daytime lighting/heat though I know most of you say noooo lights.

[spacelord]

But perhaps if i do it like this? Or at least until the fresh substrate i have put in dries out a little bit more? Oh and my long tank is scorpions it has heat pads on the side so it stays 73 to 70 degrees on one end and i use occasional infrared and mist twice daily and stir the sub once a week so no mold sets in. I am clean

 

[Whitelightning777]

You can use lights and heat pads on the side but there is a critical flaw with your light. It should, in my opinion, be no closer then 8 inches away and no more then 25 watts in power. You also need a voltage regulator and a point type infrared thermometer to prevent any hotspots from arising which could cause injury.

Of course, if you can push the room temp up to 75 degrees, that'll be plenty good enough.

Remember, warm areas are safe. Hot spots are not. Excessively low temps are also not safe either.

Here's some info on it. I've had excellent results & no injuries.

Yes, this is controversial and if you can get to the mid 70s some other way, do that. If not, go forth and do likewise.

Space heaters are dangerous and kill thousands of people worldwide in house fires. Use a heat pump in the window if necessary. Yes, it costs more to buy but won't kill your power bill like electric resistance heating does.

If you heat up a tarantula cage in the wrong way, fatalities can and do occur!!

 

[spacelord]

You can use lights and heat pads on the side but there is a critical flaw with your light. It should, in my opinion, be no closer then 8 inches away and no more then 25 watts in power. You also need a voltage regulator and a point type infrared thermometer to prevent any hotspots from arising which could cause injury.

Of course, if you can push the room temp up to 75 degrees, that'll be plenty good enough.

Remember, warm areas are safe. Hot spots are not. Excessively low temps are also not safe either.

Here's some info on it. I've had excellent results & no injuries.

Yes, this is controversial and if you can get to the mid 70s some other way, do that. If not, go forth and do likewise.

Space heaters are dangerous and kill thousands of people worldwide in house fires. Use a heat pump in the window if necessary. Yes, it costs more to buy but won't kill your power bill like electric resistance heating does.

If you heat up a tarantula cage in the wrong way, fatalities can and do occur!!

Yea we will pump up the heat soon its just not quite time for it. But my light is well 27 inches away and its just sort of temporary to help dry the substrate maybe? Its an ambient light so it doenst produce uv rays its infrared?

 

[chanda]

I think the light Whitelightning777 is concerned about is not the one that's 27 inches away from the cages but the one in the second picture (and partially visible in the first) that is sitting directly on the screen top of the cage. Depending on what you've got in that light, you could dry out the cage too much - and possibly even cook your pet. While the temperature over where the thermometer strip is might be acceptable, the temperature directly underneath that light could get much too hot.

 

[spacelord]

I think the light Whitelightning777 is concerned about is not the one that's 27 inches away from the cages but the one in the second picture (and partially visible in the first) that is sitting directly on the screen top of the cage. Depending on what you've got in that light, you could dry out the cage too much - and possibly even cook your pet. While the temperature over where the thermometer strip is might be acceptable, the temperature directly underneath that light could get much too hot.

Understood

 

[Willuminati]

If you really wanna light your animals during the day, wire up some LED strips, if its the overall climate surrounding your collection that you are trying to control, you might wanna attempt to create a MICROCLIMATE setup. there are tons of ways to do it. Think of a miniature greenhouse with standalone heating element inside to control ambient temperature throughout with the help of a thermostat. humidity can be controlled by placing moist paper towels near the heating element.

 

[Whitelightning777]

This is just one example of how I heated a cage, in this case my most challenging project, T stirmi.




Note the setting, not nearly at full power.






Note that there are 3 actual heat sources, 2 heating pads on the outside of the glass and a 25 watts ceramic heater element at 8 inches away.

Also, none of the heating pads are inside of the cage and none extends to a level lower then the top of the substrate.

This creates a warm area, not a hot spot.

Before adding the tarantula, I did do a full power test, which created about 109 degrees on the hot side and 86 on the cold side.

Currently it's nowhere near that, 73 on the cold side and about 83 on the hot side with humidity at 70 percent. Moisture is added to the wet side every 48 hours and the waterdish is inspected twice daily.

For most tarantulas, this isn't really necessary. T stirmi is an advanced species. Screw it up and they just suddenly die or get stuck molting and die or get a wet molt and die.

She is currently a whole new animal, not the half dead one I tried from the pet store on a whim. She will sometimes lean her abdomen on the glass after a large meal.

 

[spacelord]

I just went ahead and got a cersmic heater ill just keep the room warm that way. But very nice temp. controlled set up. I saw that temp gauge instore but it was a tad to pricey for me

 

[EulersK]

So, question, because I'm a bit I'm a bit lost here. Why exactly do you want light? Just to dry out the substrate? That'll dry out naturally, especially in a KK. Or is it for the heat? I can't speak for the scorpion, but your tarantulas are just fine in temps around 70F (although I wouldn't go much lower than that).

 

[spacelord]

So, question, because I'm a bit I'm a bit lost here. Why exactly do you want light? Just to dry out the substrate? That'll dry out naturally, especially in a KK. Or is it for the heat? I can't speak for the scorpion, but your tarantulas are just fine in temps around 70F (although I wouldn't go much lower than that).

Im just stoned and drunk and i was trying to accomidate for it being 68 degrees but i went and bought a ceramic heater so it should be fine now its heating the whole room not pointed at the cages. Ambient heat yes

 

[The Grym Reaper]

i was trying to accomidate for it being 68 degrees

Don't know about scorps but most tarantulas are fine with anything over 65°F and some can even tolerate drops below that for short periods

 

[spacelord]

I was feeling super chilly in my room so i took the note of if your comfortable they are comfortable and i wasnt lmao

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I was feeling super chilly in my room so i took the note of if your comfortable they are comfortable and i wasnt lmao

Yeah, I wouldn't take that too literally, I don't mind the cold and hate pretty much anything above 25°C so temps that I would find "comfortably cool" could eventually result in dead tarantulas and those that would be "uncomfortably hot" for me would be perfectly fine for them.

 

[cold blood]

Do not use heat lamps for tarantulas ever, under any circumstances.. Be careful of who you get your heating advice from...you have been given poor advice here on this thread....glad you went with a space heater, it is the best option.

 

[Ashlynn Rose]

My house is pretty cold (62-65 F.) All my creatures are in my room. I don't want them to die, but I also don't want to drive up the heating bills. I turn on a space heater for a few minutes in the morning to get the temperature in my room up to about 70-72. I make sure all the doors are closed and then go about my day. When I get home, the temp has fallen a little bit. I turn it on while I check everyone's water, etc. and then off again after a minute. At night, before I go to bed, I turn it on again, usually only for a few minutes, to warm my room up for the night.

This might not work for everyone, since my room is pretty small, but it works for me, so I thought I'd throw it out there. I struggled with how to safely heat them last year and finally figured this out.

 

[Greasylake]

@spacelord @Ashlynn Rose what species do you guys have? Some species do fine in lower temperatures and some require lower temps to be bred consistently. There may be a chance you don't even need a heater.

 

[Ashlynn Rose]

I have a MM G. pulchripes, a juvenile G. rosea, adult Lasiodora parahybana, and three slings: Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, Acanthoscurria geniculata, and a speck of an Aphonopelma chalcodes.

 

[Greasylake]

I have a MM G. pulchripes, a juvenile G. rosea, adult Lasiodora parahybana, and three slings: Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, Acanthoscurria geniculata, and a speck of an Aphonopelma chalcodes.

Ah okay. A few of those I wouldn't let too cold, so keep doing what you were doing before.

 

[Exoskeleton Invertebrates]

I have two 250 watts heat lamps that faces the window. My room temperature is between 80 to 84 degrees. My tarantulas love it.

I’ve been using heat lamps for decades.

 

[Venom1080]

I have two 250 watts heat lamps that faces the window. My room temperature is between 80 to 84 degrees. My tarantulas love it.

can you post a pic of how that works? you just point two high powered lamps at a window?