Hermit crab question?

Question
I just got 5 small hermit crabs. My question is
should I keep the 20 gallon aquarium cover over
the entire closure and see if that will keep the
humidity more in the aquarium,I have the light on
for at least 12hrs per day. The temperature now is 74 is this a good temperature temperature or
is there something else I need to do. I got these
for my 10 year old son. We are on a fixed income
so I need to know if I should do something else or if they are fine. They are active at night,but
are on the log and tunnel in the coconut fiber
dirt we have.Please let me know what you think
I'll check my Email off&on. THANK YOU for any
advice.(BONNIE)

Answer
Hello Bonnie!
Welcome to the wonderful world of Hermit Crabs!
The lid shloud be on all the time, as tight and airtight as possible, you can however leave a vent hole if you like, but not too big as Hermit Crabs are well known escape artists. If your lid is not solid, saran wrap will fix that.
To give you an idea, we have solid galss lids, they have a flip up access door so we can change water and food, but they are left closed all the time. The light strips sit on top of them. We open the lid only 3 times per day and the lights stay on from when we wake up and go off when we go to bed. SOmedays they are on form 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and other times it is more like 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The temps are all about 80 degrees and the humidity ranges 85%. Opening the lids allow air exchange.

The temps you have are a bit low, the reccomended lowest temp is 76 degrees right now, so if you leave the lid on good and the lights going then it should raise a good bit and so will the humidity.
Is the humidity low? Not sure what the water situation is for you in your tank, but if you have 2 large water pools then the humidity will be great. We are also on a limited income so believe me I understand. We use tupperware sandwich boxes, but any type of plactic tub would work, just cut down the sides a bit and leave it about 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep.
   They will not drown if you give them ramps etc and they actually will walk around all the way under the water. So Then you can collect smooth stones outside or use any odd shells you may have and put them in the bottom so the crabs have something to grip and you can also hang a bit if plastic vine into it. We usually stack smooth rocks and shells inside and next to the pools.
Remember they need salt water and fresh water both de-chlorinated and you should be good to go.

We have raided all of our drawers and closets for crab safe things. Anything plastic is good, plastic coated wire you have to be careful with because rust will kill them. Also thrift shops and dollar stores are our 2 fave places to go to find crabby things. Also another tip as far as finding things on a limited income, freecycle.com and craigslist.com, they have been heaven sent for me and my family. You can find anything and everything.

But it does not seem to me like you will need to buy anything else. And if you need anymore help, please let me know, I will be very happy to help you!
Jenn