Calcium sand

[List Of Demands]

we were out and about over the weekend, cause i was going to buy a new crab, but we ended up at petsmart and they're crabs look horrible and the petco we went to is going out of business and had nothing at all, but nevermind that, we were looking at the different things they had at petsmart and they had this sand, it was called calcium sand, but it wasn't the calci-sand and it isn't colored or anything, it's just white, and i was just wondering, as i've seen the the calci-sand isn't really great as a substrate because of it being nasty when it gets wet, but do you think this stuff would do the same thing? you can also get it cheaper then calci-sand, still more expensive then play-sand, but i was just curious.

heres a link to the product:

Reptile | Reptile Substrate | All Living Things® All-Natural Calcium Sand | Petsmart.com

[summerluvin]

Well I've only been crabbing for 6 months, but in my experience the calci-sand is no good for digging in and it is nasty when wet. The crabs do need calicum, so I mix calci-sand in with my eco-earth. The crabs can dig in and bury and I also see them picking up and eating grains of the sand.

[rcar77]

I had my crabs now for about three weeks so this is what i have learned in my short time. I did buy a type of calcium sand that was simlar to the type that you posted. I did setup a 10g that i used for 5 days before going to a 30g(which is half play-sand and half EE). I have notice that calcium sand does seem to clump. I still have the 10g setup for ISO tank. I did end up mixing it with playsand to help it out some. I am planing on using EE or half EE and play sand. I think that the calcium sand is geared towards desert reptiles like bearded dragons that do not have to have as much humidity. but this is just my opinion I am no expert.

[HermitPaws]

Im no expert but id say they are the same things

[vckums]

Both products are pretty much the same. Rcar77 hit it on the nose! They aren't meant to be damp substrates.

[Yadokari]

Even so, I think calci-sand is just something that looks "useful" when really, it's just excessive to buy. A simple cuttle bone is a LOT cheaper and just as effective than calci-sand.

[krackersmom2]

When we first started crabbing, the pet store sold us a calcium sand mix...It was in a bag bigger than the little calci-sand bags. It was the same stuff and was terrible. We now use all playsand....the crabs love it and it's cheap. I like to put other types of substrate in my hidies and on the second story shelves. It is amazing how much stuff you can learn about hermit crabs in a short amount of time on this website. I'm here everyday, sometimes two or more times per day....I also enjoy sharing what I've learned with other new members and sharing stories and sorrows with veteran members!

[List Of Demands]

that's what I thought, i figured it would be the same when wet since it's basically the same thing. But if I wanted to use it as a calcium source in a bowl for them, would it be better then the calci sand since it doesn't have any colors added to it? I have a bag of calci-sand that i use just to keep a bowl in the tank for them and i also use eggshell for calcium for them. but since this stuff is cheaper then calci sand and has no dyes added, i thought it might be better for them to use.

[krackersmom2]

I don't see why using it as a calcium supplement would be a problem. I have heard of fellow crabers on the website that use calci-sand as a supplement to their diet.

[List Of Demands]

that's really all i use the calci-sand for, it's too expense to even try to use it as a substrate, but this stuff, they had a 5lb bag for $10 and we've paid like $7 for a 2lb bag of calci-sand, and they had a 10lb bag for $16 so it's a little cheaper then the calci-sand.