Temperature rule of thumb issue

[JLPicard]

So I've been pondering the "ideal temperature" rule of thumb for the past few hours, and I can't help but make the observation that I, in fact, do not need a sweater at 60 or 55 °F. To me, this just seems a bit too cold for a T? Did I just break years of aggregated experience and research?

 

[Radium]

So I've been pondering the "ideal temperature" rule of thumb for the past few hours, and I can't help but make the observation that I, in fact, do not need a sweater at 60 or 55 °F. To me, this just seems a bit too cold for a T? Did I just break years of aggregated experience and research?

Nah, some people are just more hot or cold-natured than others. I used to sleep with the windows open during the winter in Toronto. The guidelines are phrased that way in an attempt to make them easier to remember, but your comfort zone varies depending on your body morphology, the climate you're accustomed to, and other factors.

 

[JLPicard]

And here I was thinking I was some sort of medical freak and considering Norse ancestry, haha. Suppose I'll go with 70 °F as being comfortable.

 

[SpiritScale]

I personally keep the T's at 70-75F or higher and consider the 'if you don't need a sweater' rule dangerous for the very reason of individual tolerance. That range of degrees is where I feel comfortable in terms of the needs of most T's---not hard to achieve and not dangerous for the T's...they'll still eat readily and molt at a decent pace.
I *hate* the heat. Yours truly starts sweating at 75F and I start to consider breaking out the winter coat if it's -4F.

No Nordic ancestry...but Canadian and living on the east coast to boot lol. If I didn't handle the cold well I'd need to move.

 

[SpiderDad61]

Lol yea. Im in philly area, and am a truck driver and mover. I'm outside for 8-10 hours a day sometimes, and have a t shirt and shorts on in 50 degree weather. Now in my home, I have the heat cranked for the T's, so I have to walk around the house in shorts and no shirt, lol. I'm only 165 lbs, but not cold blooded lol

I personally keep the T's at 70-75F or higher and consider the 'if you don't need a sweater' rule dangerous for the very reason of individual tolerance. That range of degrees is where I feel comfortable in terms of the needs of most T's---not hard to achieve and not dangerous for the T's...they'll still eat readily and molt at a decent pace.
I *hate* the heat. Yours truly starts sweating at 75F and I start to consider breaking out the winter coat if it's -4F.

No Nordic ancestry...but Canadian and living on the east coast to boot lol. If I didn't handle the cold well I'd need to move.

 

[cold blood]

I see this "rule of thumb" to be a leftover from a time when 99% of the hobby was Brachypelma, Aphonopelma and Grammostola and some Avics...nearly all of which were wild caught adults. Looking at it like this, the "rule" fits perfectly. However now we are in a different day of t keeping....almost everything is CB, and slings of all species are not just commonplace, they're the norm....as are the specimens from hot, humid tropical areas like Asia and India....these are all cases of t's which need things a bit warmer (aside from the few higher elevation species, of course) to not only survive consistently, but to thrive.

---------- Post added 12-08-2015 at 08:47 PM ----------

Lol yea. Im in philly area, and am a truck driver and mover. I'm outside for 8-10 hours a day sometimes, and have a t shirt and shorts on in 50 degree weather. Now in my home, I have the heat cranked for the T's, so I have to walk around the house in shorts and no shirt, lol. I'm only 165 lbs, but not cold blooded lol

50 is most definitely "shorts" and a long sleeve shirt weather:wink: Don't let any southerner tell ya different:laugh:

 

[EulersK]

I think it's still a matter of the age (i.e. size) of the tarantula. As we know, larger T's are hardier than their younger counterparts. Back when I lived in the Midwest, my apartment would very routinely dip to the low 50's at night. During the day, it would be a much toastier 65-75. At the time, I had the likes of P. irminia, GBB, C. andersoni, and C. darlingi under my wing. All except the latter were juvies, not even adults. Now, would I recommend that? Absolutely not, but T's seem to be very resistant to cold snaps. Consistent low temperatures are a bad plan in my eyes, but I really haven't seen any deaths from cold snaps at night.

I have more fragile species now, but the nights over here still reach the high 50's and low 60's, with the days reaching much warmer temperatures. For those curious as to why I do this, in both instances, my T room and bedroom were synonymous! I'm too poor/cheap to run heat over night. I basically have a bed surrounded by enclosures. Makes me feel safe. </sarcasm>

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

The guideline of ideal temperature for tarantulas doesn't take into account that a human, as endothermic, is very different from that of an arthropod, which are ectothermic. No matter how cold or hot you, as a person, feels your body makes adjustments to maintain a constant 98.7 degrees F. A tarantula, as an arthropod, relies on a heat source outside of its body (ectothermic) to maintain a proper temperature for metabolic function. So how cold or hot you feel is irrelevant to the ideal temperature of a tarantula. I can't say exactly what that temperature is at this time, but if we take a couple of factors into consideration, we can assume it will be somewhere in the 75 degree to 90 degree range depending on taxa. Most tarantulas are found in the tropics where daytime highs are in the 90+ degree F range (heat index could be higher or lower due to humidity) and lows in the 70 degree F range. Tarantulas in North America are far more active in the summer months which fall into the same range more or less and go dormant in the colder winter months. Given seasonal activity, one can estimate that the ideal temperature for a tarantula is in the aforementioned range of 75-90 degrees F.

 

[Beary Strange]

Haha, I get this completely. I'm uncomfortable at anything less than 75 and start seeking out sources of warmth like sweaters, heating blankets, basking spots (<w< ) at around 70. But I do realize that I'm a weird human, a complete failure of a warm-blooded creature, and that my Ts are perfectly fine even if I'm not.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Haha, I get this completely. I'm uncomfortable at anything less than 75 and start seeking out sources of warmth like sweaters, heating blankets, basking spots (<w< ) at around 70. But I do realize that I'm a weird human, a complete failure of a warm-blooded creature, and that my Ts are perfectly fine even if I'm not.

I'm the exact same way. I've joked with some of my house guests that I need to decorate my living room in the manner of a tropical reptile terrarium. That is, put down a layer of moist dirt on the floor, affix a heating lamp to the ceiling, and always keep a cup of cool water nearby. For people like you and I that are sensitive to cold, the rule of thumb as stated in the original thread works quite well for our tarantulas. For those sensitive to heat and keeps the thermostat at a chilly 65-70 degrees F, not so much.