Working on the crabitat - right direction?

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soilentgringa
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Re: Working on the crabitat - right direction?

Post by soilentgringa » Sat May 23, 2015 8:44 am

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moonbeam
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Re: Working on the crabitat - right direction?

Post by moonbeam » Sat May 23, 2015 9:12 am

I'm sorry if my question about the divider came off as an attack! I probably should have had my coffee first lol... I much nicer after coffee. Plus my question was pure curiosity as I agree with CallaLily and try to offer as much molting space as possible.
Your tank looks great and I'm super jealous of all the craftiness you've got going on! You've definitely given me some ideas for the future :)
About the water bowls, if you are using tupperware bowls on top of the sub you can also stack two bowls like this: Image
I've been using this set up for almost a year and I like it because when the top bowl is full of water you don't have to work hard at getting the two separated for water changes, which also means by leaving the second one in place, no crabs will be disturbed.


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Crabinski
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Re: Working on the crabitat - right direction?

Post by Crabinski » Sun May 24, 2015 7:14 pm

moonbeam wrote:About the water bowls, if you are using tupperware bowls on top of the sub you can also stack two bowls like this: Image
I've been using this set up for almost a year and I like it because when the top bowl is full of water you don't have to work hard at getting the two separated for water changes, which also means by leaving the second one in place, no crabs will be disturbed.
I do the same thing, moonbeam! And to ensure that the top dish comes out easily, the bottom dish (80% embedded in the substrate) is lined with pebbles to reduce the suction between the two.

Reptilian Feline, the tank looks very, very good :D . Don't worry about not having everything in place as far as decor goes: if you're like the rest of us, you'll find yourself constantly tweaking the set-up, finding new "the crabs'll love it" stuff and having to come up with ways to make it all fit. I've gotten to the point of having soooo much crabbie stuff, I have to mix and match new and old items every few weeks. The crabs don't seem to mind and actually appear to enjoy exploring something new or an old favorite that's being rotated back in to the crabitat.
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Reptilian Feline
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Re: Working on the crabitat - right direction?

Post by Reptilian Feline » Mon May 25, 2015 7:54 am

Thank you Soilentgringa and CallaLily!

It's a nice idea with the dubble water bowls, it sure looks a lot easier! That way I think I can skip the devider... just need to get more sand... and I never thought sand was really soooo heavy! Play sand... is that more or less the same that is used for making mortar? The sand you mix with water and cement? Kind of a bit "cream" coloured?

I found some thin nilon/polyester rope in a crafts store. It's for making bracelets apparently, and come in many colours, so I picked up some nice green :)

I think one of the things I enjoy with the crabs, is the design and making of the crabitat, and I totally agree, that they are never really "done" :)
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Reptilian Feline
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Re: Working on the crabitat - right direction?

Post by Reptilian Feline » Mon May 25, 2015 8:02 am

moonbeam wrote:I'm sorry if my question about the divider came off as an attack! I probably should have had my coffee first lol... I much nicer after coffee. Plus my question was pure curiosity as I agree with CallaLily and try to offer as much molting space as possible.
That's OK :) We all have our ways of doing and speaking, and when someone new comes along it takes a while to sort out who's who.


Pebbles between the bowls sounds perfect. I was wondering about what to do about the suction effect.
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klowns
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Re: Working on the crabitat - right direction?

Post by klowns » Mon May 25, 2015 12:22 pm

I do the same for mine, but I use marbles, seems to work pretty well. since the marbles are all the same size it allows for the bowl to still be perfectly level. i still put some pressure on the bottom bowl when pulling out the top bowl, cause sometimes water drips over the edges and will try to create its own suction. but as long as i put a tiny bit of pressure on the bottom while pulling up the top, it comes out pretty easy. considering how snug and tight it is,

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StarWarsHermitCrab
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Re: Working on the crabitat - right direction?

Post by StarWarsHermitCrab » Mon May 25, 2015 11:21 pm

Yeah, sand is pretty heavy. If you're lucky enough you could
get someone else to carry it for you. :lol:

But I carry the sand myself.
“Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try"-Yoda

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Reptilian Feline
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Re: Working on the crabitat - right direction?

Post by Reptilian Feline » Mon Jun 01, 2015 9:03 am

Thanks for the tip on using marbels, great idea!

And I found some play sand :) I'll go and get in the weekend. One bag is 15kg and I get 4 bags for 100 SEK, so that's pretty cheap for clean sand :D
I read that I should use 5 parts sand to 1 part coconut mulch, right? That means I will have to mix what I've got with sand, rather than make a new batch and put that on top. I don't think any of my hermies has buried itself but I'll be super careful anyway.

The fake vine is coming along nicely, something to do in front of the telly.

One setback though. Because I didn't boil the hemp nets in salt water they all developed mold, YUCK!, and I had to remove them. Now I hope I can salvage them by washing them and then boiling them. Can that be done, or should I make new nets?
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