First off, I have a Rose Hair tarantula.
The seasons are starting to shift now, so the college dorms I live in are starting to get much colder. Previously, when it was 80 degrees every day, I wasn't really worried about it, but I woke up the other day and it was 65 in the room... which is below the temperatures recommended by any care instructions I've seen. I went out and got a little 4w heating pad to stick on the side of the tank, and so far it's worked out pretty well.
Here's a picture of my setup (sorry, I don't have a high quality digital camera with me).
I've seen the guide thrown around but I still have a few questions about the heating pad and the tarantula in general.
1. The tarantula is usually hanging out by the heat pad. When I go to sleep at night, it's at the exact same place in the morning. It always ends up in the same spot, hanging on the side of the tank on the heating pad. Is this normal?
2. I was thinking about getting a more powerful heating pad and keeping it under the tank, rather than have the smaller heating pad heat the tank just from that one little side. I'm thinking this because the way I have my tank set up with the log forces the tarantula into an awkward position to get the heat that it seems to like, and it takes it a few attempts to find a position that it is "comfortable" in (it constantly moves itself around, and then suddenly will find a position and sit there for hours). Is this a good idea? Or would a better solution be to simply make it easier for the tarantula to be near the heating pad without having to manipulate itself weirdly?
3. It sometimes uses it's back leg to "scratch" it's abdomen. I quote it because I don't think tarantulas have the sensory awareness necessary to even realize what an "itch" is, or feel one, so I have no idea what it would be doing with its leg.
4. The air is really starting to get dry here. I've heard so many different things about these tarantulas and humidity; what should I do? I have a hydrometer in there and I try to keep it above 50%, but I don't know if I'm trying to hard.
5. I currently have a wire mesh lid. I'm thinking that I should switch to a glass lid to keep heat and moisture inside. Is this necessary, or am I just wasting money?
Sorry for the wall of text. I just don't want to be doing something wrong and hurting my tarantula.
Here's a better picture. This is the day I got it (3 months ago), but the tank setup has changed since then.
The seasons are starting to shift now, so the college dorms I live in are starting to get much colder. Previously, when it was 80 degrees every day, I wasn't really worried about it, but I woke up the other day and it was 65 in the room... which is below the temperatures recommended by any care instructions I've seen. I went out and got a little 4w heating pad to stick on the side of the tank, and so far it's worked out pretty well.
Here's a picture of my setup (sorry, I don't have a high quality digital camera with me).
I've seen the guide thrown around but I still have a few questions about the heating pad and the tarantula in general.
1. The tarantula is usually hanging out by the heat pad. When I go to sleep at night, it's at the exact same place in the morning. It always ends up in the same spot, hanging on the side of the tank on the heating pad. Is this normal?
2. I was thinking about getting a more powerful heating pad and keeping it under the tank, rather than have the smaller heating pad heat the tank just from that one little side. I'm thinking this because the way I have my tank set up with the log forces the tarantula into an awkward position to get the heat that it seems to like, and it takes it a few attempts to find a position that it is "comfortable" in (it constantly moves itself around, and then suddenly will find a position and sit there for hours). Is this a good idea? Or would a better solution be to simply make it easier for the tarantula to be near the heating pad without having to manipulate itself weirdly?
3. It sometimes uses it's back leg to "scratch" it's abdomen. I quote it because I don't think tarantulas have the sensory awareness necessary to even realize what an "itch" is, or feel one, so I have no idea what it would be doing with its leg.
4. The air is really starting to get dry here. I've heard so many different things about these tarantulas and humidity; what should I do? I have a hydrometer in there and I try to keep it above 50%, but I don't know if I'm trying to hard.
5. I currently have a wire mesh lid. I'm thinking that I should switch to a glass lid to keep heat and moisture inside. Is this necessary, or am I just wasting money?
Sorry for the wall of text. I just don't want to be doing something wrong and hurting my tarantula.
Here's a better picture. This is the day I got it (3 months ago), but the tank setup has changed since then.