Crabitat Heating and Humidity

[kbroadway2]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and pretty new to crab keeping. I have three hermit crabs that I bought in March (Doug, Jeff, and Rick). They've all three successfully moulted and have found new shells to live in. All Spring/Summer my heat and humidity were spot on. I have them in a 15 gallon bowl about 2 feet in diameter. I've got salt water and fresh water and I mist them daily with salt water. They eat a variety of things but love apples, cantaloupe, carrots, and spinach and sometimes freeze dried crickets dusted in calcium. I haven't had any problems until recently when I got an eastern box turtle and had to start playing around with his enclosure. I put a ceramic heat emitter over the crabs because it wasn't warm enough for the turtle but it's drying out my sand/coconut coir substrate very quickly and bringing the humidity down. I had to take all three out today to re-wet the sand because the humidity was in the 30's. Their habitat looks really cool but I'm worried they will get too cold in the next few weeks. It's not truly cold here in the south yet so we don't have the heat running all the time. So the ambient temperature in the room the crabs are in is staying around 68-70. Would they be better off in a rectangle aquarium? What about a big rubbermaid tub for the winter (that's what my hatchling turtle is in)? Would a UTH be better to use with the crabs?

[hermitcrab24]

Hello,

Is the bowl glass or plastic? I think glass holds humidity better. I have a rectangular aquarium, and my heat and humidity stay nice. If you absolutely can't keep the humidity up, I would recommend misting more than once a day.

I am not really sure what the box turtles have to do with the hermit crabs, could you explain that to me so I can try to help more?

Bonnie

[kbroadway2]

The turtle has just made me super aware of the heat and humidity in my house. He requires the same temps and humidity as the crabs and I'm having trouble maintaining it.

[YYWW]

What type of guage are you getting your readings from? And has it been calibrated?
What type of sub do you use? Sand alone is known for losing a lot of moisture. Perhaps wet sand carries moisture heavily in the bottom, whereas if mixed with EE can stay more even.
You can add a moss pit or bubbling pool for added humidity.
I am definitely on team Ultratherm for crabs. It just makes balancing heat and humidity easier for crabs, and given their sensitivity to both it was not worth risking their health battling with these issues.
Misting regularly or restricting air flow is how most crabbers maintain humidity. Dont be suprised if you need to mist several times a day. Please describe your crabitat for more help!


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[CallaLily]

What kind of lid do you have? A glass one will help hold in more heat and humidity or a well covered screen one can work ok too. Deep substrate helps keep humidity up especially with some cocofiber mixed into the play sand. Moss pits, larger pools, bubblers in one or both pools, and misting with freshwater* can help too. Just be careful not to get carried away with the misting and cause flooding. If these things don't help, you may want to look into purchasing or making a humidifier/fogger.
Ultratherm UTH are highly recommended here but you can also use heat lamps. Both may take some time to find a balance in heat and humidity. It's impossible to say exactly what will work for you because it depends on your home, location, and crabitat. Many crabbers do use storage bins as crabitats (heated with UTH). They can make a good temporary setup, imo.

*misting often with saltwater can lead to an excessive amount of salt build up. If it gets too high it can cause burns to both you and your crabs. Moistening initially with saltwater is safe but after that, mist with freshwater only.

[kbroadway2]

The bowl is glass. This summer I made a screen lid with a crochet hoop and window screen. I also keep it covered with a warm, damp towel. For the UTH, is it buried inside the crabitat or stuck to the outside of the glass? Since it's a bowl I have had trouble finding any sort of glass or plexiglass lid because I have no way to cut a circle out of a rectangular sheet I could buy at Lowe's. The substrate is about 8 inches deep in the middle of the bowl and about six inches on the sides. I use a mix of sand and coconut fiber. It holds humidity very well my problem is heat. The ceramic heat emitter dried out my substrate really quickly. What wattage of UTH do I need for the enclosure? The bowl holds about 15 gallons of water and is about 18 inches in diameter. They've got a second level made of fish netting, two water bowls, one with salt water (their favorite) and one with fresh water. I mist with freshwater twice a day. As long as I don't have a heat lamp on them, the humidity stays around 85. I'm using a digital thermometer and hygrometer combo. I may have to move them into a rubbermaid tub for the winter.

One more question--off topic though. Where is a good place to buy shells online?

[CrabbySquirrel]

I love the ones that I got at the Hermit Crab Patch (hermitcrabpatch.com)!

[CallaLily]

UTH should be attached on the outside back or side of the crabitat. It is recommended to get the largest UTH you can fit, mostly above the substrate line, in that location.

Have you seen our shopping resources page? http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pa ... pping.html