Excited new owner of 4 PPs!

[Tala]

Hello! We've been new crab owners for a little over 2 weeks or so now. Our first 2, Sandy and Shelly, came in painted shells from some jerk at the mall and we got our other two, Max jr and Franklin, from Petsmart. Shelly promptly burried himself into the sand and we haven't seen him again (fingers crossed he's molting! ) Sandy has switched shells four or five times already and was more than happy to ditch his spooty ol' painted shell almost the instant he was given the option. Franklin has been the most adventurous and was checking everything out the second he got put in the tank. Max jr is a little more shy but he comes out to explore here and there-- I think he likes it better when we're not looking haha. Sandy had been staying in one spot and not moving around at all after Shelly burrowed into the sand, but as soon as we introduced the other two and he saw Franklin crawling around he peaked out of his shell for the first time in days. He now seems to be out of whatever funk he was in and I hardly ever see him go all the way into his shell anymore. All in all I think they're adjusting pretty well and it's definitely thanks to all the awesome advice and care guides I found on this site! We didn't know what all we were getting into because the guy who sold us our first two was just trying to make money and didn't give us good (or even accurate) advice on how to care for them and led us to believe all we had to do was feed them once a week and put in some water with a sponge. I'm so glad I found this forum though because they'd be miserable babies if not. And now I'm hooked and I think I'm more excited about them than my little brother-- He's 5 and responsible for their names, which is why we have a Max Jr. haha.
My only concern is that they're too cold and I've been scouring the forums for ways to help heat their tank more. Otherwise I just wanted to say hello and say a bit about our new crabbies because I'm all excited, haha.

[hermitcrabdc]

Welcome to the crabbing community! I'm glad you're giving your crabs the best you can
If you have any pictures we'd love to see your crabs!
I recommend an ultratherm heat mat for heating tanks. They are great quality and last a long time. You can buy them online at Amazon or reptile stores

[Crabinski]

Congrats on your new crabbie family! It doesn't take too long to get totally hooked on these little guys .

Glad to see that you've been browsing the forum for information and heating, of course, is a major concern. Do you currently have a thermometer and calibrated hygrometer in the tank? If so, what are the temperature and humidity ranges? For PPs, you'll want a temperature range of 75-85, the warmer the better, with humidity 80% or higher.

If you haven't already done so, check out the Care Sheet topic (viewtopic.php?t=92457)? It covers the bases on everything you need to know to properly care for your hermit crabs. The basic options for heating are heat lamps and UTHs (under-tank heating pads which are not placed underneath but on the back of the tank). UTHs are the preferred way to go and Ultratherm is the optimum brand (sold only online from Bean Farm or ReptileBasics). Although manufacturers of pet store brands such as ZooMed and All Living Things list a certain size UTH for a certain gallon size tank, ignore that! If you go the UTH route, you'll want to get the largest dimension pad that will fit on the back of the tank above the substrate line -- this will ensure proper heat levels in the crabitat. One of the pluses with an Ultratherm brand UTH is that it can be safely insulated to boost heat retention whereas most pet store brands cannot.

Hope this helps!

[landlubber]

Welcome to the HCA! It's so nice to meet you.

[Tala]

Ahh sorry it took me a bit to respond-- we've been a bit busy with thanksgiving and all, haha.
I have definitely read the Care Sheet thread multiple times as well as read through other specific forums to double and triple check that I'm doing things as correctly as possible-- I was so paranoid I wasn't doing things correctly at first, and that paranoia has only decreased slightly, haha. Hopefully once I have the temperature regulated correctly I'll be less worried.

I do have a thermometer/hydrometer and we make sure to keep the humidity levels around 80% or so-- the temperature unfortunately had been about a constant 70 degrees but recently has gotten even cooler.
I don't remember exactly where I read what size uth I would need for a 10 gallon tank but it was definitely the wrong information. I also got a moon glow bulb and heat lamp but that doesn't seem to affect the temperature at all. Currently the uth is a small square that is mostly above the substrate but not contributing much warmth as far as I can tell. I got it a few days after getting everything set up as a last minute thing-- the day I went to petsmart to get everything I needed I asked an employee about heating the tank and he told me he had 3 huge crabs and hasn't heated their enclosure in the 5 years he's had them, and I left thinking temperature wasn't as important as I had read. Then I read through things on here more and realized that guy was wrong (which is irritating considering he works at a pet store but what can you do?) and went back and bought the smallest uth they had.. I don't think it's affecting the temp at all, though.

And for pictures:
Franklin

Max Jr. He was stuck between the coconut fiber and the side of the tank-- it was tricky figuring out how to get that stuff to stick to the glass without coming loose.

The only picture I have of Shelly since he disappeared into the sand right away.

Pitiful but it's the best picture I have of Sandy because he's pretty shy lol. That's his most current shell of choice. The plastic we've got around the top to help with the humidity was a bit loose as well :/

And a picture of the tank... It's a bit different since I took it, though. I've added more sand and removed some of the fake plants and the Legos. The plants fell over a lot and the Legos seemed slippery. And we didn't have the thermometer/hydrometer yet. Lots more shells... things like that lol.


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[landlubber]

Franklin is so adorable! I'm sure Shelly will allow some pics sooner or later and you'll be even more excited to have them because they are hard to get. Their crabitat looks awesome! Part of the fun of crabbing to me is switching up the tank decor. With my current set up it is so functional I kind of don't want to change it.

Heating and getting proper humidity is always a "trial by error" thing every time I set up a new tank. Okay, so now the humidity is too high and the temps too low, try increasing the heat and now the humidity drops too low. Add a bubbler or a new tank top now the humidity is up but the temps aren't right, so then you modify your top to allow air flow, and finally you got it. I just always expect it will be like that, even though I know how to set up a tank. You'll get it right. I don't know what brand of UTH you got some some can be insulated (Utlratherms, I think), or insulating the rest of the tank with Styrofoam, or getting a wool blanket on the top, there are things you can try (including of course a second UTH).

[Crabinski]

Such cute crabs and a nice-looking crabitat! As @landlubber suggested, a good temporary heat fix is to wrap the tank in a blanket. I haven't turned the heat on in my house yet (I'm in Arizona so it's still not cold cold) but have managed to keep the temperature in the front of the tank in the high 70s and the back of the tank (where the Ultratherm is) in the mid 80s just by draping a velour throw around the back, sides and top of the tank.

[Tala]

Definitely going to look into an Ultratherm because I'm 95% positive we will need to insulate even with better heaters. Also now that my dad has taken interest there's been talk of a larger tank-- but not until we get the hang of maintaining their ideal environment in this one. Thanks for the suggestions!


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