Maintain Heat and humidity with lamp for several species

Ungoliant

Malleus Aranearum
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Everything ive read on every single website says high humidity
The problems with the humidity recommendations seen on care sheets are:
  • Attempting to achieve some arbitrary humidity reading often leads novice keepers to excessively restrict ventilation. A stuffy cage is a death sentence for Avicularia.
  • Many inexpensive humidity gauges are inaccurate.
  • Care sheet authors don't have a good understanding of how humidity works. Relative humidity of 80% at 60 °F is not the same as relative humidity of 80% at 90 °F.
  • Just because the tarantula is native to a humid environment doesn't mean it won't do well in a drier environment.

For Avicularia, you want a setup with lots of cross-ventilation, limited top ventilation, and a large water dish. If you need to raise humidity, you can moisten the substrate and/or provide additional water dishes. When moistening substrate, you don't want it sopping wet, just a little damp. (If you are providing humidity via an extra water dish, more surface area is better.)
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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Please listen to these folks!! Caresheets are junk! This forum is by far the absolute best resource for all of your tarantula questions. Any species you can possibly get your hands on, you will find people on here who have kept and bred them for decades! Trust everyone on here!
 

dopamine

Arachnobaron
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I can't see how they would grow well at such low temps, or why you would have them at 65..
I keep my room around 65 during the day as well. Being winter it sometimes dips below that at night. All i have is a ceramic space heater that, while warms the room up quickly, also dries the air out. Patiently waiting for spring/summer. Arizona has **little humidity so it's tough.
 
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Venom1080

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I keep mine around 65 during the day as well. Being winter it sometimes dips below that at night. All i have is a ceramic space heater that, while warms the room up quickly, also dries the air out. Patiently waiting for spring/summer. Arizona has **little humidity so it's tough.
I dont think my avic slings could take that.
 

dopamine

Arachnobaron
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I dont think my avic slings could take that.
I don't have any or plan on having any because of that. I only own burrowers and one desert terrestrial. The air in my room is usually on the drier side but maintaining humidity inside their enclosures/deli cups has been pretty easy.
 

Arachnomaniac19

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I can't see how they would grow well at such low temps, or why you would have them at 65..
They grow more slowly, but they still grow fine nonetheless. I keep them at 65 because I'm not rich enough to heat everything to 22C. I also forgot to add that that's a night time temperature. They're above my leopard gecko tank and receive warmth from it during the day. Now, if you check out the temperature of their micro habitats, almost all tarantulas will be fine in those temps.
 

Venom1080

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They grow more slowly, but they still grow fine nonetheless. I keep them at 65 because I'm not rich enough to heat everything to 22C. I also forgot to add that that's a night time temperature. They're above my leopard gecko tank and receive warmth from it during the day. Now, if you check out the temperature of their micro habitats, almost all tarantulas will be fine in those temps.
you cant convince me that tarantulas are fine at 65. if you cant aford to keep a animal correctly, you shouldnt own it in the first place.
 

Arachnomaniac19

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you cant convince me that tarantulas are fine at 65. if you cant aford to keep a animal correctly, you shouldnt own it in the first place.
You haven't convinced me that I'm not keeping it properly, especially since I asked people if those temps were fine before I got my first T. Again, if you have such a problem, just PM me.
 

Venom1080

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You haven't convinced me that I'm not keeping it properly, especially since I asked people if those temps were fine before I got my first T. Again, if you have such a problem, just PM me.
make a thread and ask again if those temps are fine, you will find no one will agree withe you.
 

cold blood

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They grow more slowly, but they still grow fine nonetheless. I keep them at 65 because I'm not rich enough to heat everything to 22C. I also forgot to add that that's a night time temperature. They're above my leopard gecko tank and receive warmth from it during the day. Now, if you check out the temperature of their micro habitats, almost all tarantulas will be fine in those temps.
Huge difference only being night temps....those are doable temps for night as long as it rises during the day. But its risky for slings.
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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Uh oh..... I sense a brewing battle. I might have to unfollow this thread if you guys don't start PMing each other:banghead:
 

Gabrgrl

Arachnopeon
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Yet tarantulas magically live just outside...miraculous.:astonished:
Not the kind i have. Im asking about my two species that are from tropical regions- that are humid. Not all spiders need the same kind of care. Sure desert spiders live just fine here, but when there only 10% humidity in the air and 30 when its raining, i assume with a tropical spider i should probably mist. Also you say i should remove the heat pad, if thats true then why are all ocf my Ts-all 4-always huddled up to it?
 

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
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you cant convince me that tarantulas are fine at 65. if you cant aford to keep a animal correctly, you shouldnt own it in the first place.
65 F indeed is cold. But definitely too cold and a risk for tropical ones, especially Asian slings that require also high humidity... a bad mix :-s
 

Shudragon

Arachnopeon
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Also you say i should remove the heat pad, if thats true then why are all ocf my Ts-all 4-always huddled up to it?
Tarantulas are similar to other arachnids/insects in that they are attracted to heat. Too much heat on their bodies can cause dehydration which is why lamps and pads are never recommended for invertebrates.

I have 2 a avics and they are quite happy with an overflowing water dish to stick their dirty little arboreal pads into. I remember reading that in the wild many of these species are used to wet conditions for sure but also a heavy breeze always dries them out quickly - which is why everyone is telling you to ventilate heavily. My 2 cents.

CBBs i have no experience with but know from just light reading that room temp and a damp substrate are perfect for them, its why they are still considered a beginner species.
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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The Pink-toed Tarantula is Energetic and friendly, making it fun to keep!

For future reference any article that starts with a statement this asinine is one to avoid .
Wow! THIS is the page she referenced? Even skimming, it was agonizing to read! Love how it's about A. avicularia. And yet, they state the scientific name as Avicularia versicolor. So...... which tarantula are they writing about in this article?

Don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't keep avics in groups. Despite what the article states. Mine will tackle prey nearly their own size. Could easily make a meal out of housemates.
 

Shudragon

Arachnopeon
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Don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't keep avics in groups. Despite what the article states. Mine will tackle prey nearly their own size. Could easily make a meal out of housemates.
From my reading, care sheets are the only thing that suggest communal a avics, only a few keepers have done it successfully and even then they are purely a tolerant species, creating seperate webs in a very large enclosure where they dont have to encounter each other very often.
 

Gabrgrl

Arachnopeon
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From my reading, care sheets are the only thing that suggest communal a avics, only a few keepers have done it successfully and even then they are purely a tolerant species, creating seperate webs in a very large enclosure where they dont have to encounter each other very often.
None of them are together people! I just have several species
 
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