HCA: Hermit Crab Association

My heat in my 20 gal crabitat will not go above about 78 degrees. I have 2 UTH's on the sides above the substrate. One covers almost the whole back and one is a smaller one on one side, I have a glass lid that doesn't quite fit right but the small gap between it and the tank shouldn't be letting out that much heat. My humidity is sitting at around 85-90%. Any suggestions?

Where is your Thermometer/ Hygrometer located? There can be different Temps and humidity in different spots of your tank. If it is portable, move it around. Try to get as close to the substrate as you can because that is were the crabs will be. 78 degrees is a good temperature for PPs and it is good if they have different places they can go to cool off or heat up.

The UTH's, depending on type, can be insulated with foil, cardboard or bubble wrap. Make sure your's can be before insulating. It is a fire hazard if they are not.

Also do you have a screen lid? If you do you could try covering the top with press n seal or saran wrap. You can then adjust the humidity level by folding the wrap back an inch or so.

These are things that have worked for me. I hope they are helpful to you.

Kittykimbro@att.net wrote:Where is your Thermometer/ Hygrometer located? There can be different Temps and humidity in different spots of your tank. If it is portable, move it around. Try to get as close to the substrate as you can because that is were the crabs will be. 78 degrees is a good temperature for PPs and it is good if they have different places they can go to cool off or heat up.

The UTH's, depending on type, can be insulated with foil, cardboard or bubble wrap. Make sure your's can be before insulating. It is a fire hazard if they are not.

Also do you have a screen lid? If you do you could try covering the top with press n seal or saran wrap. You can then adjust the humidity level by folding the wrap back an inch or so.

These are things that have worked for me. I hope they are helpful to you.

To the OP, I don't mean to hijack your post, but how do we determine whether or not an UTH can be insulated? I have a cut of insulating fabric around mine, plus styrofoam behind that, but how can i be sure it's not a fire hazard??

I put a piece of cardboard over mine to try and insulate. My thermometer is at the opposite side of the tank from the UTH's that I have. So I guess it would make sense that it is cooler over there. ha ha ha

JamieL wrote:

Kittykimbro@att.net wrote:Where is your Thermometer/ Hygrometer located? There can be different Temps and humidity in different spots of your tank. If it is portable, move it around. Try to get as close to the substrate as you can because that is were the crabs will be. 78 degrees is a good temperature for PPs and it is good if they have different places they can go to cool off or heat up.

The UTH's, depending on type, can be insulated with foil, cardboard or bubble wrap. Make sure your's can be before insulating. It is a fire hazard if they are not.

Also do you have a screen lid? If you do you could try covering the top with press n seal or saran wrap. You can then adjust the humidity level by folding the wrap back an inch or so.

These are things that have worked for me. I hope they are helpful to you.

To the OP, I don't mean to hijack your post, but how do we determine whether or not an UTH can be insulated? I have a cut of insulating fabric around mine, plus styrofoam behind that, but how can i be sure it's not a fire hazard??

The packaging, instructions or Internet look up will tell you if your UTH is able to be insulated. If it doesn't tell you that it is safe, I would not insulate it. If you have an Ultratherm, it is able to be insulated and most of the stick on type are not.

JamieL wrote:

Kittykimbro@att.net wrote:Where is your Thermometer/ Hygrometer located? There can be different Temps and humidity in different spots of your tank. If it is portable, move it around. Try to get as close to the substrate as you can because that is were the crabs will be. 78 degrees is a good temperature for PPs and it is good if they have different places they can go to cool off or heat up.

The UTH's, depending on type, can be insulated with foil, cardboard or bubble wrap. Make sure your's can be before insulating. It is a fire hazard if they are not.

Also do you have a screen lid? If you do you could try covering the top with press n seal or saran wrap. You can then adjust the humidity level by folding the wrap back an inch or so.

These are things that have worked for me. I hope they are helpful to you.

To the OP, I don't mean to hijack your post, but how do we determine whether or not an UTH can be insulated? I have a cut of insulating fabric around mine, plus styrofoam behind that, but how can i be sure it's not a fire hazard??

the ones that can be insulated are the ones you buy from beanfarm.com or reptilebasics.com. They are non-sticky and you tape them on. The Zoomed ones or generic brands you find at pet stores cant be insulated to increase the heat.