Science Expirement

[citiliviey]

I am doing a STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) Fair Project . I am testing the activity of my hermit crabs, comparing one element of their environment to another . I have done gravel vs. natural sand, heating lamp vs. room temperature, I am going to do natural sunlight vs. darkness (in a dark corner compared to in the middle of my room) . I don't want to hurt my crabbies, I love them, but I am only about a year experienced, I have learned from trial and error . I still need to do more tests, but I am not sure what to compare, please help !

[Breeezy]

Are you saying you have already done those other experiments?

My two cents are that if you love your crabbies let them be. Give them what they want and need to thrive. I'm all for research, but there's no need to compare variables that we KNOW are bad for them (gravel, low temperatures, etc.). Maybe try something with food? Different pool temperatures (My pool heater broke once and I didn't realize it for a little while, until I noticed my crabs that love "swimming" hadn't been doing it for over a week)? I'm not sure how long your project is either, but you could test UVB vs UVA, which would obviously have to be a lot more long term and VERY VERY consistent controlled variables around those.

[citiliviey]

I have done those . The thing is before this excitement I didn't know what they needed . They had gravel and no heat, so when I started research for my expirement, I saw that I had been giving them a bad environment . So now they have the sand and the heat . So I'm actually just doing what I is helping them now . So the gravel and no heat is what I used to have before I knew it was bad, so now all I am doing is giving them what I need . So can you recommend things that will not harm them at all, I don't want them to be bothered . Sorry for the misunderstanding .

[citiliviey]

But I would never purposely hurt them . I didn't realize it was bad when I did that at first .

[Rebecca C]

Like Breeezy suggested, I think an experiment with the temperature of pool water would be pretty neat. Maybe see how interested in the water the crabs are at a few different temperatures? Maybe we should be keeping our pools at a temperature in a specific range

[citiliviey]

Thank you, I appreciate the help . c:

[Rebecca C]

You're welcome!

Also, it seems like hermit crabs prefer their fruits to be very ripe as opposed to being more on the freshly picked side, maybe you can do some experiments offering different fruits both very ripe and not.

[citiliviey]

Thank you !

[wodesorel]

I have done those . The thing is before this excitement I didn't know what they needed .

Aha! That makes more sense. I like that - you had something you found out you needed to change, and this is a wonderful project in that it will inform others who may have hermit crabs about the benefits of upgrades.

You could even try something small with humidity levels or temperature, so long as it stays within the safe range. For instance, what's the difference in activity level when the tank is 70% relative humidity versus when it's 85%, and what other effects start to occur. The same thing could be done with temps - if you have PPs, you could do the difference when it's 78 degrees versus when it's 83. (If you're able to find a way to stabilize these things 24 hours a day, since fluctuations will occur.) And I mention those two things specifically because if your crabs are like mine there will be observable differences.

My only worry is now that they have better conditions that they'll all want to go down and molt on you!

[citiliviey]

Actually, when they first got natural shells, within an hour, one changed (I saw it) . And within 3 days we had 2 or 3 switches .
And with the new sand, I have had 3 burrowers, not deep, but they were happy .
How do I get humidity ? Tell me everything I can do, because I love seeing them happier and happier .

[Rebecca C]

There are a few things that I do to maintain humidity that may work for you.

1.) Having a moss pit or having it somewhere in the tank works pretty nicely as moss holds moisture well.
2.) Covering the tank's lid with plastic/saran wrap or with something else between 75-90% (You'd have to play around with the amount of lid you have covered) is almost crucial if you have a screen lid.
3.) I mist the tank regularly; usually once a day maintains it, but if you use a heat lamp as your source of heat, you may have a little bit more difficulty, as the lamps tend to dry everything out quickly.

[hermitcrab24]

There is someone here on the HCA who did an experiment with hearing. Her name is Yadokarination I believe, she also has a youtube channel. She put her phone in a box with her hermit crabs and turned off the vibration and turned up the volume. She called it and saw if they reacted or not. She said she will be doing more experiments, but her first one is on her youtube channel.

[wodesorel]

I am going to do natural sunlight vs. darkness (in a dark corner compared to in the middle of my room) .

I just realized from your post in Memorials that we never warned you to keep the tank out of direct sunlight, as the glass will have a greenhouse effect and the temperature will spike to dangerous levels. I'm thinking that may have been what happened? I am so sorry!!!!

[citiliviey]

It's okay, thank you . He is in a better place . I love him so much .

[Breeezy]

But I would never purposely hurt them . I didn't realize it was bad when I did that at first .

I would never believe you to do that! That would be crazy lol.

I'll let you know if I think of any other ideas!