All Wrapped Up

Post by **Carrie** » 25 Jan 2005, 17:21

My tanks, despite a heat lamp (75 watt bulbs), UTH, and heater-rocks, were still a bit chilly inside, due to our wonderful near-zero weather lately. I wrapped the tanks in blankets... I believe it was Hannah who suggested warm wool coats... and since then the humidity and heat have increased wonderfully, as has the activity level of the crabs within... Even my biggie, Morgan, who never moves, is moving...

I haven't had a jumbo molt sucessfully since about a year ago but I've had 1 small-medium and 3 small crabs molt just fine since the new earth substrate and glass tank lids and new heating products (besides just the lamps) Also added were an extra salt-water dish and another small dish w/ a sponge.

I hope a jumbo manages to molt and be just fine... last winter the furnace went out for half of December, off and on, and I lost my 4 big crabs, plus Huge III, who I'd had for over 3 years by then.

Riven Liether · Post by **Riven Liether** » 27 Jan 2005, 11:32

I'm glad things are finally under control. ^^ How much of a difference did the blankets make?

Post by **Carrie** » 27 Jan 2005, 15:51

The tanks have gone from slightly humid to condensation some of the time. I opened Big House 1 tonight, peered in close, and my glasses fogged up.

A biggie named Morgan who I've barely even *seen* in a year is even becoming active! I worried about her all the time b/c she NEVER moved. Unfortunately I just scared the heck out of her as she was going for the water dish just now, when I looked in. (I check on them first thing after work.)

Last fall, the heat was really dry and one crab left its shell and that's why I made sure to boost the humidity. It was a struggle, but now it's working great. Ever since--especially since the blankets--everyone is moving around, climbing, eating more, etc. Before the blankets, they'd cluster around the heater rock. (Many of the small ones in the other tank dig under the big rock that holds up the heater rock, but they might be pre-molt--I got most of them together and they all molted w/in the same 2 months originally, so they might be due.)

I just wish they had more room to move around in. You read of them roaming the beaches for miles, and then they spend most of the rest of their lives in 20 gallon tanks... but if I get them out, most of them just hide, and then they are exposed to the cooler temps and lower humidity of the house. It's better in the summer b/c I take them outside for a few hours each day in this big sandbox thing, and then they get their baths outside, too...

I wish I could make a big tropical ROOM for them somehow. A terrarium the size of an entire room. Wouldn't that be great?

Riven Liether · Post by **Riven Liether** » 30 Jan 2005, 10:14

Yeah, that would be awesome. Get pretty hard to find them, though. lol

You could try going for a bigger tank or just another 10 or 20G. I know that they can get pretty expensive, but it usually ends up being worth it. I have a 38G, and while it was, like, 80-something dollars (US), it has ended up serving as a happy home to a lot of hermies (except now there's too many in it and I need another tank).

Post by **Carrie** » 31 Jan 2005, 16:08

My mom said I'd go in that room and the crabs would hide for the next 3 months... probably true. I do want to get one more 20 gl tank set up for them, and divide them into 3 groups. There are seriously too many crabs. I have 30 crabs, most of the little ones (c. 11) in one tank; 2 medium-sized ones in there also, and 4 small-jumbos. The other tank has 3 tiny ones, one medium big, and 6 bigger jumbos. They were all bought in groups so they don't fight... except for one little crab who just won't fit in anywhere. Named Mean Little S--t. Officially. I thought of changing the name to something a little more polite and he attacked a freshly molted small crab and is still wearing the shell to this day. (The other crab is just fine... the tiniest ones will molt in a day and you don't even know they're pre-molt... so I came home from work to this naked little one... who left the shell I grabbed for her a day later and spent about 3 hours naked while I panicked, until she went into a different shell) So MLS it is... and MLS only molted a week before this other crab, too! MLS was removed from the other tank for climbing on top of and trying to beat up one of the new medium-jumbo crabs.

BTW thanks to us forum people... I used this forum as a reference tool in the middle of the night while trying to get little Digital back into a shell...

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » 02 Feb 2005, 08:01

Yeah the blankets do work wonders. It's getting a little bit warmer in Texas right now, so I switched from the wool coat to a fleece blanket. I leave one corner uncovered for the heat and light from the heat lamo to get to the tank, and I keep it on a UTH. I checked on the crabs yesterday and the temp. was at 80!!

Post by **Carrie** » 05 Feb 2005, 11:59

It got warmer in OH today, too, a whole 46 degrees. I have the windows open and I read a book on the couch, almost like I would in the summer, only out on the deck (and w/ all the crabs in plastic sand-filled large tubs, usually after bathing...)

I have found it's a delicate balance, once you increase that heat. I have to constantly add water to the water dishes to keep the humidity high. Dry heat is very hard on hermit crabs, and can kill them. With the humidity, I've envied their tropical paradise as the temps around here have been in the twenties and teens! Also the food is more likely to spoil and has to be changed often.