# Heat source for my tarantula?



## Factanonverba (Nov 14, 2010)

I've read that room temp is just fine for a Chilean rose and no additional heat is necessary, but I've noticed that my tarantula will consistently position itself toward wherever the highest amount of heat is located. 

Observation; I keep her in a plastic shoe box which I used to place on top of my snake's terrarium cover, which has a heat emitter next to it. The tarantula would wedge itself up against the plastic wall which was nearest the emitter. If I turn the T's enclosure around so shes on the opposite end, she will move over toward the emitter. I've turned it on all four corners and each time it moves to whichever end is closer to the emitter. I placed a thermometer over the area inside the T's enclosure and revealed that the warmth was around 80-81F.

To give the entire enclosure a little more ambient warmth I placed her on top of my DVR (half the enclosure is over the warm vents, other half is off) and the avg temp now inside is about 78, and she started digging in the portion of substrate located underneath a piece of hide cork, I'm assuming to get to the warmth. She will also occasionally place herself on top of the hide, and return to the burrow at leisure.

So the question is, should I purchase some sort of external heat pad to warm the enclosure? I was told by some that this is not advisable for T's, but it seems apparent that mine likes to keep warm even though my room is generally around 72-75F already.


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## curiousme (Nov 14, 2010)

It really isn't necessary to provide extra heat for a G. _rosea_, especially at the temps your house is.  However, since you have noted its preference for the warmth, placing it in warmer areas, such as the ones your have already tried should provide the extra warmth it seems to be seeking.  

Most heatpads are pretty much crap and we rue the day we spent money on one, so I don't recommend trying to buy that alternative.


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## Stewjoe (Nov 14, 2010)

I use a heater in my Arachnid room but its set to room temperature so it will never dip below that. I have 75w heat lamp directed at the younger and higher temperature species.


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## AmbushArachnids (Nov 14, 2010)

Once it gets under 65 deg you may want to consider heating the room. Otherwise its not neccesarry.


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## curiousme (Nov 14, 2010)

The temperature at which people keep their Ts is variable.  

For instance, I am sitting in a room with all of our Ts and the thermometer reads 61 degrees.  It has been about this low or maybe a little lower each fall for the past 2 years and none of our Ts seem to be suffering any detrimental effect.  They molt regularly, eat well, do not drop dead and seem no worse from it.  There are others that will staunchly disagree with this husbandry, but so far we haven't seen any problem with keeping them at these temps.  We know they would 'like/ prefer' it to be warmer, but like us, a little chilliness doesn't seem to hurt our collection of species.


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## ruca49 (Nov 14, 2010)

Don't waste your money on a heating pad.  Often they have "hot spots" and are unreliable.  Not all of them are crappy but most are.


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## briarpatch10 (Nov 14, 2010)

I have heat sources for all of my T's {lamps with ceramic emitters} My house gets below 60. I keep the heater on my kids and keep them between 70-73. If your house gets cold I would do it.If your house stays 72-75 I dont see the point


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## Ictinike (Nov 14, 2010)

You could consider Flexwatt "Heat Tape"..

I'm about done with building a second T cabinet and retrofitting the first one with a 4' run of 4" heat tape inside the cabinet.  Did a brief test and set the thermostat to 90F and within about 20 mins it went from 66F to 83F being closed up.  I plan on running both cabinets off the one thermostat with each having a 4' run on the back inside of the cabinet.

This stuff was so easy to build and the hardest part was the foil tape   Never seemed to go where I wanted but after fighting it for 40 mins I finally get it all run in the new cabinet.

Works well and once I'm done I'll take some shots and detail everything here.. 

Got mine from The Bean Farm and you can view it HERE


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## AmbushArachnids (Nov 14, 2010)

Ictinike said:


> You could consider Flexwatt "Heat Tape"..


This is what i have done also. I have a book shelf with a plexi glass front and flex watt on the back wall. I added a small fan on the inside to circulate the air. I ordered 12" wide tape instead. Its more cost effective.


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## Ictinike (Nov 14, 2010)

AgentD006las said:


> This is what i have done also. I have a book shelf with a plexi glass front and flex watt on the back wall. I added a small fan on the inside to circulate the air. I ordered 12" wide tape instead. Its more cost effective.


I was going to go with the 11" but for the current cabinets I have felt it would/could be a bigger potential hazard so I stuck with the 4" stuff.

Not sure about not being cost effective and each application has it's worth since really 3 4" runs (24w) is only 4w over the 11" (20w) per foot.  Thermostat I bought can handle up to 1000w so not even coming close there and opted for it over a rheostat "dimmer" setup.

All in all it's working well and I can keep the room a bit cooler since it's the wife and I's bedroom and I hate being overheated trying to sleep  

This allows me to keep it snug 80-90 in the cabinet with some added Styrofoam board insulation and be comfortable in bed the low 70's.


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## AmbushArachnids (Nov 14, 2010)

Ictinike said:


> I was going to go with the 11" but for the current cabinets I have felt it would/could be a bigger potential hazard so I stuck with the 4" stuff.
> 
> Not sure about not being cost effective and each application has it's worth since really 3 4" runs (24w) is only 4w over the 11" (20w) per foot.  Thermostat I bought can handle up to 1000w so not even coming close there and opted for it over a rheostat "dimmer" setup.
> 
> ...


It is cheaper per watt for the wider stuff. You can apply the same amount just use less of the 12" wide.

The place i got it from priced it 5$ per foot for 4" and 7$ per foot for 12"
 You get 3 times as much for 40% more money.

So if you got 2' of 4" for 10$ you could get a 1' of 12" for for 7$. Thats more product for less money. Its just not as versatile.


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## Motorkar (Nov 14, 2010)

I use homemade heat pad. I took some foam, wich isolates the heat, measured it for the distance of all enclosures I have one to eachother. Then I attached 25W heating cable on it and for cover I mounted a thin copper plate, same measurments as the foam. I putted this behind the enclosures so that it can heat them all with same temperature if there is too cold in my house( it can drop under 18°C). Also I have pluged this "heat pad" onto thermostate so that it turns it off if it gets to the specefied temperature. And heating like that the t has a chance to move away from the heat if too warm.


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## Ictinike (Nov 14, 2010)

AgentD006las said:


> It is cheaper per watt for the wider stuff. You can apply the same amount just use less of the 12" wide.
> 
> The place i got it from priced it 5$ per foot for 4" and 7$ per foot for 12"
> You get 3 times as much for 40% more money.
> ...


I get ya.. As you said tho the 11/12" stuff is so hard to use unless it's a big application.. 

So far my application is working well but was losing some heat out the back so I went to Home Depot and bought some 4' x 18" blocks of styro and foil taped them to the back directly behind the heat tape (it's on the inside, the sytro is on the outside.  This is insulating it enough to allow the heat to dissipate forward instead of being lost out the back and within a few mins now it's gone from 75F to over 86F which is where I want to keep it.  I'm pushing it to 90F then setting the dial down to 85 to see how long it takes closed up before it kicks back on and then how long it takes to heat back up.  I'm sure I'll have to insulate the sides a bit but for what it's worth and the cost of the cabinets and heat tape it's a fine good job


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## Ictinike (Nov 15, 2010)

Here are some pics of said cabinets.  After some room renovations, forward then back again, I only had time to wire up the one cabinet.

I'll be taking the 1st cabinet's residents out tomorrow and doing the same to the first as I have with this new one.


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## Factanonverba (Nov 16, 2010)

That's a very nice setup, Ictinike! 

I only have one T to heat though, with no real plans to get more. I was thinking something along the lines of a repti-therm or exo-terra pad, no more than 4 watts to stick underneath. The DVR so far works ok, but when I'm not home and it goes into sleep mode the T's enclosure cools back down.

Anyway its just an idea I'm contemplating, I know the T isn't suffering as my room is always a comfortable temp. I just want to provide the T a consistent source of what it apparently desires.


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## AmbushArachnids (Nov 16, 2010)

Heres my setup. The odd looking thing in the corner is a fan that circulates the air. Mines dialed in with a dimmer switch. Using more product allows you to keep the flex watt surface temp low and consistant. I run the flex watt at 95 deg constantly. That keeps everything inside at 85. I sometimes keep a container full of water to keep up the humidity a little.

I plan on upgrading to a proportional thermostat soon with a on/off backup thermostat. 

A dimmer has worked well for me since my room is always the same temp. Meaning i never have to adjust the dial. 


After experimenting with the styrofoam ive found it greatly reduces the circulation of heat and traps it behind the foam. So i no longer use the styrofoam.

Im running out of room. Its about time to upgrade to a bigger shelf..






Just snapped a photo of how it is now.. Been moving things in and out trying to quarantine any new arrivals.


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## Rayven (Nov 16, 2010)

Pay attention to your animal and ignore the experts. I use a heat cable on my tarantula cages because I keep my house around 73-74 degrees. ( I raise dart frogs and try to keep things cool enough so they won't overheat) 

I used to follow the *expert* advice and kept all my T's according to what I read was the proper conditions for each species. When I became confident enough to ignore the experts my T's became much happier and healthier. I added a clump of damp sphagnum moss to each cage, even for the ones who supposedly need dry conditions, and ran a heat cable across the backs of all the cages. My T's are much more active and plump now. You have to pay attention to your animals and take into account your individual conditions. If your house is very dry, as mine is, add humidity, even to the cages of the T's who usually want dry conditions. If your house is on the cool side, give the T a choice of whether to be near a heat source or not.

In other words, pay attention to your animal and follow your instincts instead of some *experts* generic advice.


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## AmbushArachnids (Nov 16, 2010)

Rayven said:


> Pay attention to your animal and ignore the experts. I use a heat cable on my tarantula cages because I keep my house around 73-74 degrees. ( I raise dart frogs and try to keep things cool enough so they won't overheat)
> 
> I used to follow the *expert* advice and kept all my T's according to what I read was the proper conditions for each species. When I became confident enough to ignore the experts my T's became much happier and healthier. I added a clump of damp sphagnum moss to each cage, even for the ones who supposedly need dry conditions, and ran a heat cable across the backs of all the cages. My T's are much more active and plump now. You have to pay attention to your animals and take into account your individual conditions. If your house is very dry, as mine is, add humidity, even to the cages of the T's who usually want dry conditions. If your house is on the cool side, give the T a choice of whether to be near a heat source or not.
> 
> In other words, pay attention to your animal and follow your instincts instead of some *experts* generic advice.


You dont make much sense. So you keep all your Ts on wet sub? Why? I give all my Ts dry substrate and a water dish except my swamp dwellers. They are extremly well fed. Wet substrate is an invitation for a mite infestation. And desert dwelling Ts dont need dry sub or any extra humidity to thrive. The natural habitat they live in has neither. Do what you want with your Ts but that additude will get you no where in this hobby.


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## curiousme (Nov 16, 2010)

AgentD006las said:


> You dont make much sense. So you keep all your Ts on wet sub? Why? I give all my Ts dry substrate and a water dish except my swamp dwellers. They are extremly well fed. Wet substrate is an invitation for a mite infestation. And desert dwelling Ts dont need dry sub or any extra humidity to thrive. The natural habitat they live in has neither. Do what you want with your Ts but that additude will get you no where in this hobby.


Tarantulas don't actually live IN the desert...... on the fringes in scrubland yes, but not in the desert.  

She also didn't say that she had wet substrate, she said she added a clump of wet moss.  Not my cup of T either, but it works for her.


As far as expert advice, even Schultz's will say they have more to learn.  I think it is hard to be an 'expert' in the field of tarantulas, because there are so gosh darn many of them.  I am still a newbie, but have a little bit of experience under the belt to offer.


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## jebbewocky (Nov 16, 2010)

Rayven said:


> Pay attention to your animal and ignore the experts. I use a heat cable on my tarantula cages because I keep my house around 73-74 degrees. ( I raise dart frogs and try to keep things cool enough so they won't overheat)
> 
> I used to follow the *expert* advice and kept all my T's according to what I read was the proper conditions for each species. When I became confident enough to ignore the experts my T's became much happier and healthier. I added a clump of damp sphagnum moss to each cage, even for the ones who supposedly need dry conditions, and ran a heat cable across the backs of all the cages. My T's are much more active and plump now. You have to pay attention to your animals and take into account your individual conditions. If your house is very dry, as mine is, add humidity, even to the cages of the T's who usually want dry conditions. If your house is on the cool side, give the T a choice of whether to be near a heat source or not.
> 
> In other words, pay attention to your animal and follow your instincts instead of some *experts* generic advice.



Whatever works,  but I'm not doing the same with mine.


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## Fran (Nov 16, 2010)

Rayven said:


> Pay attention to your animal and ignore the experts. I use a heat cable on my tarantula cages because I keep my house around 73-74 degrees. ( I raise dart frogs and try to keep things cool enough so they won't overheat)
> 
> I used to follow the *expert* advice and kept all my T's according to what I read was the proper conditions for each species. When I became confident enough to ignore the experts my T's became much happier and healthier. I added a clump of damp sphagnum moss to each cage, even for the ones who supposedly need dry conditions, and ran a heat cable across the backs of all the cages. My T's are much more active and plump now. You have to pay attention to your animals and take into account your individual conditions. If your house is very dry, as mine is, add humidity, even to the cages of the T's who usually want dry conditions. If your house is on the cool side, give the T a choice of whether to be near a heat source or not.
> 
> In other words, pay attention to your animal and follow your instincts instead of some *experts* generic advice.


Pay attention to your animal; If the t flipps you the bird, try to lower the temps, actually if you see them with a scarf you might want to raise them too.
Water is fine for T's  but Ginger ale will make them funnier.

Reactions: Like 1


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## KoriTamashii (Nov 16, 2010)

Ictinike said:


> Here are some pics of said cabinets.  After some room renovations, forward then back again, I only had time to wire up the one cabinet.


Where did you get that cabinet? I've been trying to find one like that FOREVER. Must have. Do want.


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## Rayven (Nov 16, 2010)

AgentD006las said:


> You dont make much sense. So you keep all your Ts on wet sub? Why? I give all my Ts dry substrate and a water dish except my swamp dwellers. They are extremly well fed. Wet substrate is an invitation for a mite infestation. And desert dwelling Ts dont need dry sub or any extra humidity to thrive. The natural habitat they live in has neither. Do what you want with your Ts but that additude will get you no where in this hobby.


I didn't say I keep them on wet substrate, I put a small clump of damp moss in one corner to raise the humidity inside the cages. In the *dry* cages the clump is the size of a small apple. The adults live in ten to twenty gallon enclosures, so they aren't forced to walk around on wet substrate. My house is extremely dry, to the point that I will get nose bleeds if I don't run humidifiers. Even my dry tanks need extra humidity. When I stopped listening to people like you my tarantulas stopped suffering. Like I said, a person should pay attention to their animal and take into account their individual conditions. 

A newbie shouldn't be bullied into following some strict set of rules. I have the feeling that's why a lot of T's die. Newbies who come here get bullied and are too afraid to experiment to find out what their animals really need. People should research the animal, find out what they can about their natural conditions and then observe their particular animals to see if they appear to be happy. If they don't seem to thrive, start experimenting until you find conditions they seem to like. They should ignore people who abuse them if they don't follow some strict set of rules. 

Animals are just like people, some may have medical conditions that would dictate they be kept in abnormal conditions. You never know, a T could have a genetic disorder that causes them to dehydrate quicker than the average whatever-they-are, or the opposite; they could retain too much water and need drier conditions than normal. Pay attention to the individual animal and you will figure out what they need.

As for "attitude", yours needs some adjusting. Why do you feel the need to insult and abuse total strangers? I have noticed that there are quite a few jerks who frequent these boards but luckily there are enough good people here to balance things out. I hope newbies who get attacked by arrogant, abusive jerks realize that not all T keepers behave like that.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ictinike (Nov 16, 2010)

KoriTamashii said:


> Where did you get that cabinet? I've been trying to find one like that FOREVER. Must have. Do want.


Walmart .. Bought one about 6-8 months ago and thought they didn't have it anymore but finally it showed back up and it's the same ones I have here.  Work well and I like it has doors that can close.

$59.00 roughly but we found it cheaper locally about $52.00

You'll have to put it together but it's easily done and doesn't weigh a ton.  I've seen better but for the price and it's function it's spot on for my use.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Storage-Cabinet-Alder/11061206

Cheers,


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## AmbushArachnids (Nov 16, 2010)

Rayven said:


> As for "attitude", yours needs some adjusting. Why do you feel the need to insult and abuse total strangers?


I missed the part where i insulted or abused you. Where did i do that? Sorry i didnt offer you a lolly pop. 

I have noticed that there are quite a few jerks who frequent these boards but luckily there are enough good people here to balance things out. I hope newbies who get attacked by arrogant, abusive jerks realize that not all T keepers behave like that.[/QUOTE] 

You came off a bit arrogant in your post. "ignore the experts is a pretty broad statment" Maybe you should of said "elitist". When i think experts i think about people who have spent alot of time feild work, researching, documenting and writing articles or books. Thats my definition of an "expert". Im not sure what yours is, but it seems alot different and you seem to know better.


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## KoriTamashii (Nov 16, 2010)

Ictinike said:


> Walmart .. Bought one about 6-8 months ago and thought they didn't have it anymore but finally it showed back up and it's the same ones I have here.  Work well and I like it has doors that can close.
> 
> $59.00 roughly but we found it cheaper locally about $52.00
> 
> ...


You're my hero. <3 :worship:


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## TigerLily87 (Nov 16, 2010)

I use a mini Zoo Med heat pad, everyones right they are crap especially for the price, but they gave my T the extra warmth it likes without getting too hot.


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## Rayven (Nov 16, 2010)

TigerLily87 said:


> I use a mini Zoo Med heat pad, everyones right they are crap especially for the price, but they gave my T the extra warmth it likes without getting too hot.


I use the zoomed heat cable, which is also crap but works well for what I need. I have cages on metal rack shelves and string the cable across a section of each cage so the T's can choose to be near the heat or not. I bought the longest heat cable, which is 35 feet or so, and use one per rack. Some of it is wasted, like the section that has to travel from one shelf to the next, but it's the easiest way to heat the whole rack using only one plug. 

One thing  you have to take into account using the heat cables is that the first six feet is dead. I had to take it off and restring it when I realized the bottom shelf wasn't getting heat. That could be a problem if you buy the short cables, half the cable may be useless.


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## Factanonverba (Nov 18, 2010)

I've been keeping my T on my DVR at least a couple weeks now and gradually its been laying more webs around its enclosure, around the walls, on substrate, around the water dish. And then tonight I noticed that it created a web barrier and barricaded itself in a corner of the enclosure under a ramp of cork bark, where the warmest spot is.  

It never webbed or bothered to use the cork bark hide much before being given supplemental heat. And the container it lived in and came with (when it was at the pet shop) didn't have any noticeable webbing in it either. What does this usually mean?


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## Rayven (Nov 18, 2010)

Factanonverba said:


> I've been keeping my T on my DVR at least a couple weeks now and gradually its been laying more webs around its enclosure, around the walls, on substrate, around the water dish. And then tonight I noticed that it created a web barrier and barricaded itself in a corner of the enclosure under a ramp of cork bark, where the warmest spot is.
> 
> It never webbed or bothered to use the cork bark hide much before being given supplemental heat. And the container it lived in and came with (when it was at the pet shop) didn't have any noticeable webbing in it either. What does this usually mean?


Maybe it means that it is more content and is now warm enough to make webs. I think many T's prefer a little heat. Yes, they can survive at room temperatures but it seems to me like they are happier at temps warmer than what we humans prefer our houses to be at. 

If it barricaded itself into a webbed area, it may be about to lay and eggsac or molt.  That's not always the case when they barricade themselves away but some times it is.


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## Factanonverba (Nov 20, 2010)

Wow, this is what its web hideout looked like when I posted about it:



And I came home late tonight to find this:

 I have more pics under my images gallery.

Does this mean a molt is coming? If so, should I be worried that the spot shes in is above solid plastic and not on bedding? The spot also doesn't have a lot of room to move around in, but I guess the T knows what its doing... Anyway, I thought g.rosea go on a couple week to month fast before a molt? She fed last Saturday morning and was due for another feeding later today. Should I still try feeding?


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## Ictinike (Nov 20, 2010)

It's been busy

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## Factanonverba (Nov 20, 2010)

Wow!! I woke up today and I see now why shes been so busy!!!! 



Her abdomen had noticeably deflated.



I didn't even know if this T was a mature adult, her body length is barely 2.5" from fangs to spinnerets. is it possible the egg sack is infertile? I also didn't think mine was WC (if its possible it was fertilized in the wild), the store I bought it from regularly breeds their own stock, so I assumed she was CB as well as the g.rosea slings they had. Maybe she was fertilized at the store? Wow.., now I have to learn to care for these if they do hatch...


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## Ictinike (Nov 20, 2010)

It's possible but depends on the last molt.

If she was "tagged" in the wild and has yet to molt then yes it's possible it's fertile however if she's molted in their or your care then no it's not.

They sometimes produce "dud sacs" for some reason.  I would ask the place you got her from and try to determine her WC/CB status and last molts if they've  recorded any.

Good luck and she was busy with purpose!


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## NikiP (Nov 21, 2010)

Lol, when you posted the first picture of webbing, my first thought was it looked like more egg sac webbing then molt webbing  Congrats!


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## MS6582 (Nov 26, 2010)

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this question, I can make my own thread if needed since this thread has gone in a different direction but....

I got two GBB slings today, they are about .5-.75" they live in little salsa cups right now, the person I bought them from was feeding them quite often to keep them fat (not too fat) and I would like to continue this but my house is cold. During the day it is in the low 60's high 50's and in the night we are getting below 50. Since they are in little salsa cups I'm not sure the best way to heat them... I don't really have tarantula room or cabinet dedicated to them, just some extra space on my desk next to my printer. What I have done for now is I took a 40w red heat bulb, put in to a clamp lamp, put the bulb about 18" away, and the temp is reading 73deg on TOP of the cup.... is this OK? will the heat build up inside you think? Any other suggestions would be helpful, I just don't really feel like building them a heater box.

Thank you!


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## Factanonverba (Nov 27, 2010)

MS6582 said:


> Sorry if this is the wrong place for this question, I can make my own thread if needed since this thread has gone in a different direction but....
> 
> I got two GBB slings today, they are about .5-.75" they live in little salsa cups right now, the person I bought them from was feeding them quite often to keep them fat (not too fat) and I would like to continue this but my house is cold. During the day it is in the low 60's high 50's and in the night we are getting below 50. Since they are in little salsa cups I'm not sure the best way to heat them... I don't really have tarantula room or cabinet dedicated to them, just some extra space on my desk next to my printer. What I have done for now is I took a 40w red heat bulb, put in to a clamp lamp, put the bulb about 18" away, and the temp is reading 73deg on TOP of the cup.... is this OK? will the heat build up inside you think? Any other suggestions would be helpful, I just don't really feel like building them a heater box.
> 
> Thank you!


I'd probably keep them (in their cups) in a bigger container with plenty of air holes, then place a heat source over that and measure the ambient temp within the larger container. ambient temp would be a little more consistent that way, with less risk of cooking them. Sort of like a mini cabinet.


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## Factanonverba (Nov 27, 2010)

Well, I'm preparing for new arrivals. I've decided NOT to artificially incubate the eggs and leave them with the mother. I know yield probably wont be as great (assuming they're fertile), so it will be less headache for me in the end if I let nature take its course. 

BTW, I spoke with the pet shop owner/manager and he wasn't much help on finding out whether my T was paired at the shop or WC that way. No record on molts either. :wall: 

Guess I will just have to make a small investment in preparation. 

I'm thinking about getting an order of these vials: http://www.thorntonplastics.com/index.php/plastic-vial/assembled/partial-case/8oz-plastic-vial-capped-100-case.html

I'm not sure how many she will have though, shes relatively small (2 1/4-5"), I don't think it can be in the 200-300's could it?


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## pok2010 (Nov 27, 2010)

*i use 2 items*

central heating, amazing this is lol

and if neccesary, a nice little electric fire, works wonders .. plus you aint gt to worry about cooking your T's or setting the place on fire


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## Ictinike (Nov 27, 2010)

pok2010 said:


> central heating, amazing this is lol
> 
> and if neccesary, a nice little electric fire, works wonders .. plus you aint gt to worry about cooking your T's or setting the place on fire


Unsure about everyone else but I don't like to sleep in 80F+ heat.

I prefer in the lower 70's if not mid 60's which is why I use the heat tape.  I can adequately heat my home to provide the temps for the T's but again I'm not going to give up my comfort to suit them.  The heat tape provides both.


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