New Crabber: How to prepare tank!!?

[Kellie]

Hello! I'm planning on grabbing my crabs after thanksgiving weekend 2 weekends from now.
I want to make sure I set up the cage correctly before I put them in, to make sure the pet store transition is as easy as possible.
I have a glass 10 gallon, I have plastic coconut huts, a plastic plant, small driftwood pieces, and large cork round. My water bowls are probably going to be the small fluker's corner bowls (are those big enough?), food bowl haven't decided yet, maybe a shell?
I got moss from Michael's "Hiawatha Evergreens Bagged" which claims no chemicals or preservatives. Is it safe? If not what to use?

I also will be purchasing extra shells with them.

How do I prepare each of these individual items?
And I know you boil shells, does that mean bringing them to a boil or placing them in boiling water? For how long?

Also for their fresh and salt water, must they be prepared before time or can they be prepared just an hour before going into the tank?
Going to use Aqueon water conditioner, and Instant Ocean for salt. Should I buy 2 gallon purified waters at my local CVS to start off and pop some salt in one of them, then use those containers to continue my stock? How accurate to a gallon must measurements be for conditioner and salt?

Also, how do I make it so they can get in and out of water bowls? These will probably be medium sized crabs, I will grab the smallest and most active I can find at the time when buying.

As for heating, I have an old heater I can use. I put that onto the back wall or a side wall of the tank? I also live in Maryland and it's getting chilly. I believe I should use aluminum and cardboard to insulate the heater. The conditions at the pet store are about 82 degrees already (it's an aquarium), so I don't need to ease them into a high temp, I just hope I can reach that on first go!
For humidity, I don't know how the current conditions are. They are in a wire cage. I believe I will have to ease them up, I'm so scared of pps. Is a heat controller necessary? They are only 20 bucks on Amazon so I could manage if needed.

Any tips would be awesome.
I also have eco earth and play sand from home depot. I will probably grab some sort of container tomorrow to mix the eco earth in.
I will have a wire top and I will cover (most) of it with cardboard and saran wrap.

I got a 100% cotton climbing net for them from Hugs for Hermies (do I need to wash it?). Also got a food sampler from her too. Will also purchase Zoo Med fruit salad food.

Thank you all so much, I just want what's best for my future pets. I really want them to survive and thrive.

[hermitcrabdc]

You can find answers to most of your questions in our care guides.
A few things I would mention are,
1. Look into buying shells online. Naples, Deltona ect are great online stores to buy shells. I've found that typically pet stores don't sell shells great for hermit crabs. It may be worth time and money to buy online.
2. Water will start growing ammonia if you leave it out too long. Prepare it the day you get your crabbies. I would get it into your tank before you go and get them so it's ready to go when you get home.
3. PPS- have everything ready before you go get the crabs. Set up everything they'll need in the tank a week or two before. Get the heat going to see if you'll need a controller or another heater. Get it going as close to perfect as you can before they come home so you're not messing with the tank and causing stress.
Once you do bring them home, keep from handling if at all possible. That will help keep stress down.
4. I'm not sure how large the dishes are you're talking about for water, but they need to be deep enough for any crab in the tank to fully submerge. Needle point canvas from the craft store works really well for "ladders" for water dishes.

I'm sure you'll make a great owner!

[Kellie]

Thank you very much! The problem with getting the tank ready before I get the crabs is I will be away on Thanksgiving Wednesday to Saturday, and can get the crabs Sunday. Is preparing the tank on the 17th or 18th ok if they will be arriving on the 26th? I would prepare the Tuesday before, but I get out of classes in college around 7pm, and need to arrive home early to leave for Thanksgiving at grandparents. Although if the 17th is too early, I can surely try.
Also, I worry about ordering shells online because I won't know the size of my crabs until the day I get them, and I don't want them in the painted for long. The Aquarium I would get them at seems to have a large assortment of unpainted shells in all kinds of sizes. That is why I was considering it.

Also a question about leaving crabs;
I like to go home on weekends and spend time with my family. I live 25min from home (apartment by college). I leave for home normally Friday afternoon (4pm) or the occasional Saturday morning (11am) if I go out with friends that Friday. I always arrive back at college Sunday nights, after dinner time (usually 9pm latest). If I make sure they have fresh water and food before I leave will they be ok for that time? I don't go home every weekend, but I usually do, so I thought it would be worth asking.

[hermitcrabdc]

If you set it up early and the heat and humidity is fine then you could probably turn everything off until you bring home the crabs. If you need a few days to get everything right then it won't hurt to leave it on while you're gone.
The store may have unpainted shells but are they the right kind is the question. You're getting PPs right? They usually prefer turbos. I've never seen great selections of those in stores. Though, I do see what you're saying about not knowing the sizes...hmm. Not sure what to say there
Yes, if you leave water and enough food the crabs should be fine for a few days. If you can do dry foods that will work best. If you go with fresh foods then they might go bad before you come back.
Good luck!

[kieagcarm]

Joann fabrics always has bags of green turbo shells hanging on pegs in the beach decor section, about 5 bucks a bag. That's a great cheap way to get some, and I bought one bag only and ended up with shells that will fit all four of my crababies. Though mine prefer the polished shells over the natural. As far as setting up your tank, just don't leave water sitting that long that will be given to the crabs when you get then

Sent from my C5215 using Tapatalk

[kieagcarm]

And I look forward to pictures!

Sent from my C5215 using Tapatalk

[rf9661]

I would recommend putting everything on/in the tank and before you leave to buy the hermit crabs, put the food and water and regulate the temp and humidity. Let us know how it goes!

[Kermie16]

I would have to agree with rf9661. When we had our crabs in our 20g And upgraded to the 55g , I kept the 55g up and running for about a week to make sure temp and humidity were stable. I cannot stress enough to make sure you calibrate your hygrometer before placing it into the tank. You want to make sure it is as accurate as possible or at least know how far off it is so you can adjust the humidity as needed. Bubbler pools help with the humidity and air circulation in the tank . With the bubblers I change the water once a week.
In reference to the times when ur gone for the weekends, the crabs should be fine as long as the temp and humidity are stable. I usually don't leave any fresh foods in while we are away. I leave a large variety of dried foods including crushed oyster shells and dried crickets in a clam shell next to the UTH. I also put in plenty of hermie safe leaf litter and hermie safe dried flowers and sprinkle in some organic chia seeds:) Hope that helps!! Oh and I second the bag of shells from Joann's Fabric!! Great variety and sizes. Good luck and we are all looking forward to pics


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kellie]

Thank you all so much you are so helpful!

How much do bubblers go for and where would I purchase one? Any recommendations?
Also, awesome to hear that about Joann's! There is one only about 10min from my apartment, I will be sure to drop by later this week to see if they have turbos.
I bought some assorted shells from Michaels that contain turbos, and similar shells, but for about 7 bucks a bag, there are only about 3-5 usable (and they aren't all turbos). So if Joann has sets of just turbos, that would save me money!
I plan to buy all future shells online for my little guys.

I'm planning on setting up the cage on the 22nd before I leave on vacation, I will get back on the 27th and grab the cuties then.

Right now I have the petco hygrometer going through the salt test, but I don't know if my test worked as the humidity didn't change from 40% and I have seen it different on humid-er days.

[aussieJJDude]

Well depends on the store to store; what brands you get and from where you get it from. In total, your probably looking at $30 or less, probably closer to $20. The most expensive thing will be the pump, other than that, air line, air stones and valves.
I don't live in the US, so I can't mention particular brands - as they may differ - but go with the smallest pump available, you don't need a lot so one rated for 20g or over is just wasting electricity and money IMO.

[Kermie16]

I got the tetra whisper air pump from PetSmart for about $7. Also got my air tubes, air stones, t-valve connector, air flow valve controller and air line tubing suction holders through Amazon - mainly because they seemed to have more options than our local pet stores. What kind of hygrometer do u have? I got a probe one from reptilebasics.com - recommended to me by other HCA members:)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Kellie]

Thank you aussiejjdude and Kermie! I actually just found the 10 gallon whisper pump on amazon for 5 bucks, now all I need is to find matching tubing (which is a bit hard on amazon due to having to go after what reviews say) and bubblers. Seems worth the investment.

The hygrometer I have is the petco basic one. I thought about ordering the reptilebasics probe one from amazon, but it got horrific reviews and is 17 bucks! That's a lot of money if the item comes faulty. (Not cheaper on reptile basics because shipping).

[Kermie16]

I would go to the reptilebasics.com website. Definitely cheaper there!! I don't know how to post the link for the thermometer/hygrometer I got but if u go to the website and go under thermometers it's the one that is priced at $11.99. I've bought several others before and had soooo many issues - this one has been a life saver and a money saver for me. Any generic aquarium air line tube will work fine and the smaller air bubblers.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Kellie]

Unfortunately to my home the shipping is about 8 bucks, making it 20 dollars on reptilebasics. ):

UPDATE: I ordered it from amazon. Will get it Wednesday, praying it works ok!


Also, is one bag of playsand and one brick of eco earth enough for a 10 gallon?

[aussieJJDude]

Yep, it should.