New to crabbing, do I have the right stuff so far??

[z06vette387]

Hi again,

Okay, so today I went out and bought a 10 gallon glass tank and a screen lid. Now with the screen lid I should cover it about 75-85% with plastic wrap to keep in the heat and humidity but also to allow ventilation... right? I also bought two water dishes, one for freshwater and one for salt water...is this right for purple pinchers? For a substrate I got this "Reptile Bedding" (glorified woodchips I guess you say). They also had a smaller bag that was specially made for Hermit Crabs, but both bags had the same specifications and did the same thing...basically identical...is this okay, or should I use sand, or mix them with sand on one side and the "glorified woodships" on the other? Finally I bought a UTH thats good for a 10-30 gallon tank, and thermometer and a hydgrometer. That's it so far. How are things looking. Please, be critical, any help and tips will be greatly appreciated.

P.S. what type of food is good for them, should I mix things up, or are the store bought pellits ok.

Matt

[Cheyenne]

Ok, you sounds pretty good so far. Sorry to do this to you, but the wood chips won't work. Try Eco Earth, Jungle Bed(I use, very good too) FOrest Bedding, or play sand. Make sure any of those are damp enough for them to dig. You can also mix a few together. For foods, you can make tyour own. As crazy as it sounds, hermit crab food can acually be very bad for them! So there are many other foods that work much better! Check out this site, it has a huge list!

http://www.epicureanhermit.com/index.ph ... 4&Itemid=9

Hope this helps!

[Jaci]

cheyenne is right. go with some type of substrate where they can bury themselves easily and molt. i have a 1/4 calcisand, 3/4 play sand. she's also right about the food. sometimes they have chemicals in there. i feed them a mixture of store bought and human food. mine love dried blood worms and fruits/veggies. i can't get anyone really interested in any meat. i've tried chicken, shrimp, they wont' go near it. but all you can do is try different things and see what they like.

[z06vette387]

Ok, so when I tried exlaining the substrate, I probably should have had the bag in front of me...duh..lol. It's called T-Rex Jungle Bed. It's a "blend of forest bed, coconut bark, calci-sand, Vermiculite. It is non-toxic, and resistent to mold and decay, and it says it also slow releases humidity after you wet it" (this is what the bag said). It's a 10 qt (11 liter) bag. Is this good for a 10 gallon tank? Now just to make sure, I could do 1/3 sand, and 2/3 jungle bed if I wanted too, right?

I was little leary on the "hermit crab food" sold at the pet store, glad I asked.

About the screen lid that I bought, it does not attatch to the tank, it just sits on top. Should I attatch it somehow or get a lid that clamps to the tank?

Thanks

[Cheyenne]

OOOOO lol. Yeah, that's good. I use it, it's very good! I also have sand. I use half and half acually. That way the crabs have a choice. Although, I do think they seem to like the Jungle bed better.

[herm-ez]

Your tank sounds really good right now but you should get some stuff for them to hide under,climb on and also tons of spare shells.hope i helped


curtis

[z06vette387]

yah the hiding places are the only things I didn't get yet. Thanks though.

Anyother tips will be apperciated!!!

[iluvhermies]

Until you can get some hiding places you can take a butter bowl or anthing like that and cut a hole in it so they can get in to hide. Terra cotta planting pots can be used to on there sides.

[hermiesrokmysox]

cool! yeah, you can get cocohuts at grocery stores, they are way cheaper than buying a a pet store!

[Jaci]

can you really? i didn't know that. btw, hermies, you should become part of the crab crew! join us! we have cookies...