New stressed owner

[kwilkins]

so we bought our son a PP and i am soooo stressed trying to figure all the stuff out.
It is in a 10 gallon, I press and sealed the mesh lid.
I know i need UVB lighting and UTH or whatever, but i don't know which ones to get.
LIGHTING I was told to gethttps://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun ... ptisun+5.0
and to get a under cabinet fixture, i don't want that big ole thing hanging in my tank, its small as it is. I don't know what size hood lid cover to possibly get, and they are so expensive!

and heating I was told to get these pads that comes from Scotland! SO I don't know what to do and what is the easiest route and the CHEAPEST.

[Crabinski]

I replied to your other post so that might be of help.

As for lighting, UVB cannot pass through most substances so having a UVB light really won't do much good and, frankly, hermit crabs do just fine without one. Having a tank light is largely for the benefit of the owners so they can watch their crabs in the evening when they're out a about a bit more and also helps to establish a day/night cycle for the crabs. The easiest way to set up a light (not inside the tank) is to get an aquarium hood and a plain, ordinary fluorescent tube: the hood will sit atop the tank and light it up very nicely.

As for heating, the best UTH (undertank heaters which are applied to external rear glass wall of the tank, not underneath) available, used by a majority of crabbers, is the Ultratherm. Yes, they are made in Scotland but are sold in the US by ReptileBasics.com and BeanFarm.com (the former has better prices but the latter carries more size options and also sells via Amazon). The size UTH is not predicated by the gallon size of the tank but by the length and height of the tank. For example, a 10g tank is 20" long and 12" high. If you have the recommended minimum substrate depth of 6", that leaves a height of 6" (you want to position the UTH to heat the air above the substrate and not the substrate itself as that will dry it out) so a UTH 6"x17" would work perfectly. The reason the Ultratherm is so highly recommended is that it is actually less expensive than brands found in pet shops (ZooMed, All Living Things, Fluker), is easy to install and remove as it does not have an adhesive (you attach it with duck tape, clear packing tape, etc) and can be insulated if needed (of the commercial brands, only Flukers can be insulated).

[PinchersAndShells]

If you plan on having a UVB light, you'd need to have it so there is no glass in between the crabitat and the light fixture, otherwise it's just a regular light and your crabs don't get any UVB. On the lighting guide on here, it says UVB through a screen top is about 20-50% of the UVB. While UVB isn't required, there is theory that it may provide benefits to the crabs, but it's just speculation. The best way to get lighting for cheap is to get an aquarium hood made for 10 gallon aquariums, and turn the lights off during the night so the crabs can have a day and night cycle. UVB bulbs are optional.

Ultratherms are a little more expensive than commercial brands that you get in the pet store, but they are worth their price. They add enough heat to get you into the 80s, and can be safely insulated to provide more heat. The only commercial brand that can be safely insulated is Flukers, yet while cheaper doesn't supply as much heat. Ultratherms can be bought off of reptilebasics and beanfarm as previously mentioned. To find the right size you measure the back of the tank where there is no sand, you want to heat the air instead of the substrate because heating the substrate can pretty much melt molting crabs. You want to find one that covers as much of this "open air" space as possible.