HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Good news! I am finally getting a heat pad upgrade today (granted Amazon delivers it) it's an UTH with a digital thermometer to measure and control the heat. I can't wait to use it!

Very nice!
Do you know what brand it is? I've never used Zoo Med uth's, but I've heard they don't work very well.

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The brand is VIVOSUN. It's a heat pad made for seedlings but apparently also works with reptiles/crabs? (Again, the heat pad has not arrived yet so I'll update my post when it comes.) It's called : VIVOSUN 10"x20.75" Seedling heat Mat and Digital Thermostat Combo Set MET Standard. Would give a link but I can't do that on my tablet right now. I really hope it works!

Pumpkincrab wrote:The brand is VIVOSUN. It's a heat pad made for seedlings but apparently also works with reptiles/crabs? (Again, the heat pad has not arrived yet so I'll update my post when it comes.) It's called : VIVOSUN 10"x20.75" Seedling heat Mat and Digital Thermostat Combo Set MET Standard. Would give a link but I can't do that on my tablet right now. I really hope it works!

That's cool, def keep us updated!

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so the heat pad just came. The thermostat is working well but I'm waiting on the heat pad. It's been plugged in for about 15 minutes. I sure hope it warms up. It cost 40 dollars for goodness sake.

Pumpkincrab wrote:so the heat pad just came. The thermostat is working well but I'm waiting on the heat pad. It's been plugged in for about 15 minutes. I sure hope it warms up. It cost 40 dollars for goodness sake.

I didn't know this when I first got my thermostat, but they usually have a 2 deg buffer. So if you set it to 78, and the tank is close to that, it may not kick on until it hits 76. It's so the pad doesn't constantly click on and off.
Is your pad already insulated or have adhesive on it? If so, you can't insulate those kind.

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The pad I got is for seedlings apparrently. It has no adhesive on it so I got gorilla tape and taped it to the back of my tank. How should I go about insulating it? Is it even possible?

Pumpkincrab wrote:The pad I got is for seedlings apparrently. It has no adhesive on it so I got gorilla tape and taped it to the back of my tank. How should I go about insulating it? Is it even possible?

If you kick temp up high just to test it, it should kick on.
You can only insulate it if there is no padding in it. You can cover cardboard in aluminum foil, shiny side out, and tape that on top of the uth.
I skipped the cardboard and just duct taped aluminum foil all around the uth. Insulating will make the uth not have to work as hard.
I would def try testing the pad first before you insulate it to make sure it works. Whatever the temp is reading, set it to 5 degs higher. This should make it come on. Make sure it starts heating up. If all is well, then you can readjust the temp and insulate it.

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Thank you so much! I appreciate it!

You're welcome! Let me know if it works for you.

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If unsure about insulating, contact the manufacturer and explain what you plan to do. They'll let you know if their product is suitable for that application.

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I just got the same heat pad a few days ago. It took several hours before I could see any changes in temp, but it's working pretty good now. I did what crabbylover77 describes with the cardboard/foil (learned that lurking around here) and it seems to help. The temperature is pretty stable and hasn't negatively impacted the humidity. Hope it works well for you too. I'm still really new to crabbing, so I'm no expert, take what I say with a grain of salt.