New 20 Gal Long Tank

[hlabone72]

Ok so I have two small crabs in a ten gallon now with a heater pad in one corner under the sand, and another under the tank pad in the middle. Stays right about 75 and humidity around 80-85, with glass lid so I crack it more if humidity goes up to much.

I want to change them to a 20 gal long tank with the right amount of sand in bottom, would I need two under pads or three to keep temp high enough with more sand? They were not well taken care of when I got them so I left them alone to molt and change shells. They had NO substrate at all when I got them from a neighbor.

Also one of my crabs is like half hanging out of his shell alot. But if I walk up he hides. Is that normal?

[CrabbyLover77]

Ok so I have two small crabs in a ten gallon now with a heater pad in one corner under the sand, and another under the tank pad in the middle. Stays right about 75 and humidity around 80-85, with glass lid so I crack it more if humidity goes up to much.

I want to change them to a 20 gal long tank with the right amount of sand in bottom, would I need two under pads or three to keep temp high enough with more sand? They were not well taken care of when I got them so I left them alone to molt and change shells. They had NO substrate at all when I got them from a neighbor.

Also one of my crabs is like half hanging out of his shell alot. But if I walk up he hides. Is that normal?

Hi there!

Don't worry about humidity being too high. Mine is usually in the 90%-99% range. You may notice a bit more mold growth in your tank when the humidity is higher, but it's not harmful to the crabs.

For hermits crabs, you want to put your uth on the outside of the tank on the back or either side/both sides, not under the tank. Also, do not bend a uth around a corner. Because there is so much substrate, it will cause the uths to over work when they are under the tank, which is a potential fire hazard. Get a uth that spans the entire back of the tank. Reptile Basics or Bean Farm has Ultratherm uths, which are great. I also use a thermostat with each pad to regulate the temps. You can insulate these types of uths to make them more efficient. You can do that by wrapping cardboard in a piece of aluminum, shiny side out, and duct taping it over the uth. My house doesn't get too cold, so I just have aluminum foil duct taped over my Ultratherms.

If your current uths are stuck to the tank/have adhesive, you can't unstick and restick them, it's a fire hazard (wires could break inside when you unstick them). You also can't insulate over these types of pads.

It sounds like maybe your crab is in a shell that is too small. Do you have larger shells available for him? Also, if it is a purple pincher, they prefer shells with round openings, like turbos.

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[hlabone72]

I got the one from Bean farm - it should be here Thursday. If it's not sticky how should I attach to the back of the glass safely?
I am so excited to get this tank set up. I have two new crabbies on the way as well, since I lost one last week. I hope my loner hasn't been lonely too long. He's been out and eating, but I wonder if he's like where did the other go

[hlabone72]

Wait. I have seen it say put the heating pad above the substrate line and some along it - which is it?

[CrabbyLover77]

I got the one from Bean farm - it should be here Thursday. If it's not sticky how should I attach to the back of the glass safely?
I am so excited to get this tank set up. I have two new crabbies on the way as well, since I lost one last week. I hope my loner hasn't been lonely too long. He's been out and eating, but I wonder if he's like where did the other go

You can use duct tape to tape the uth onto the tank. I use the kind that doesn't leave any residue behind, in case you need to remove the tape later.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0014LQK ... asin_title

Don't worry about your crabby being lonely. Many crabs live happily alone for years.

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[CrabbyLover77]

Wait. I have seen it say put the heating pad above the substrate line and some along it - which is it?

It's ideal to place the uth above the substrate line as much as possible, because you are trying to heat the air not the sand. However, if it dips below the sub line that's ok too, but your sand might dry out a bit faster in those spots.

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[hlabone72]

Thank you for your help! I actually had two new friends arrive today! Funny the original one was down in the sand and came out immediately!! I am so excited. I think they will all do so well together. Still working on the new set up, have to find a table to put it on.

Here is a video of the new ones. Both have already changed shells and the one found the peanut butter and hasn't moved! lol

This photo is my one original crabbie. https://flic.kr/p/2qh2WFD

This is after their bath (recommended after travel) https://flic.kr/p/2qh3kx6

This was after each had changed shells, and this one found the food lol https://flic.kr/p/2qh18po

Here is the link to where I got them from. So far I am so happy. Took longer than I wanted for them to get here, but so far they are super active and just awesome. I will sex them when I get the 20 gallon set up and then need names.

https://a.co/d/1lw0TBM

[hlabone72]

Here is when they first arrived. Ignore my nonsense lol

And fast forward some https://flic.kr/p/2qh3A5s

[hlabone72]

So my new tank is partially set up, I wanted to let it sit and get the heat going etc. I have a thin plexiglass to cover top for now (temp). This morning, there is condensation on one end of the tank pretty bad. Is it ok for one end to be more humid, or needs to be same, what could be causing this and how do I fix it?
Also how do you keep your suction cups from staying when the humidity gets up and glass is wet?

[Wlfwo]

My crab have been alone for the last 3 years now. He seems to be perfectly happy. I have no way of knowing whether or not he's actually happy, he is thriving. I may get a couple of smaller ones since I'm moving him into a 75 gallon.

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[CrabbyLover77]

So my new tank is partially set up, I wanted to let it sit and get the heat going etc. I have a thin plexiglass to cover top for now (temp). This morning, there is condensation on one end of the tank pretty bad. Is it ok for one end to be more humid, or needs to be same, what could be causing this and how do I fix it?
Also how do you keep your suction cups from staying when the humidity gets up and glass is wet?

Np! Glad I could help! Hope the newbies are still doing well.
Condensation is caused by the difference in temperatures (the colder room vs. the warmer tank). It's not harmful, and you can just wipe it away with a paper towel.
I have large pieces of egg crate on the backs/sides of my tank, so I don't use suction cups. You can find egg crate in the lighting department of a hardware store. All the little plastic squares allow you to zip tie your decor to it. The crabs can also climb the egg crate. Here's a link for it:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/PLASKOLITE-Com ... ls/3280904

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[hlabone72]

My crab have been alone for the last 3 years now. He seems to be perfectly happy. I have no way of knowing whether or not he's actually happy, he is thriving. I may get a couple of smaller ones since I'm moving him into a 75 gallon.

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Oh wow, ok. Well so far they all seem to be getting along. Keeping fingers crossed. All have been out more during the day as well which I assume means they are happy. The two new ones sure do make a mess lol

[hlabone72]

Np! Glad I could help! Hope the newbies are still doing well.
Condensation is caused by the difference in temperatures (the colder room vs. the warmer tank). It's not harmful, and you can just wipe it away with a paper towel.
I have large pieces of egg crate on the backs/sides of my tank, so I don't use suction cups. You can find egg crate in the lighting department of a hardware store. All the little plastic squares allow you to zip tie your decor to it. The crabs can also climb the egg crate. Here's a link for it:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/PLASKOLITE-Com ... ls/3280904

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I appreciate the link. I will look into that for sure. That hamock thing I got was way larger than I thought so we flipped that up and in a corner, they love climbing that. Suggestions on how to insulate the heating pad on the back to keep more heat in the tank. It's running 77 during day and down to 75 in evenings with lights out.

[CrabbyLover77]

I appreciate the link. I will look into that for sure. That hamock thing I got was way larger than I thought so we flipped that up and in a corner, they love climbing that. Suggestions on how to insulate the heating pad on the back to keep more heat in the tank. It's running 77 during day and down to 75 in evenings with lights out.

Np. I'll just copy/paste what I wrote in a previous post of yours. Too lazy to write it out again haha.

You can insulate these types of uths to make them more efficient. You can do that by wrapping cardboard in a piece of aluminum, shiny side out, and duct taping it over the uth. My house doesn't get too cold, so I just have aluminum foil duct taped over my Ultratherms.

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[hlabone72]

Np. I'll just copy/paste what I wrote in a previous post of yours. Too lazy to write it out again haha.

You can insulate these types of uths to make them more efficient. You can do that by wrapping cardboard in a piece of aluminum, shiny side out, and duct taping it over the uth. My house doesn't get too cold, so I just have aluminum foil duct taped over my Ultratherms.

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lol NP - My bad - sorry. You did already tell me. But doesn't the aluminum let the heat out still if just aluminum? So the card board would be up against the heating pad and the aluminum on the outside?