65f night temp to cold?

[Luis]

Hello
. I am new to tarantulas and so far narrowed it down to a green bottle blue,white skeleton or mex red leg.
The room I want to keep it in has a temp of 65 at night. Would a low watt red bulb placed on the screen top to increase heat be ok,heat pad be better or none needed?
Day temps are mid to high 70s.
Thanks.
Luis

 

[Mike H.]

Congrats and welcome !! I would get the Green Bottle Blue...I have 2 females and they are very very hardy spiders and are very easy to care for...keep em dry on peatmoss and a water dish and a hide and thats it...as far as temps go...I would suggest a ceramic heater...thats what I use in my basement in the winter...69 and up to 72 73 degrees would be ok...no cooler than 69 if I could help it...heat lamps and lights are not recomended as they may dehydrate your spider...and little ceramic heaters are very inexspensive....good luck...


Regards, Mike

 

[Elizabeth]

From the temps he is describing and those types of Ts, I don't think any extra heat is necessary.

 

[Mike H.]

From the temps he is describing and those types of Ts, I don't think any extra heat is necessary.

I agree but I dont let my T. room get that cold...65 is a little low for my me...

Just my thoughts thats all..

Regards, Mike

 

[Luis]

Congrats and welcome !! I would get the Green Bottle Blue...I have 2 females and they are very very hardy spiders and are very easy to care for...keep em dry on peatmoss and a water dish and a hide and thats it...as far as temps go...I would suggest a ceramic heater...thats what I use in my basement in the winter...69 and up to 72 73 degrees would be ok...no cooler than 69 if I could help it...heat lamps and lights are not recomended as they may dehydrate your spider...and little ceramic heaters are very inexspensive....good luck...


Regards, Mike

Thanks excellent suggestion going to do that and yes am leaning towards the GBB. I think it would be happy in the 15 gallon tank natural set up.
Luis

 

[Mike H.]

15 gallon may be ok for an adult ( may be a little big )...I have my adult female in a 10 gallon and a 5.5 would be just fine...just keep them on the dry side and make sure water dish is always full of fresh water...you can provide a hide or they may web up there own hide...you can put some cork bark in the tank as well...they generally make spectacular webbing...they are a awsome spider and the colors are fantastic !! right after a molt they have to be in the top 5 for the most pretty spiders...imo...

Regards, Mike

 

[WayneT]

Welcome to the boards Luis! I just love it when Mike speaks of the greenbottles we are of a kindred spirit! I lived in a pretty cool area of the country for several years, and I kept a little heater similar to what Mike suggests. 65 degrees is borderline for me as well, the tarantulas are somewhat more sluggish in my opinion, at that temp. And as for your setup size, I kept two males, seperately, in no more than 5 gallon enclosures. You'll see what Mike talks about with the webbing...they will web over almost everything, if they're allowed to, yet will stay almost in one area exclusively. My trick to hinder the desire for webbing everything was to place fake plants flanking each other at one end of the enclosure, opposite the water dish. In both my cases, the T's were happy to web those corners to death and leave the rest of the enclosure alone. They are wonderful display T's as well. And while generally they are somewhat more skittish, both my males let me handle them, until they matured and were ready to mate.

Enjoy your stay here!

 

[Elizabeth]

If the daytime temps are mid to high 70s, do the Ts stay sluggish from nighttime temps down to 65? My house stays cool, too, but that means even daytime temps don't go above 70. I kept some Brachypelma slings for over a month in my house temps, nighttime lows of 62 or 63, daytime highs of 68, and although they didn't thrive, they didn't die either. They sort of did nothing! (So, I do heat my Ts). I did not think a nighttime temp a little below 70 would be an issue as long as the day time temps were warm enough. You sure he needs extra heat at all?

 

[Mike H.]

I think it is personal preference, I have around 40 to 45 spiders in my basement and I dont like the temps getting below 69 degrees day or night...they all seem to do just fine in the 70 to 75 degree range...sometimes in the summer I will let the temps rise to about 80 degrees but thats about it...they all are active ( as active as spiders can be ) they all eat molt and grow...so those temps work well for me....

Regards, Mike

 

[WayneT]

Elizabeth, thank you for pointing out the range to me again. A 70 to 65 degree isn't much of a range. I was in an area that would hit 65 or below after daytime temps averaging in the mid to upper 80's. And I must stress, this was what I felt was best for them. Slings, I always keep in an elevated temp. until they get over an inch. And the breeders, like Lucky, are in an area that is kept warmer as well. Maybe I just thought they were sluggish and blamed it on the drop in temp. They did move slower when going for prey, it seemed. Thanks!

 

[Luis]

Welcome to the boards Luis! I just love it when Mike speaks of the greenbottles we are of a kindred spirit! I lived in a pretty cool area of the country for several years, and I kept a little heater similar to what Mike suggests. 65 degrees is borderline for me as well, the tarantulas are somewhat more sluggish in my opinion, at that temp. And as for your setup size, I kept two males, seperately, in no more than 5 gallon enclosures. You'll see what Mike talks about with the webbing...they will web over almost everything, if they're allowed to, yet will stay almost in one area exclusively. My trick to hinder the desire for webbing everything was to place fake plants flanking each other at one end of the enclosure, opposite the water dish. In both my cases, the T's were happy to web those corners to death and leave the rest of the enclosure alone. They are wonderful display T's as well. And while generally they are somewhat more skittish, both my males let me handle them, until they matured and were ready to mate.

Enjoy your stay here!

I ordered after having my post answered a few days ago a 40 watt ceramic heat emmitter. it will be placed on screen top of 15 gallon tank on one side. I "experimented" with a regular light 40 watt bulb and it had the temp at mid 70s in one area of tank the next am.
So since didnt want bright light got a non light heat emmitter. The day temps are in mid 70s .
I imagine the set up is ready now and just waiting for the heat elememt than will get the GBB. Its just a look at "pet" I am not going to handle it at all.
I know they arent the most active but I like to give them room in a natural looking set up so opted for 15 galon long tank.
The substrate is esu jungle mix about 1/2 inch thick several sticks to climb and corckbark "caves".
Thanks.
Luis

 

[Greg Wolfe]

Temperatures...

This is an often debated issue. In my experience keeping T's below the 60F degree mark at night will result in lethargy and reduced feeding. Tarantulas are poikilothermic, that is, they don't generate any heat by themselves.
65F at night, in my opinion, is borderline. 70F would be a little better, with around 80F during the day. This is what I keep my T's at.
The warmer they are the more they will feed and grow. Of course over 100F and you will have a dead T.
Heat lights can be used if the light is positioned away from any particular tank, so it bathes a number of tanks for short periods if time. Heat lamps can dry out tanks quickly if placed to close, and reduce humidity.
I also use a ceramic heater in the winter, set on low in conjunction with a warm mist humdifier.

 

[Luis]

This is an often debated issue. In my experience keeping T's below the 60F degree mark at night will result in lethargy and reduced feeding. Tarantulas are poikilothermic, that is, they don't generate any heat by themselves.
65F at night, in my opinion, is borderline. 70F would be a little better, with around 80F during the day. This is what I keep my T's at.
The warmer they are the more they will feed and grow. Of course over 100F and you will have a dead T.
Heat lights can be used if the light is positioned away from any particular tank, so it bathes a number of tanks for short periods if time. Heat lamps can dry out tanks quickly if placed to close, and reduce humidity.
I also use a ceramic heater in the winter, set on low in conjunction with a warm mist humdifier.

I ordered a 40 watt ceramic heat emmitter to be placed on one side of the tank allowing for slight temp gradient at night . The temp will stay at mid 70s.
I purchased a tarantula book at pet store but its an old book and a out of date by todays standards(was only book they had).
It was fun reading anyway TARANTULAS by John G Browning