HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I recently got a fogger and I'm super excited about it.
And my crabs LOVE it. I think they are rarely in their shell now.

But my problem is the dry food that I put in their and leave I their gets so wet and gross.

And I read something about a false bottom??



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Fogger can oversaturate the substrate and cause bacterial blooms, so at the very least they should not be used constantly. I tried a fogger and the sand definitely got too wet and took days to dry out, and when the fogger was off my humidity was on the lower end. Best thing I ever did as far as humidity is the plexiglass tops. Now I use the fogger for my tropical plants lol. So just be very careful it does not get too wet.

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CrabHappens wrote:Fogger can oversaturate the substrate and cause bacterial blooms, so at the very least they should not be used constantly. I tried a fogger and the sand definitely got too wet and took days to dry out, and when the fogger was off my humidity was on the lower end. Best thing I ever did as far as humidity is the plexiglass tops. Now I use the fogger for my tropical plants lol. So just be very careful it does not get too wet.

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I think it's a trial and error type thing. Because my crabs were isolating in their shells constantly.

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Yeah, I loved mine at first, I just did not think about what would happen if I ran it constantly lol. They can also be pretty useful in the winter! The plexiglass I use keeps my humidity perfect. I only spray it now to keep it sand castle consistency, my humidity is never low. I had to get a fogger because I had a heat light that evaporated the water out of the air, but I guess not the substrate? Idk, got uth now and it is all good, I am just worried for winter now!

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I agree with Crab happens, foggers and excessive misting can cause floods!


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piratetoothgir wrote:I agree with Crab happens, foggers and excessive misting can cause floods!


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Maybe it's my heat lamps making the humidity evaporate. But the lamps keep the tank at perfect temp. And the fogger is keeping it at perfect humidity. I spray and spray and the humidity goes up for a bit then goes right down.

Now my fogger is making my dry food in the tank turn to mush.

I need a healthy medium


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I would suggest the under the tank heaters, on the side of the tank, and plexiglass! I have been exactly where you are now, and that is what solved the problem for me. It depends on which heating pad you get, but if they are weaker ones like zoomed, then get the one that will span the entire back of your tank. You can also use saran wrap to seal the top, holds the humidity in perfectly!

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And my dry food stays dry with that method!

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I love my fogger and have been using it the entire time. However I can adjust the thickness of my fog and place the tube above my water dish so any drips go into the bowl and not the substrate. No issues for me. Some people use timers on their fogger. My crabs seem to like it too I have to say, they always ducked and dodged when I misted. Are you able to adjust the flow of your fogger? I put mine on the lowest setting and just cover my screen top with a towel and the food doesn't get wet. I also don't let the food stay out more than a day.


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The fog has causes overstaturation of moisture in the substrate in the past, which can lead to bacteria blooms. So many reccomend if running a fogger, to have a false bottom as a fail safe in case things go wrong.

Remember, even thought it may keep the humidity at the appropriate level, it is adding water - in some cases, constantly.

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False bottoms are hard and can be dangerous, as crabs are crafty little buggers and can get underneath even really well built ones. They are doable, but I have been to scared to even try. I'm not saying foggers are bad- it just did not work for me. I put the hose above my water bowl and woke up with my pool overflowing one day, it is a deep pool, and I had checked it the night before, also made me realize how much water collects right under the hose. I am sure there are ways to acheive the right timing and stuff, I just could not get it right myself. The humidity would always drop dramatically when I turned it off, before I got the plexiglass.

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