Hermit crabs

Newt

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 18, 2005
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Michigan's UP
My son is three and I bought him two hermit crabs for his first pets. They are the size of a nickle.

My problem is with keeping the tank humid, I can't get it above 60%. I put the heat lamp over the fresh water dish with sponge, hoping that evaporation would help. My son mists the crabs a few times a day (he loves that part!) and for an hour or so the humidity hit 70-80% but it never stays there.

Specs:

5 1/2 gallon glass tank with screen top and heat lamp, a sticky heat pad on the tank, substrate is a mix of damp sand and coco fiber, salt water dish, fresh water (with a sponge in the dish), a little hut, and some climbing wood. My son feeds six crab pellets a day and dried fruit on the weekends.

The crabs stay in their hut most of the time. Is this normal?

What can I do to raise the humidity so it stays at 70%-80% (which I've read the crabs need or they can't molt)?
 

TheBloodyIrish

Feeder Fish
Mar 3, 2007
1,347
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Grande Prairie, Canada
The screen top is probably the source of the loss of humidity....
 

ShadowVengance

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 13, 2005
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your house
it should retain some humidity if you occasionally put some cling wrap over the screen, but don't leave it on there, they need some airflow.

It is normal for them to hide out a lot of the time, are they active after misting?

they should be active when they are hit with water for a while.

don't worry to much about humidity, it sounds like everything you are doing is perfectly fine.


Also, i thought i'd let you know, that if you buy a small amount of marine salt, and dissolve a pinch in a dish and once every month give them a nice little salty water bath, make sure you dont drown them though, just dip them in a few times. It makes them a lot healthier, they do live by the ocean.


hope that helps some.
 

Vicious_Fish

Here fishy fishy fishy...
MFK Member
Mar 9, 2007
9,386
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South Central...
Good advice everyone. Don't wory about them not being real active because they are nocturnal by nature. Your set up sounds fine. Hermit crabs were my first pet too, but I didn't get a pair till I was 6. I never had a heater and I probably didn't mist them everyday but they survived for a couple of years and they molted a few times too.
 

TheBloodyIrish

Feeder Fish
Mar 3, 2007
1,347
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0
Grande Prairie, Canada
Actually, there is a way to ventilation with minimal loss of humdity is to get get an enclosure with holes in its side rather than on top. Although I don't know how much airflow Hermit Crabs need.
 

walls

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 2, 2005
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Ive had my hermits for over 3 years, great pets!! I think that you humidity problem is because of the "heat" lamp, these lights will suck the moisture right out of the air.

My crabs are in a 10 gallon tank with screen top and the smallest under tank heat pad sold (crabs do NOT like it very warm), i have about 2-3 inches of PLAYSAND that i keep moist enough that it is of sandcastle consistancy. I feed every day crab food but also fruit, cereal (they LOVE Fruit Loops) and any other small tidbits that are around. Also I have one of those compact flourescent full spectrum bulbs from Wal-Marts pet section for light.
The small heat pad offers a small warm spot if needed, although I have yet to see them use it. But what they do do is bury themselves in the sand sometimes for a week at a time. This is USUALLY when they are moulting so I NEVER bother them. They just pop back up when they are done. I just make sure that the sand stays at the "moist" consistancy and that keeps the humidty up high enough for them.
A couple other points....

NEVER, EVER use tap water for your crabs. The small amount of chlorine in tap water is enough to kill them within minutes. I use distilled water for mine and have yet to have a problem.

Bath your crabs at least once a week (if they are not buried) in TEPID water. This is the only way that your crabs are going to be able to get out the small particles of sand that are trapped in thier shells!

I NEVER do the salt water bath/bowl. My crabs are doing great, they are growing like weeds, they chirp all the time, and they eat like crazy. I just dont do it.

I do keep a small piece of cuttle bone in the tank at all times. They love to chew it to pieces and its a great source of calcium. It may take weeks for them to chomp down a 1" piece or they may destroy it in a day, seems they know when they need it!

Enjoy your crabs!!
 

walls

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 2, 2005
679
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BTW, mine started at about the size of a nickle but one is almost as big as a golf ball now and the other two are a tad smaller!
 
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