Crabitat position

[StarJohn]

Hello crab parents! This is a bit of a strange question (and couldn't really work out what section to put it under). I like to have my crabitat in the family room so we can all see the crabs and not miss out on any interesting things they do. It is currently in a quiet area off to the side of the family room however now that the weather is getting cooler I am needing to use heating for them for the first time. There are no PowerPoints available in the area I currently have them so I will have to move them. I have a space I could use but it is quite near to the TV. I am wondering if the noise from the TV would bother them too much? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[Wai]

I would avoid the TV, especially if you might have crabs moulting in the tank who need some quiet time.

[appps]

I'm not sure id be too worried about the noise, waves crashing on a beach can be pretty darn loud. But I would worry about the light. Being in the room with the tele I would imagine will mean it's going to be in a room with lights on till late at night a lot of the time. In nature they get about 12 hours light a day, even less in winter, in there they could end up with almost half that again which I wonder if that could upset their natural moulting cycle.
If you do move it in there I would come up with a way to put them to bed of a night.
We cover ours at nightt when we cover our bird. I just use a couple of pieces of thick black cardboard. Helps keep some of the heat in at night too.

[StarJohn]

Thanks for the help Wai and appps! I might rethink things and find a better position for them. Your help is much appreciated!

[Wai]

In the wild, hermit crabs may choose to go to a quiet area. On the other hand, you would be forcing noise exposure upon them if you were to put the tank near a TV. Having said that though, I do have airstones in both of my ponds and they create a gentle bubbly or trickling sound throughout the day, but the timer turns them off for one hour a day. I'm not sure if that helps prevent the air pump from wearing out as quickly.

[StarJohn]

Thanks Wai. I've no doubt the gentle bubbling of your ponds is far more soothing to crabs than the sounds of Sesame Street that my son consistently has playing on our TV . Based on yours and apps's advice I am looking at a new and quieter area to relocate our hermies

[emmac350]

How close is "quite close" to the TV? Mine were 3 to 5 meters away from the TV, depending on which place I was living in (first apartment was about 5 meters away, next place after my sister watched them was 3 meters away) without any noticeable issues. Both locations had successful molts, so I don't think they had any issues with their tank's proximity to the TV. Then again, we only watch maybe a movie a week, at most 45 minutes per evening above and beyond that.

[StarJohn]

Emmac350 it is about 2.5m from TV. And I must admit the TV is on quite alot. We have a rescued greyhound and when we are out we leave the TV on softly as she seems to find comfort in the sound (like she's not completely alone ) . Alternatively I have a position near the front door but I worry during winter that every time we open the door it will allow cold air in near the tank.

[emmac350]

How cold does it get in the winter for you? I think I'd be more worried about drafts from outside than TV noises personally if those are your only two options for placing the tank.

[Ginger]

Just something that I found very interesting on YouTube, "Hermit Crab Hearing Experiment" by YadokariNation showed that the crabs did not react in any way to the very sudden, loud ringtone of the phone - even when they were sitting on it. I don't know if this means whether they just don't hear, if they have very poor hearing, or if they simply do not mind.