Temperature Regulating

[emplosion]

So here's my problem. I had dedicated a room to keeping at a certain temperature. Which has been working great up until recently... Alas my significant other thought it was "too hot" and cracked the window. It dropped below 50 last night, and I'm pretty sure every pede is now dead. I'd like to prevent this from happening in the future. Obviously I can get angry at the situation and yell at her for it as she should know better, but accidents do happen and it could happen again. I'm better off finding a solution that doesn't involve relying on someone else.

I'm wondering if any of you use any coolers or wine boxes to keep temperatures constant and not have to worry about the ambient room temperature.

 

[mickiem]

What kind of millipedes are you keeping? I have an undertank heater on all of mine that must be kept above 70. I tape them on the side ABOVE the soil line. I also have a little heater with a thermostat in that room. It gets really hot; rarely under 75.

 

[emplosion]

I've been keeping the basic Bumblebee, Scarlet, and Ivory's. I was using a space heater on a thermostat to keep the room at 75. Which had been working great until the window. I'll try the heat mat Idea with a thermometer attached to it. Still worried it won't do enough if the window gets opened in the winter. Do you think keeping them in a cooler with the heat mat might work?

 

[mickiem]

I use thermometers that I buy at Amazon. They record high and low temp and humidity. Keeping a watch on those helps me regulate the temp. What if you put the heaters on the Scarlets and BB's and put them in an inside closet or bathroom where you can maintain a little higher temp? The Ivories can go down a little lower. If you had the heaters on the other two and kept the Ivories near, they would be plenty warm. But always rely on a thermometer.

 

[chanda]

Are you certain they are all dead? A dip into the fifties (or even just a bit cooler) for one night might not be as lethal as you fear. While your millipedes certainly prefer and do best with warmer temperatures, all three species are established in Florida - and Florida, however temperate it might be, does experience cool weather, with winter lows dipping into the 40's or 50's at night - and even the occasional cold snap that brings frost. Your millipedes may just be burrowed into their substrate and perhaps a bit lethargic from the dip in temperature. Once they warm up again, they may emerge unharmed.

I have one room in my house that is dedicated to reptiles and inverts. We have a small thermostat-controlled space heater in the room to keep the temperature above 70, plus a small humidifier to keep the ambient humidity up. There are also lights over the reptile cages which help to regulate the temperature in the room when it gets cool, even though they are not directly above the bug cages. We don't need to use heat mats - which is good because we have too many cages for that!

 

[emplosion]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll definitely try the individual heaters from now on.

Are you certain they are all dead? A dip into the fifties (or even just a bit cooler) for one night might not be as lethal as you fear. While your millipedes certainly prefer and do best with warmer temperatures, all three species are established in Florida - and Florida, however temperate it might be, does experience cool weather, with winter lows dipping into the 40's or 50's at night - and even the occasional cold snap that brings frost. Your millipedes may just be burrowed into their substrate and perhaps a bit lethargic from the dip in temperature. Once they warm up again, they may emerge unharmed.

I really hope you are right, and they didn't all die off. I'm positive at least two are dead as they were on the surface, and are curled with their legs straight out. Temps in the room are back to normal so I'll see tonight if any emerge from the substrate.

 

[emplosion]

Update: Got a heat mat for them with a temperature switch. Looks like all but 1 bumblebee survived. Thank you all for suggestions.

 

[mickiem]

Great news! Thank you for letting us know.