cuttle bone

Question
QUESTION: Hi Kristy,
I was reading a question you answered, you said that crabs can't scrape food off blocks. I have cuttle bone in my crabs tank whole because I read it was ok to put it in there like that, is the cuttle bone soft enough for them to eat whole and should i be cutting up there food into tiny pieces ? Also I have a ten gallon tank with an under the tank heater with a heat lamp 50 watts (recommended by the petstore) and a glass cover with a screen over it but I can't seem to regulate the temp and humidity one or the other is always lacking or to much. I had an easier time with the plastic container do you have any suggestions.Also not that this is a big deal but the whole tank fogs up is that normal. I am going to be going back to work soon and I am afraid my two crabs will die because it fluctuates so drastically
thanks

ANSWER: In general, a medium sized (golfballish sized) or larger MAY be able to scrape off cuttlebone, like I say, they don't understand blocks, sometimes a hermit crab will come in contact with a cuttlefish, and MAY possibly eat their bones, so it's not a total no, but you should scrape some of the bone off every now and then for their food just in case, but as far as a block, they are similar to chalk in texture, not natural for a hermit crab. As for humidity and heat, I usually use a 60 watt bulb for mine, that would help raise the heat better, but wouldn't dry the tank out that much more. You could also invest in getting an under the tank heater to heat from below. If you use sand in the tank, you could replace 1/4 or 1/2 of the sand with some kind of eco-earth, bedabeast, etc. etc. and then spray the bedding with water, putting the heat lamp to where it shines over the bedding, it will raise the humidity DRASTICALLY, just roll up a small peice of cardboard or other material and vent the lid open a small amount. Too much humidity is better than not enough, as long as the crabs aren't completely under water, they will be fine. As for the fogging of the glass, unfortunately, there's not much you can do about it, but it's a good sign of ideal environment, so just let it get foggy and just wipe it off when you want to look at the crabs or work with them, no big deal.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks, I just have two more q.s, does the light from the lamp bother them because they haven't come out in two days and i go to bed very late, secondly one of my crabs was really friendly then he molted for about a month came up from the sand a week ago and is very skiddish if i even walk by the tank he freezes is this normal? anyway thanks for the help sorry to keep bugging you I just want to get this right

Answer
It's quite alright, I would be more than happy to help you. Yeah, light would bother them a little bit, you can easily go get buy "mood lights" or "party lights" or whatever, they are cheaper than buying a reptile bulb of the exact same color, it's the same bulb. Get a red or black one, Hermit crabs (and most other animals) can't see the light that comes from these bulbs, the red one will give you some light, if you need it, but a black one will give off almost no light at all. You can switch bulbs back and forth if you want, but this increases the risk of breaking the filament or something, so you should either get another lamp or just use only a red or black one and use normal room light to see the crabs with, either one works just fine, it's just your preference. As for being skittish, he could just be a little stressed still, they get stressed out a lot from molting and it could just be carrying over, he will get over it in short time, but it may also just be that he's forgotten that you aren't a predator, you will just have to show him you mean no harm. If you have the time, every day you can get a chair and just sit in front of their tank for a while, just watching him as he goes about his business, he will eventually forget you are there and will go about his business, occasionally shift postition or wave your arms so he remembers you are there, he may freeze up again, but he will eventually learn that your presence isn't something to fear, then you cna slowly work on handling, which is a similar prokect, only place your hand flat in the tank and be perfectly still until he's used to you being there and eventually he will walk over your hand, slowly take him out daily and hold him until he comes out of his shell, be gentle and put him up before he get's tired or stressed (cranky, pinchy, etc.) and he will learn that being with you is pretty fun and gives him the opprotunity to see and smell things he doesn't get to in his tank.