# Correct Rainbow Crab Home?



## skink-flavoured gecko

Hi
I'm planning my Vivarium for a Rainbow Land Crab/Moon Crab, and I want to make sure it's suitable.
The enclosure consists of - 
-Hagen VivExotic LX24 Beech Vivarium (24"x12"x15")
-Heat Mat (28cmx28cm) under half of vivarium - lets call this part Area A
-Water bowl filled with Brackish/Fresh (depending on crab) in Area B
-Small rocks near water bowl so crab can climb in/out
-Larger rocks for hiding places/cave
-(Bog?)wood 
-Exo Terra Reptile Riverbed Sand Substrate (4"-5" - sloping towards water bowl?)
-And i'll spray viv to keep humidity high
So, is this suitalbe? Please be honest!
Thanks!


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## Colosseum

You really want to have a water area one end of the tank with a fully filterated area as without the water can become very dirty and smelly and will become a pain to do daily water changes. and in the water area you can install a inexpensive aquarium tube heater which will heat the water and create the humidity for your crab.


Remember to put in a cuttle bone for the crabs calcium source as well for there shell.

evrything else you have mentioned sounds awesome though enjoy youyr crab there great pets. :2thumb:


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## Colosseum

Forgot to add the viv will be unsuitable to be honest you can't get a decent substrate depth and no water area, you are better off gettin a fish tank like a clearseal or juwel etc.


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## skink-flavoured gecko

Colosseum said:


> Forgot to add the viv will be unsuitable to be honest you can't get a decent substrate depth and no water area, you are better off gettin a fish tank like a clearseal or juwel etc.


Thank so much for your reply!
The water area with filter and heater is easily do-able
You recommended Clearseal - do you think a 'Clearseal Aquarium Glass & Hood 18X10X10" ' (I found on Amazon) would be suitable?


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## Colosseum

Yes seems suitable, I wish I still had some photos on my setup but on old pc and then went bang lol. Anyway I had a clearseal and what I did was adopt the half land half water setup the way I did this was cut a piece of clear perspex and use aquatic sealant to place the perspex in the middle of tank this simply acts as a buffer to keep the land substrate from having contact with water and making it dirty if this makes sence.


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## skink-flavoured gecko

Colosseum said:


> Yes seems suitable, I wish I still had some photos on my setup but on old pc and then went bang lol. Anyway I had a clearseal and what I did was adopt the half land half water setup the way I did this was cut a piece of clear perspex and use aquatic sealant to place the perspex in the middle of tank this simply acts as a buffer to keep the land substrate from having contact with water and making it dirty if this makes sence.


Thanks! It seems a brilliant idea but i have one question - how did the crab get in and out of the water? Did you use rocks or something as stairs? (Sorry for all the questions!)


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## Colosseum

I used a piece of bogwood leading from land to water, no probs with questions PM me if you want :2thumb:


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## OrigamiB

I've currently got some rainbow crabs set up in an old aquarium tank, the heater and water pump is hidden in the land area which is just built up bogwood and rocks. this covers about 35-40% of the tank and the rest is sand at different levels in the water with smaller pieces of bog wood. I would give them more land but mine love the water and burrowing in the sand in the water.

Also, don't be worried about them getting in and out of the water. Crabs are amazing climbers and mine will happily escape if I build the land up too high! I've actually placed a piece of perspex over the land area to stop them climbing out


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## AnythingWithAShell

Hey, here's a couple pics of my setup for Hoggle  It's slightly different now, more sand, more water, but you get the idea. I now have a turtle dock hiding the filter, cos he likes to climb up under it and hide  And the water is fully filtered, only cloudy cos I'd literally just set it up, Hoggle wasn't in there at the time.


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## Colosseum

Nice one Dawn great setup there bet he enjoys that.


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## skink-flavoured gecko

Thanks for the pics!
That's been very helpful!


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## AnythingWithAShell

Colosseum said:


> Nice one Dawn great setup there bet he enjoys that.


Thanks, he certainly does. He likes making burrows in the sand and hiding so well that I have to repeatedly check he is indeed still in there 



skink-flavoured gecko said:


> Thanks for the pics!
> That's been very helpful!


No problem :2thumb:

Like I said above, he likes burrowing in the sand, and they will often seek to burrow when shedding, so I would thoroughly recommend using sand. 

Hoggle shed the other day, and I have his shed in the fridge (after showing it anyone who will look!) cos it's so cool!


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## skink-flavoured gecko

Thanks again for the pics AnythingWithAShell, but I was wondering, is the fact that the water makes contact with the sand a problem? Does it make the water dirty?


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## AnythingWithAShell

Nah, not really. I do end up with sand in the water, cos he burrows and rearranges things a bit, but it is over filtered for the volume (I'm a huge fan of overkill filtration! It's keeping turtles that converts you) and I do a water change every week. 

I am planning to separate it better though, cos it will make maintenance easier. Although the sand will still be damp, not completely dry. I'm just not sure how I'm going to do it yet  You can use a cat litter tray for the water, but I personally would rather not have a big bit of brightly coloured plastic in there! Though that's probably the easiest way. I might silicone something in to make a better barrier.


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