New Cage Setup/Design!

[Salt and Pepper]

We went to PETsMart today and bought 2 new Hermit Crabs, and while there we bought new supplies! We've bought a shallow plastic dish that can also be climbed on, Yellow Hermit Crab Sand, a Coconut Hut, Cholla Log, Natrual Sea Sponge, and Hermit Crab Humidity Gauge/Thermometer.
We put the sand in the middle and put the EE (Eco Earth-Coconut Fiber) on the remaining sides. We put the dish with water with the sponge in it in the middle of the sand, along with the food. The Dechlorinated Freshwater on one side of the EE, and the Dechlorinated Saltwater on the other side. The Coconut Hut also on one side of the EE, and Cholla Log Hideout on the other. Though it seems cramped, we left alot of room for burrowing. My Hermies Luna and Wasabi bury themselves in the EE. My other crab, Jacob, enjoys hiding under the Coconut Hut. My OTHER crab, Kawaii, comforts himself in the sand. They seem to enjoy their new setup and each find a special place they enjoy

-Luna, Kawaii, Jacob, and Wasabi

[emmac350]

Salt and Pepper,

I have a few questions about your setup. I see that in several old posts, we warned you against using the "Hermit Crab Sand" as a substrate due to its ill effects on molters. Are you planning on replacing that here in the near future?

Good job on getting some hiding places for the crabs - they definitely love to hide in coconut huts (one of the most popular places for my crabs).

If you are using a sponge in a water bowl you should know that it will need to be sterilized (either by completely drying it out and microwaving it; this tends to smell bad and if it's slightly damp the sponge will shrink) or by boiling it. Otherwise, it will soon become a breeding ground for all kinds of bacteria.

Is the cholla log dyed or is it natural?

Have you calibrated your humidity gauge to ensure it's right? Gauges from the store can be up to 20% off! Here are instructions for how to calibrate your gauge which I have taken from a post CrabbyJo made on the CrabStreetJournal site:

Get two ziploc bags or an airtight container of any kind.
Get a small dish, even a small jar lid, and place 1 to 2 tablespoons of salt in it (table salt).
Add just enough water to moisten the salt well (not soupy or dissolving).
Place this container of wet salt into the plastic bag or airtight container, and place the hygrometer in with it, but do not let the hygrometer touch the salt.
With a ziplock, place it inside the other ziplock so you have a double seal to be sure it's airtight.
Close the container/ziploc and leave for a minimum of 6 hours.
I stress the minimum 6 hours as I do not trust readings taken after only 2 hours as some websites suggest. (It's up to you after trial and error if you leave it for less time. I prefer to be sure).

I like the ziplock bags as I can see right through to the reading without opening the bag.

The original post is http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... 74&forum=5

It really sounds like your tank is moving in the right direction. I hope you don't get discouraged by the stuff you have to do to start up a crab tank; I promise it gets easier!

[Salt and Pepper]

The sand is a very small amount, about a sprinkle or so, but most of it is Coconut Fiber. I'm going to Sterilize the sponge, I did not know about that. I'll "test" or Calibrate the Hygrometer, but it seems to be working, just to check.

[CrabbyJo]

Salt and Pepper,
the reason you calibrate the hygrometer is that they often do not read correctly when you purchase them, so you have to test them. Then you can take a screwdriver to the little screw on the back and turn it to where it needs to be if it is reading wrong. They often do read wrong. This is just because of shipping and vibrations when it's on it's way to the store to be sold, it can mess up the calibration, so we have to re-calibrate them when we buy them.

As for the sand, you say it's just a sprinkle - do you mean like, a little spill on top of the EE, or maybe a half cup? Half an inch deep?
It really is a bad substrate to have in your tank, sorry to say. One thing you can do with it, since it's a calcium source, is instead of putting it down for substrate, just sprinkle a little into their dish for them to munch on on a regular basis. They'll like that.

[Wai]

I'm pretty sure that we warned you not to use Hermit Crab Sand. Any product with "Hermit Crab" in the title is crap lol (unless you bought it online on HCA or the Crabbage Patch etc.)

I hope the cholla log you bought wasn't by ZooMed, because they produce the small dyed logs.

[Salt and Pepper]

I'll calibrate it then. But right now, it says my tempature is perfect! The sand is a little bit in the center-maybe half an inch. All that's in the sand is a food dish and sponge. And the rest of it is EE, which is 3 Inches Deep.

[ladybug15057]

I'm sorry, but I am a little lost as to why this post wasn't posted within the post started:

What should I put in my crab's cage?
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=2767

And Wai, yes it was stated about the substrate, in a couple posts to be exact: (quite a bit of repetitive posts with basically the same info within them, and members needing to repeat replies)

Coconut Fiber and White Hermit Crab
viewtopic.php?f=93&t=2798&p=22947#p22947

Salt and Pepper
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2789