Hi there, my three hermies are now over three years old and fit into a shell just short of 2 inches. I have purchased a 20 gallon long glass tank to replace my 10 gallon for the big boys. My question I feel is important since the tank will have at least 5-6 inches of combination play sand and coconut substrate and will be too heavy to lift to add a heater.
I purchased two UTH 8 watt heaters which are suitable for a 10-20 gallon tank. I am wondering if one is enough to attach to the bottom on one side of the tank or should I add the second one as well and put it on or off as needed. Naturally I can return the second heater to the store and as you know the Zoo Med U.T.H. are not cheap.
I have invested already two hundred dollars on my second set up and my hermies will love the extra space. I just want to make sure it is not too little heat for the 5-6 inches of substrate on the one side. Any help on this is greatly appreciated.
by the way, I set my grandson up with a tank and four crabs after nursing them from the horrible pet store they were sold in. They are doing great! My grandson has me helping him in his Hermit Crab Parenthood. lols
You can keep the second heater as a spare, or run the two together. If the first one dies for some reason in winter, at least you can get some heat running again right away.
Great idea! today going to start the set up. I really want to make this one pretty permanent for the three guys, they need some space to move about. They come out sometimes for my sunroom and love it. But I can't have that in the winter. They are getting pretty big now. Almost scary.
Ok, this is annoying...I buy a hygrometer and "naturally" it does not work correctly. Why do they sell this crap. The big one too! The meter never moved. I tried the salt and container trick and it still did not move. In the meantime, I put the old one from the 10 gallon tank in there and it shoots right up.
Ok I can solve that but another problem is the humidity level. I bought the long 30 gallon tank and then read that the long is not as good as the tall. But the tall gives my hermies no place to stretch out and roam and I knew that when choosing a new tank.
I put two large medium size 8 watt UTH on one side and has four inches of substrate mix sand and coconut. Warm enough "there" But on the OTHER side where I put six inches of substrate it is kind of cool and they DO like it there BUT...the tank has difficulty maintaining the humidity level needed. I put towels on top of the glass and it gets moisture on and it reminds me of when I was first starting out as a newbie. Trial and Error.
My hermies are with me over 3 years now and wonder if I should get "another" UTH for the side of the tank because the humidity just is not right.
Please advise. I do not want to complain but the new set up has cost me over two hundred dollars. I put in a stone water dish and wonder if I should have stuck with the clay ones. Advice please. Currrently waiting for moss to arrive to keep humidity up. These crabs are getting more cash out of me then the government.
