6” depth is what you’re looking for for small crabs. The water bowls also look really shallow (although it’s excellent that you have 2).

Also, you don’t need to put a sponge in their water dish - it can be a breeding ground for bacteria, and crabs don’t need them to be able to drink. Assuming it’s a natural sea sponge, you can clean it and then just put it on the substrate and your crabs will roll it around and much on it

Hey, i mentioned about when i replied that the back substrate was deeper than the front but the depths i quoted were wrong. The back is about 7 inches deep. The front about 4. It has all settled some because it was deeper when i measured the first time. Should i be sort of packing it once i place my mixture in there? At the time i did not have enough substrate to make it all deep because i rescued them at the last minute....well adopted i guess. So i used what i had waiting for more sand and eco earth. It came in but they have been buried since i rec'd them. And i wouldnt believe it to be a good idea to place soil ontop of buried crabs? Am i right?
On the UTH. I say undertank. I never thought about having it on the sides. Unfortantely this mat is not sticky backed so im not sure how i would use it on yhe sides or back? And maybe i miss understand the prob too. Maybe i can mount it inside where yours i located too......i will do more research.
Also they are farily small crabs. In the shells they are currently in, if i make a circle by joining my thumb and pointer finger, they are about that big. And i dont have super large hands. I do plan on having larger water bowls. And adding more decor....once they come up from the depths. And the sponge is gone!

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Huzzah! Happy to hear the sponge is gone. As for adding more substrate, the 7” depth at the back is good, but they’re active little buggers so the slope probably won’t last long you can add an inch or two of sub while they’re under, just don’t put in too much and don’t pack it down. If they’re small, though, it will likely be okay as is until they surface. With the front doors potentially posing an issue for maintaining a good sub depth, i and other crabbers here who use exo terras normally cut a piece of plexi to go inside the tank in front of the doors (so, the length of the tank, and the height of your desired sub depth plus an inch or two). This will let you deepens your sub but still be able to open the doors.

As for my heat mat, I should have explained myself more clearly. The mat is mounted on the outside rear wall of my tank, just above the substrate line. I have an ultratherm which is taped in place, and then I have Reflectix insulation over the mat to provide insulation (I live in Canada and it gets very cold here). Ultratherms can be safely insulated without posing a fire hazard - I don’t know that yours can be. If it’s a seedling mat of the type i’m used to (I do a lot of gardening) where the heating elements is contained within layers of other materials I wouldn’t recommend insulating, and I wouldn’t personally use it on a terrarium. That said, if it’s a heat mat that’s just a heating element with no surrounding material like an ultratherm then you might be okay. I would recommend looking up the specific brand you have and comparing it to the ultratherms.

Good luck!

Thank you so much!

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Just wanted to (belatedly) mention that if you have any questions about whether you can safely insulate over the heat mat, you could contact the manufacturer & ask.

(Just an FYI - placing a heat mat under the sand has the potential to cause excessive temps that can overheat the crabs when they're under - moulting crabs go into a kind of torpor-ish state and are potentially vulnerable to things like over-heating, floods, or any potential threat at that time.)

If it isn't safe to insulate this brand, you can make insulation panels (cardboard, styrofoam & aluminum foil are good - or reflectix ) for the top, unheated sides & one for the back with a hole where the heater is, to trap heat in the tank. That will help in getting temps up if you're having trouble hitting 80.

Good morning...I can't sleep, so I was reading this post in a blur.

What is your current temp and humidity? You can move the heater to the side of the tank if your heat isn't warm enough due to the decor on the back of the tank. As far as the probe, I have them in my tanks...sometimes the hermits climb them...but it isn't a big deal. You can cut airline tubing and put it around the cord to be safe that they won't pinch the cord if that is your concern.

I recommend a brand called Acurite as far as a great digital humidity and temp gauge. You can purchase them at Walmart, or even online at Amazon. They run about $7 or $8. In Walmart you would find them in the home improvement section by the air filters. https://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-Thermome ... hermometer

As far as shells, you can look at our shopping resources page, it is under the Navigator tab if you are on the website (upper left hand side). I personally prefer Richard's Shells. You tell them the shells are for hermit crabs, and they hand pick them for you.

I recommend getting your substrate deeper - also make sure the substrate is sandcastle consistency. (You accomplish this by mixing with dechlorinated freshwater or dechlorinated marine saltwater). You can safely add and inch once every 24 hours without packing it down.

Check out the safe list for wood that you might have in your yard. (Oak, Maple) If you have pesticide and fertilizer free trees, grab a branch and stick it in your crabitat for them to climb. You can bake it or freeze it to get rid of potential bugs.

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