As new hermit crab owners, we’ve been preoccupied with making sure our little friends are happy and comfortable.
Maintaining the preferred level of humidity in their sandy crabitat is one piece that has proved difficult for us.
We tried various ideas from misting the tank regularly, to making sure the sand was well moistened. Nothing seemed the right solution for keeping the humidity steady. And to the extent any of our methods helped, they all required a very hands-on, all day approach. What if we went away on a day trip? Surely, there just had to be an easier way.
So we started shopping for alternatives. When we saw the prices for crab tank humidifiers, we balked. After all we have already invested in our crustacean friends, there had to be a more affordable option.
We returned to our YouTube sources and saw various ideas for ways you could make your own humidifier for much less than any store brought option. So we took on this DIY task.
Building our own humidifier turned out to be quick, easy and only a few dollars investment.
Supplies:
Fish tank air pump
Length of air pump tubing
Air Stone
Plastic Bicycle Water Bottle
Glue Gun
Wire Cutters
Technique:
We first used a screwdriver to punch two small holes in the top side of the water bottle. We placed these holes just under the rim of the lid. This way, refilling the bottle wouldn’t require disassembling the whole system.
Next we cut a length of tube to go from the pump to the bottom of the bottle. We attached the air stone to this tube.
Another tube went from the top of the bottle, up into the tank. We used wire cutters to cut through the wire mesh removable top of the crabitat, just enough to let the tub fit through.
We used a glue gun to seal the the tubes at the edge of the bike bottle.
Then, all we had to do was wait for the glue to dry, and put some water in the bottle.
How It Works:
The air stone creates bubbles, which rise to the top of the water, creating super-humid air at the top of the bottle. The second hose then leads this humid air to the tank. Presto! A nice, humidity boost to the air of the crabitat.
We were so pleased that we could make this on our own, with only a purchase of a few materials! Our Bluey helped with the whole project (a great home lesson!) and was suitably proud of how well it all worked out.