# heat mat question



## Crazy0monkey (Jan 23, 2008)

Is it ok to have my heat mat under the hole kritter keep IF IT ONLY puts the temp up to 75? the temp in my room is usauly 68ish so if this heat mat i have brings the tank up to 75degrees. Is it ok to have the mat under the hole tank(i havea mex red knee)


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## jpet (Jan 23, 2008)

I wouldn't use the heat mat 68 degrees is fine for a redknee.


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## Crazy0monkey (Jan 23, 2008)

at night its down to like 60ish so ill trun on night fr liek 70


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## scottyk (Jan 23, 2008)

Forget the heat mat. It's not necessary and can potentially harm the tarantula.

From the point of view of a longtime herper I can tell you that commercially available heat mats are geared towards reptiles and will all put out heat in excess of 90F. This means you'd need to buy a good quality controller and have the probe inside your tank. This is all going to run you close to, or over $100 US and not be of any help.

You seem to be struggling with wanting to do more for your tarantula than is necessary. I understand your intentions are good and it is a common theme here with beginners.

This is all you need to do for your B. smithi to keep it healthy for years to come.

1- Set up a proper enclosure with some dry peat/coco husk etc, a water dish and a hide.

2- Keep clean water available at all times, and do not mist a smithi.

3-Offer food every few weeks, take out unwanted prey and leave it alone when it is not hungry or going through molts.

4- Spot clean if desired, and maybe once every two years completely change the substrate.

That's pretty much it. I'm not an authority on the subject, but I'd be willing to bet that more tarantulas die prematurely due to stress from being fussed over too often than from neglect. Relax and enjoy it......


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## Crazy0monkey (Jan 23, 2008)

some reason it double posted


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## Crazy0monkey (Jan 23, 2008)

Despite what evryones said. im leaving the mat on low under the tank. It now has the tank at an evin  70degrees instaid of  around 65ish. It is on low and there is 2 other higher heat settings. So iwll jsut keep it on low


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## jpet (Jan 23, 2008)

> True wisdom is achieved when you stop learning from your own mistakes, and start learning from the mistakes of those who have come before you..


I like this quote


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## Crazy0monkey (Jan 23, 2008)

jpet said:


> I like this quote


lol i know but still.. eveyroen probly thinks thsi heat mat is crazy hot. I have it  set to warm lol. Its comfortable warm lol. THe tank isint going any higher then 70 so its fine imo


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## Mister Internet (Jan 24, 2008)

Well then why did you ask?  People are going to stop answering your questions if you disregard the answers of much more experienced hobbiests.  Brachypelma could live their entire lives eating one every three months in 50 degree weather. They are nearly impossible to kill.

Unless, of course, you cook them.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Crazy0monkey (Jan 24, 2008)

Mister Internet said:


> They are nearly impossible to kill.
> Unless, of course, you cook them.


Or   use a hammer? lol j.k. But i was jsut kinda curiouse 2  see everyone elses views on it. I didint realise it would only set the  temp to 70 on low. Thnx for all teh imput everyone


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## scottyk (Jan 24, 2008)

I must be a glutton for punishment, but others may read this thread as well..... 

The commercial heating pads for humans don't have thermostats either. The settings put out a measured amount of power that just happens to settle at 70 at your rooms' current temperature. If you have an usually warm day the pad is not going to shut itself off, but continue to artificially raise the tank temp. It will also possibly dessicate the spider, who may instinctively dig down to escape the heat.


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## Sevenrats (Jan 24, 2008)

Dude. You know, you asked about the heat mat and got multiple responses telling you not to use it but you're going to use it anyway. I have B. smithi and my house is in the 60's all winter. I also have P. regalis and P. irminia and L. parahybana and they're all ok with out supplemental heating. 

The pokie grew from 1/2 to over 3 inches in 6 months unheated. 

Don't use the heat mat.


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## Mister Internet (Jan 24, 2008)

Crazy0monkey said:


> Or   use a hammer? lol j.k. But i was jsut kinda curiouse 2  see everyone elses views on it. I didint realise it would only set the  temp to 70 on low. Thnx for all teh imput everyone


If you absolutely MUST use the heat pad, and for whatever reason, it appears you must, at least put it under just one side of the enclosure so if the spider decides that it's too warm for its liking on a particular day, it can move from the higher heat to the lower heat.


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## Crazy0monkey (Jan 24, 2008)

Mister Internet said:


> If you absolutely MUST use the heat pad, and for whatever reason, it appears you must, at least put it under just one side of the enclosure so if the spider decides that it's too warm for its liking on a particular day, it can move from the higher heat to the lower heat.



im doing that, turned on at night, the temp is so slow taht its barley geting to  70 at night in winter( once it wrams up where i live its coming out, (btw i live in canada)


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## DMTWI (Jan 24, 2008)

Not sure if this was said before, but isn't it a bad idea to use a heat mat with a plastic KK?


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## Crazy0monkey (Jan 24, 2008)

DMTWI said:


> Not sure if this was said before, but isn't it a bad idea to use a heat mat with a plastic KK?


IV heard mixed things. For one the  mat isint hot, its warm. 
2. IV heard alot of people say heat mats are ok on kk
3. iv heard alto of people say its bad on them
Its probly best to just moniter 2m make sure there is no meltage. Idk the melting point of that plastic in kk's. Its all down to personal preference thoe. Im just gonna make sure my mat aint on all the time and its gonan be off soon anyways. once winter passes. This week is been super cold where im at in canada so yeah..


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## Moltar (Jan 24, 2008)

Crazy0monkey said:


> im doing that, turned on at night, the temp is so slow taht its barley geting to  70 at night in winter( once it wrams up where i live its coming out, (btw i live in canada)


Is that at the substrate surface or at the floor of the enclosure? As has been said already, tarantulas dig down to escape heat. They don't have the capacity to realize that the heat is coming from below. The temperature you need to be concerned about is at the floor of the tank because that's where your t is going to be. A heat mat on the bottom of the tank will probably cook your t sooner or later so if you choose to ignore all these people telling you it's a bad idea at least put the mat on the side of the tank.

If you continue as you've stated you'll probably kill your t either by cooking it or by dessicating it over time.


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## Crazy0monkey (Jan 24, 2008)

etown_411 said:


> Is that at the substrate surface or at the floor of the enclosure? As has been said already, tarantulas dig down to escape heat. They don't have the capacity to realize that the heat is coming from below. The temperature you need to be concerned about is at the floor of the tank because that's where your t is going to be. A heat mat on the bottom of the tank will probably cook your t sooner or later so if you choose to ignore all these people telling you it's a bad idea at least put the mat on the side of the tank.
> 
> If you continue as you've stated you'll probably kill your t either by cooking it or by dessicating it over time.



WEll the  thermoiter i haev is actuly at the substrate. about half an inch into it.  (complex story lol) But yeah its nto one of those circle ones. and it was reading  70ish. about a  half an inch into substrate. There is abour  4inches of substrate


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## Moltar (Jan 24, 2008)

Crazy0monkey said:


> WEll the  thermoiter i haev is actuly at the substrate. about half an inch into it.  (complex story lol) But yeah its nto one of those circle ones. and it was reading  70ish. about a  half an inch into substrate. There is abour  4inches of substrate


So with 4" of insulation between the heat source and the thermometer you're getting 70 deg. Bury the thermometer so it's at the bottom of the tank right on top of the heat pad and see what you get.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Crazy0monkey (Jan 24, 2008)

etown_411 said:


> So with 4" of insulation between the heat source and the thermometer you're getting 70 deg. Bury the thermometer so it's at the bottom of the tank right on top of the heat pad and see what you get.


ill try that lol.. And the mat aint under the hole tank. Its like less then half(not under the hide or the water dish)


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## jen650s (Jan 24, 2008)

Also remember that many heat mats generate a fixed amount of heat above the ambient temperature.  Which means that if it is 60 and you get 75 of heat that at 75 you risk roasting your kritter.  Heat mats dry out substrate and animals very quickly which means that you run the risk of death to dehydration before your T even realizes that it needs a drink.  I had this problem with herps (being to hot and/or dry) before going to an expensive system that monitored heat and adjusted accordingly and later getting rid of the herps and sticking with inverts. 

I know that I'm in Southern California and don't have to deal with the extreme cold of Canada, but that also means that I don't have to heat my house and indoor temps are often in the high 50s to low 60s (I do heat, but only from 7-10 at night and 6-8 in the morning) and I offer no heat to any of my Ts.  The biggest consequence I've ever noted is that some of them eat and move less in the winter.  Which also means that they grow slower, live longer.  What it does not mean is that they stop doing life things, I have had two molt in the past week and all are eating at about half the rate they do in summer.


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## Sevenrats (Jan 24, 2008)

> I know that I'm in Southern California and don't have to deal with the extreme cold of Canada


I live in Northern New England and it's just as cold here as it is in Canada. There is NO extreme cold inside your house. 

Why don't you listen to everyone telling you that you don't have to heat the enclosure, especially that species? 

Again. You do not need to heat this tarantula. Forget it. Do not do it. Let it go. Take the heat mat and throw it away.


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## 7mary3 (Jan 24, 2008)

Sevenrats said:


> I live in Northern New England and it's just as cold here as it is in Canada. There is NO extreme cold inside your house.
> 
> Why don't you listen to everyone telling you that you don't have to heat the enclosure, especially that species?
> 
> Again. You do not need to heat this tarantula. Forget it. Do not do it. Let it go. Take the heat mat and throw it away.


Agreed, I'm from Northern MI, just south of Canada, and yes, it is just as cold. No, you don't need to heat this T, especially with a heat mat. If you MUST heat it and will not change your mind on that, then at least use a bulb instead of a mat. It's less risk to the T. At least try to compromise through that route.


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## jeff1962 (Jan 24, 2008)

I live in Alaska have 16 T.s from slings to adults. I do not use heat matts, I just keep the room temp. at 74 degrees.All of my crtters are very healthy and all but a few have molted ,with no problems I might add.


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## Crazy0monkey (Jan 24, 2008)

jeff1962 said:


> I live in Alaska have 16 T.s from slings to adults. I do not use heat matts, I just keep the room temp. at 74 degrees.All of my crtters are very healthy and all but a few have molted ,with no problems I might add.


My room is never 70+ at night it gets down  to 59ish to liek 65
BTW the heat mat isint in, only once for like 30mins b4 i went to bed to try and heat the substrate up a little so it can stay warmer, longer, throught the night. Which i  think should be ok if its only on for liek 30mins  to give a  lil heat to the substrate so the Temp isint low for as long as a period of time


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## AzJohn (Jan 25, 2008)

I'd be to lazy to set all that up unless my tarantula really needed it. B smithi can do fine with cool temps. In the wild they have a summer and winter, night and day. They can handle temperature fluctuations. In fact they need it to breed.


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## Crazy0monkey (Jan 25, 2008)

ight, What about my  costa rican zibra? Same deal or needs a  more consistant heat?


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## cacoseraph (Jan 31, 2008)

Crazy0monkey said:


> ight, What about my  costa rican zibra? Same deal or needs a  more consistant heat?


so... 20 ppl tell you you don't need a heat pad. you tell them all you are going to do it anyways


then.... you ask about a dif spider?  are you serious?


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## xhexdx (Jan 31, 2008)

cacoseraph said:


> so... 20 ppl tell you you don't need a heat pad. you tell them all you are going to do it anyways
> 
> 
> then.... you ask about a dif spider?  are you serious?


*points up*  What he said.


...:wall:


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## 7mary3 (Jan 31, 2008)

My god i thought this thread was over with. ENOUGH with the Heat Mat! If you aren't going to listen, then don't ask! Look up info on here, but the bottom line is that all Ts need temp fluctuations to do well in captivity and moreover, almost all but a very few do just fine at room temperature! They didn't survive for millions of years by being extremely fragile! If it's liveable for you, then it'll be liveable for most any T that you've got. I keep a small (25w) heatsource on my P. Regalis so that if she gets too chilly she can move up the side of the tank to a more comfortable temp zone. That's it though. Everything else is fine, and I promise yours will be too. Again, if you insist on heating, don't use a damn heat mat.


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## cacoseraph (Jan 31, 2008)

i feel bad for my richard answer

no, you don't need a heatmat

my seemani, rosea, and every other species i keep hit 50*F or a little south during winter nights and 100*F or a little north during summer days

straight out, the hot part of year is WAY more scary than the cold part of year.  when they get cold the just stop eating and then moving... when they get hot they use up food and water EXTREMELY fast and can starve or thirst to death in an insanely short time


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## tattoogoon (Oct 3, 2013)

Crazy0monkey said:


> Despite what evryones said. im leaving the mat on low under the tank. It now has the tank at an evin  70degrees instaid of  around 65ish. It is on low and there is 2 other higher heat settings. So iwll jsut keep it on low




What I have learned from local hobbyistsi is to keep the mat up aganst the back of the tank but I live in Wales and it's always cold here


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## Hobo (Oct 3, 2013)

tattoogoon said:


> What I have learned from local hobbyistsi is to keep the mat up aganst the back of the tank but I live in Wales and it's always cold here


It's cold here in Canada too.
IIRC, _winter 2008_ here in Vancouver was exceptionally colder than usual, which might explain OPs knee jerk reaction to use a heat mat at the time.


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## Emotionlessness (Oct 3, 2013)

Ok, now dig down right to the bottom of the tank where the mat is and take the temperature from that.

Tarantulas will dig to escape the heat, and if yours gets too hot it may dig down onto the mat and burn himself, or even worse kill himself.


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## Kazaam (Oct 3, 2013)

My tarantulas are kept at 60 to 70F in the winter, it has been like that for years and I've never had a single problem related to it.

Also, find me one single example of a tarantula dying because of a heat mat, I'd like to see it.


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## Emotionlessness (Oct 3, 2013)

Kazaam said:


> My tarantulas are kept at 60 to 70F in the winter, it has been like that for years and I've never had a single problem related to it.
> 
> Also, find me one single example of a tarantula dying because of a heat mat, I'd like to see it.


With undertank heatmats?
I shouldn't have to, its not unheard of.


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## Kazaam (Oct 3, 2013)

Emotionlessness said:


> With undertank heatmats?
> I shouldn't have to, its not unheard of.


With no heat source.

If you make a claim you should provide evidence for it when someone asks you, if you can't you shouldn't make the claim at all.

Also I'd take a look at this if I were you, because it's basically what you're doing at the moment.


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## PrettyHate (Oct 3, 2013)

Emotionlessness said:


> With undertank heatmats?
> I shouldn't have to, its not unheard of.


Way back when, when I knew much less than I do now, I took in a H. lividum from the pet store I was working at at the time. It was missing 3 legs, and was near death. I was smart enough to "nurse" it back to health by putting it in an ICU. It quickly recovered and I moved it into a KK with several inches of packed substrate so it could burrow. I was told that putting a heat mat on the bottom of the tank would help keep the humidity in the enclosure up. I was dumb enough to listen to this advice. My T dug, like it was supposed to right to the bottom of the enclosure. I found it dead not long after and to this day I believe that it died because I cooked it. 

I am embarrassed to even admit this, but post it just to show that yes, a heat mat on the bottom of your tank can indeed kill your tarantula. 

The way Kazaam worded his statement did make it sound like he wanted an example of a T dying from a heat mat, not one dying from no external heat source.


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## Kazaam (Oct 3, 2013)

So you 'think' it might have been the heat mat, I'm looking for evidence that actually states that the heat mat was directly responsible, possibly with pictures.

The victim also has to be a healthy tarantula, not one that was near death shortly before the accident, otherwise it's like saying that catching a cold is deadly because people with a compromised immune system die because of it.


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## hearsemadam (Oct 3, 2013)

last winter I used a (human) heating pad under half of my Stirmis tank because it was so damn cold in my house and the 10 gal tank didnt fit in the heated cabinet I kept everyone else in.  I only did it for a short time and she did fine, however I would NEVER recommend anyone to to what Ive done unless the situation is dire and temporary.  there are better ways to provide heat.

now her tank is in a heated cabinet.  i have been able to purchase additional curio cabinets to accommodate my growing collections needs.  

I keep everyones containers in curio cabinets with timed lighting, thermostats connected to Flexx Watt that I attached to the walls or ceiling of each cabinet, and have multiple thermometers/hygrometers in each cabinet.  my condo gets damn cold in winter and I dont like heating a mostly unused space, but the Ts have it cozy all through the season!


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## Emotionlessness (Oct 3, 2013)

Regardless, they will burrow down to escape the heat, why would you have it underneath which is where it will go when it is trying to cool down?...


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## pperrotta03 (Oct 3, 2013)

That is exactly why I never use heat mats with my Ts that like to burrow unless it would be an unhealthy cold under there somehow

tappy tappa taparoo


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## vespers (Oct 5, 2013)

Emotionlessness said:


> Ok, now dig down right to the bottom of the tank where the mat is and take the temperature from that.
> 
> Tarantulas will dig to escape the heat, and if yours gets too hot it may dig down onto the mat and burn himself, or even worse kill himself.


Not all tarantulas dig. I would only possibly be concerned about this if the spider in question was an obligate burrowing species. And there are heat mats available that are so low powered that they aren't capable of cooking anything, such as Exo Terra's Rainforest one. Most of the time room temps are usually fine, but I'm sure there are certain situations...like hearsemadam's scenario...where extra heating can be beneficial.


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## Kazaam (Oct 6, 2013)

I'm still waiting for evidence.


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