Crabitat Solution to Prevent Tunnel Collapse in Substrate

and add square footage for molting!

Crabitats that have large hermit crab pets need 5-8″ of substrate. But what happens when you have a heavy water bowl sitting on the surface level, and hermit crabs tunneling underneath? They WILL dig underneath!

The problem:

There’s a danger of the tunnels collapsing when the substrate shifts from moist to dry, when removing the bowl for cleaning, etc. Small hermit crabs may not have the strength to be able to dig themselves out, and can suffocate.

Guess what? The solution is easy, and ALSO ADDS ADDITIONAL SQUARE FOOTAGE for molting!

How to Prevent Tunnel Collapse

Solution:

Use a clear acrylic display riser under your heavy water bowl(s). Place it on the bottom of your crabitat. Fill substrate underneath and all around. Place the water bowl on top of the acrylic riser. Your hermit crabs will tunnel under the bowl but the weight of the water bowl will be on the riser, not on the substrate underneath! This means all the substrate underneath is safe from collapsing. And by keeping your water bowl on the surface level of the substrate (versus buried below the surface)… you’ll get an extra couple of inches of substrate (square footage!).

Your hermit crabs will be happy burrowed underneath, but the tunnels in the substrate won’t be in danger of collapsing.

This solution gives greater stability to anything you want to place on the surface level of your substrate. It also makes it easier to take the water bowl or other elements) in and out for frequent cleanings and water changes, redecorating etc.

What we did:

We searched the cabinets in our house for something we could use to place the heavy water bowl on top. It needed to be open underneath so we didn’t lose any square footage (substrate space for molting!). We knew what we needed needed to be strong and waterproof.

Our substrate is 8″ deep under the largest water bowl. We wanted to secure the water bowl at that 8″ height but secure the substrate underneath so there is no way the tunnels would collapse under the weight or due to any extra moisture or water.

We found a couple of acrylic display risers we use in our kitchen cabinet for spices, but they were too small and not the right shape. We have a larger 5″ one we use in a glass display cabinet in our dining room, but it was too small.

Then we found an old acrylic cupcake display stand in a kitchen cabinet (I don’t think we ever used it!) which had a top height of 8″. Perfect! So we took out two of the levels (it’s supposed to display 4 levels of cupcakes in a tree shape). Since our hermit crabs are WAY more important than cupcake displays… we repurposed it for our crabitat!

Jusalpha 6-PC Clear Acrylic Display Riser Jewelry...

Types of Acrylic Risers

There are two types of acrylic risers that are fairly inexpensive and work well for this crabitat solution. There is an upside-down “U” shape. Place on the bottom of the crabitat, fill in substrate in the middle. Then place the water bowl or other heavy element on top. Secure!

The second type is an acrylic cupcake display stand, which is a top and bottom connected by a middle rod, usually with 3-4 levels. This is what we used, because we had one in our kitchen already. BUT we changed the configuration to make it work. It is a cupcake display and comes with 4 levels in a tree shape, smallest on top to largest on bottom. So we took out the two middle levels, and put largest level on top and second largest level on the bottom, the middle rod in the middle. Result? It’s stable. It’s the height we needed. And it was free because we had it sitting in a cabinet and we weren’t using it.

However… our next crabitat build will use a U shaped acrylic display riser.

To the hermit crabs… it doesn’t matter. They are happy to have the space for burrowing and tunnels!

Steps:

Remove substrate from the area where the riser will go (be careful NOT to dig if any hermit crabs might be molting, just wait until they come back out!)
Place the riser on the bottom of the habitat making sure it’s super secure and NOT wobbly

Dig out the substrate from the area to place the riser. Be careful NOT to dig up any molting hermit crabs! If you have any that may be in that area and molting, WAIT for another time when they are all above ground and active.

Once the space is cleared, place the riser on the bottom so it’s secure and not wobbly. Fill the substrate back in.

We have a section of sheet moss we use to surround the water bowl. This sheet moss sits on top of the substrate in that area, and makes it easy for small and large hermit crabs to get in and out of the water bowl. We also like the natural green look of the sheet moss (and we think our hermit crabs like it too!). The sheet moss is also an important element in our crabitat because it helps keep moisture in the substrate and humidity in the air.

Height of Acrylic Riser to use

Acrylic display risers and cake displays come in a variety of sizes. You’ll want to find one that’s the same height as how deep your substrate is.

Because we have some larger older hermit crabs, our substrate is 8″ deep. The acrylic rise we used is 8″ tall. It sits on the bottom of the crabitat, there’s substrate (coco fiber mixed with playsound) filled in all around it, and the water bowl sits on top. It’s secure and there’s no chance that any underneath tunnels with our smaller hermit crabs will collapse.

Other sizes include 4″, 5″, 6″ on up to 8″ tall that can all be found under $30. There are some acrylic riser packages on Amazon that have multiple sizes for $20 or less – which is a great idea if you want to secure more than one water bowl or similar heavy element.

These risers are also good for placing large climbing branches on, while allowing for substrate burrowing space underneath.

Looking for more crabitat ideas? Check out our Ikea Detolf Crabitat Hack!

Last update on 2024-04-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API