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this group still active? o w o
I have a few questions about heating/lighting.
I have a 10 gallon glass tank with deep coconut fiber/sand substrate. Lately my habitat has had a low temperature, consistently in the low 70s. I have a UTH but it doesn't seem to do anything, even with a towel wrapped around the tank for insulation. I'm considering getting a heat lamp of some sort, and it looks like a blue night light might be the way to go since it can run 24 hours and not disturb their sleep patterns, but I can't seem to find any good information about what wattage I should get!
And since I'm talking about adding lighting, apparently there are UVB bulbs to simulate sunlight and provide certain vitamins. I've read these can be good for hermit crabs as well as the reptiles they're made for, and since I've moved my tank to a warmer (i.e. interior) room and plan to keep it there, I was wondering if this was another thing I need to figure out?
Sorry for the text dump, but this lighting stuff is just really confusing to me, and I'm finding a lot of unhelpful information.
Is there anyone here who knows about these things and can help me out?
I have a 10 gallon glass tank with deep coconut fiber/sand substrate. Lately my habitat has had a low temperature, consistently in the low 70s. I have a UTH but it doesn't seem to do anything, even with a towel wrapped around the tank for insulation. I'm considering getting a heat lamp of some sort, and it looks like a blue night light might be the way to go since it can run 24 hours and not disturb their sleep patterns, but I can't seem to find any good information about what wattage I should get!
And since I'm talking about adding lighting, apparently there are UVB bulbs to simulate sunlight and provide certain vitamins. I've read these can be good for hermit crabs as well as the reptiles they're made for, and since I've moved my tank to a warmer (i.e. interior) room and plan to keep it there, I was wondering if this was another thing I need to figure out?
Sorry for the text dump, but this lighting stuff is just really confusing to me, and I'm finding a lot of unhelpful information.
Is there anyone here who knows about these things and can help me out? 
hey there sorry for the delayed reply! i hope things are well with your crabs. i agree about the blue light bulb, there are also red bulbs available, as well as normal bulbs. which you prefer is mostly personal choice. sometimes you just have to guess to figure out what wattage you need. it will depend how warm it is in your house, time of year, how large your tank is, etc etc. undertank heaters do not seem to do a lot. i dont think uvb is considered necessary for crabs but i dont think it will hurt them either. those bulbs are a lot more expensive though and usually dont add much to the heat.
if you are still figiuring this out you should not need much heat for a ten gallon tank so i would start with a 50 -75 watt or so and see what it does. if it does not provide enough heat you can move to a higher wattage.. they should allow you to return the bulb to the store if its only been tested and not used. you want the heat to be somewhere around 80 degrees so whatever wattage accomplishes that is what you need.
using a heat bulb may throw off your humidity though (bulbs are drying) so be prepared to possibly have to adjust your humidity. humidity should also be around 80%. so sorry this is late, i hope you have figured something out by now! please always check the hermitcrabassociation website if you want more detailed info, they have a ton of info there :}}} you can always ask questions here we will try to answer as quick as we can. :}} let us know how it goes.
if you are still figiuring this out you should not need much heat for a ten gallon tank so i would start with a 50 -75 watt or so and see what it does. if it does not provide enough heat you can move to a higher wattage.. they should allow you to return the bulb to the store if its only been tested and not used. you want the heat to be somewhere around 80 degrees so whatever wattage accomplishes that is what you need.
using a heat bulb may throw off your humidity though (bulbs are drying) so be prepared to possibly have to adjust your humidity. humidity should also be around 80%. so sorry this is late, i hope you have figured something out by now! please always check the hermitcrabassociation website if you want more detailed info, they have a ton of info there :}}} you can always ask questions here we will try to answer as quick as we can. :}} let us know how it goes.
That's ok. They seem to be doing fine right now, though I haven't bought a lamp yet. Hopefully I can get out this weekend and get one, I don't like having to put it off as long as I have! 
That's good to know about the UVB. Glad I can avoid at least one big expense! And thanks, it's good to have a starting point for this too.
That's good to know about the UVB. Glad I can avoid at least one big expense! And thanks, it's good to have a starting point for this too.
well as long as the temps dont stay too cold too long they should be ok. let us know what you decide and how they are doing! 
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I am selling food from AlaskaHermit and Hermit Crab Addiction that my crabs didn't like on my Ebay:
Already posted on the Association. Not sure if it's welcome here, but I don't have any hermit crab enthusiast/owners that watch me.
of course no problem!