I told a good friend about this site & she said OK to ask her ques here (I'm hoping you guys have ideas.... )

Her mom brought her 2 largish hermit crabs. She went out & got them a 10 gal tank to live in with a heating pad. She was told not to use a light as it would be too strong.

The trouble is that she has the pad on the side of the tank (she says the tank is on a wooden dresser & she's afraid to have it on the bottom)

THe crabs aren't very active (she's kept smaller ones in the past), BUT they're in a room that is very chilly.

Could the cold be causing this & if so what can she do to more effectively heat the tank for them???

Thanks in advance!!!!!

Jenn

Jsrtist is an expert on hermit crabs. I will let her know about this thread and hopefully she can give you some advice!

Hi Jenn!{{{hugs}}} Do you happen to know what species they are? Certain species are more active than other's. I have a floor lamp that sits above the thirty gal. tank that my crabs are in,and I keep it lit alot.I also have smoked glass over the tank screen,so maybe that's why the light doesn't really bother them.They climb up the driftwood,and sit right where the light is-almost like they're sunbathing. What kind of lid does she have on the tank? That's plays a factor in it too.Hermies like pretty high humidity.New crabs also go through a "settle in stage"-where they're not very active at all.Exactly how cold is the room that they're in?Is the heating pad a reg. one,or a reptile one? I keep mine on an end table,& I folded a thick towel under neath the tank when I used a heating pad.I've never had any problem doing that.

Oooh - so many questions! I'll ask her & then post back here! (She was getting pretty frazzeled about it but she likes them & her sons like them so she really wants to make a go of it!)

I know that room is pretty chilly - it's the same room as Emily's (over the garage) & I had to get a heater for that betta tank (temp swings can be over 10 degrees over the course of a day. My friend once bought her sons those reflective blankets in the hopes they would help at night so I know it gets chilly. (BTW - they didn't work) Hers is prob colder too because at least we have a converted garage but she still has the garage).

I'll post as soon as I can!

Thanks!!! Jenn

Devs posted everything I would have said! A couple more things, if she is using a reptile undertank heater, it is very important that it is raised off of the surface of the dresser. They usually come with little pads to raise the tank slightly off the surface its on to allow proper airflow. Otherwise it can start a fire. I just have my tank propped up on two pieces of thin plywood.

Something else important that a lot of pet store folks dont tell you is that the depth of sand in the tank is critical (along with the humidity). Keep at least 3" of sand in there. It shouldnt be gravel; it needs to be soft enough for them to dig and tunnel in. Mine have little prairie dog towns all through their tank! The sand should also be moist but not wet. My crabs wet the entire tank down themselves until it was to their liking.

Here are a couple of excellent sites! http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/index.php
http://www.hermitcrabaddiction.com/