Humidity levels are very important to the survival of your pet Krabooz. Hermit crabs have special gills that allow them to breathe, but to be able to breathe, they need to have moistened air. Air that is too dry will actually dry out their gills, until they finally end up suffocating. Imagine a tropical island…its always humid and you sweat alot, this is because there is lots of warm moisture in the air. Hermit crabs LOVE this type of environment, and you need to make sure their home is kept at optimum perfection.
To help keep humidity levels where they need to be, keep the sandy substrate damp, and avoid using substrates that do not retain moisture well ( like pebbles, coarse sand, rocks). However, the substrate should not be soaking wet, as humidity that is too high can cause health issues as well. If you are worried the air is too dry, you can also mist the entire enclosure daily to provide plenty of moisture in the air. Keep the ventilation wheels closed on your Cribz and Liferingz, unless humidity levels are extremely high and you need to release some of the moisture in the air. Make sure to close these vents once some of the excess moisture has left. Salty water is a good way to hold moisture within the sand as it doesn’t evaporate as quickly as plain water would. It also mimics their natural environment where the sand is super salty from the ocean.
Always have a Krabooz hygrometer in the home to monitor humidity and temperature levels. Humidity should be between 60% – 80% ( higher is also fine) . A heat mat will also help keep the warmth and humidity levels up. Use two heat mats if you are struggling to reach temperatures above 22 degrees and correct humidity levels. Place the heat mats on the back of the home rather than underneath as you don’t want to heat the substrate causing it to dry out.
