Ok, thanks guys. I can't tell if I should go for it because some people aren't having any problems with temps like that, but then again, there's always that risk...... I would still love to hear more opinions on this subject so I can decide what to do, I may not get it for a few months though. (hesitant mother)
B. Albo temp
- Thread starter NickC4
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entirely up to you... imo you could just drop it in an enclosure of any terrestrial sort, add a few crickets and full water dish once and a while and its simple as that.. hope you enjoy yours as much as i enjoy mine, assuming YOU DO go for it.
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Can you get a space heater?
Unfortunately my dad won't allow one due to the energy cost. I was going to make a heat cabinet so it wouldnt run much but he dosent listen when I bring it up.
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It shouldn't be a problem with sub-adult to adult tarantulas, but I would try to avoid such low temperatures with babies. The biggest problem would be dehydration, so if you're dealing with babies you want to be sure that the substrate in their bottles/containers was always slightly damp. Mark my words! I didn't say sopping wet! You just need to keep the humidity in the bottles/containers elevated to retard excessive water loss by the babies.
Tarantulas kept at such low temperatures also will not eat or will only rarely eat. You can try one cricket once a month, but remove the cricket if it hasn't been eaten within 24 hours. So, another potential problem with babies kept so cool is that, since they're so small and have almost no food reserves whatsoever, they might be in danger of dying of starvation. Your only defense would be to warm them up once in a while for a couple of days to a week and feed them a little. This wouldn't be an issue with larger tarantulas that are otherwise in good condition.
And, I wouldn't moisten the substrate by misting. (For any number of reasons, I wouldn't mist anyway.) I would be afraid that droplets of water that remained on the tarantula might promote fungus or bacterial infections on a tarantula whose metabolic process (and therefore, its ability to fight infections) had been put on hold.
We have not enough experience keeping tarantulas at low temperatures for extended periods of time. What you're proposing is on the fringes of our science and art on the subject. And, from the tone of your postings I get the impression that you have little or no experience with tarantulas. This is dangerous, because you have nothing on which to base judgements on how well the tarantula is doing, and you have no experience to tell you how to correct a problem or what to do to save the tarantula's life. You're taking quite a risk of losing your pet out of pure ignorance and inexperience.
I would strongly urge reading the four books suggested in Stan's Rant. (Baxter's book is a little difficult to get in North America, but the others are available lots of places.) And, getting an adult or sub-adult tarantula rather than a baby.
Best of luck.
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Ok, so good advice here. For example good advice from 'Amoeba' to pick up a copy of 'Tarantula Keepers Guide', if you dont have that already. But, just if anyone didnt notice, you have Stan Schultz himself = Pikaia, giving useful firsthand advice here.
going back a bit..
Have you ever taken a tarantula to near freezing 'Amoeba' ?, as i would strongly advise against it. Some cool adapted species will fare alot better that warm adapted ones at low temperatures i'd speculate, but thats speculating. Whatever the natural preferences, low temperature conditions in captivity are far from ideal, and for most species could easily be interpreted as animal cruelty. Some warm adapted ones if cooled gradually fare just fine at lower than ideal temperatures, as stan etc said, metabolism slows, they become lethargic, will likely stop feeding, and become dormant. If temperatures are much too low, and over long periods, death will likely follow. Different things for different species though, some Chilean Grammostola and Euathlus species live naturally in cool high altitude areas of Chile, where you have snow fall for some weeks, and the tarantulas survive, mostly dormant and inactive. Later when snow melts and temperatures warm up, feeding begins again, moulting occurs and then mating in nature. Try those climatic conditions with Brachypelm albopilosum, and i'd place a large bet it would be dead.
I keep plenty of tarantulas, and have plenty at room temperature, mid 60s, and they just do fine. But those are cooler adapted species, such as some Grammostola, Aphonopelma, Citharacanthus and even a couple of Brachypelma, notably Brachypelma schroederi, which are from cooler higher/drier regions of southern mexico. I do however, keep Brachypelma albopilosum warmer, as those are ideal temperatures as determined from their natural ranges, at which they thrive.
Below are a couple of links to Brachypelma albopilosum outside their burrows, which i was studying in honduras this summer. Hope you enjoy the photos on this species and others too. And fyi, some of these species are warm adapted (like Aphonopelma seemanni), others cool adapted like the Citharacanthus species. They live in different regions, plus different altitudes and remarkably different temperatures.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theraphosid_systematics/6252871016/in/set-72157627448542401/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theraphosid_systematics/6252863840/in/set-72157627448542401/
As stan said, larger subadults/adults often cope well enough in sub optimal conditions, even over several months. Babies and juveniles are often much less hardy. The original question was about optimal conditions to thrive, and i maintain for B.albopilosum you should be looking to maintain higher temps than low 60s. This can be done easily and cheaply with a single heat-cable or heat-mat nearby.
?Can i call this post 'stuart's Rant?'
going back a bit..
Yes, im quite sure B.albopilosum can survive temps in the 60s, as said by Stan. The original question though was whether curly hairs and rose hairs have the same temp needs, and the answer is a clear resounding no. Sure curly hairs will survive, but do we want the spider to survive or do we want the spider to thrive and prosper? As i said, 63 is a decent temp for rose hairs, for them meaning a good temperature to thrive at, as indicated to us by the temperature ranges the experience within burrows in their natural ranges.
Have you ever taken a tarantula to near freezing 'Amoeba' ?, as i would strongly advise against it. Some cool adapted species will fare alot better that warm adapted ones at low temperatures i'd speculate, but thats speculating. Whatever the natural preferences, low temperature conditions in captivity are far from ideal, and for most species could easily be interpreted as animal cruelty. Some warm adapted ones if cooled gradually fare just fine at lower than ideal temperatures, as stan etc said, metabolism slows, they become lethargic, will likely stop feeding, and become dormant. If temperatures are much too low, and over long periods, death will likely follow. Different things for different species though, some Chilean Grammostola and Euathlus species live naturally in cool high altitude areas of Chile, where you have snow fall for some weeks, and the tarantulas survive, mostly dormant and inactive. Later when snow melts and temperatures warm up, feeding begins again, moulting occurs and then mating in nature. Try those climatic conditions with Brachypelm albopilosum, and i'd place a large bet it would be dead.
I keep plenty of tarantulas, and have plenty at room temperature, mid 60s, and they just do fine. But those are cooler adapted species, such as some Grammostola, Aphonopelma, Citharacanthus and even a couple of Brachypelma, notably Brachypelma schroederi, which are from cooler higher/drier regions of southern mexico. I do however, keep Brachypelma albopilosum warmer, as those are ideal temperatures as determined from their natural ranges, at which they thrive.
Below are a couple of links to Brachypelma albopilosum outside their burrows, which i was studying in honduras this summer. Hope you enjoy the photos on this species and others too. And fyi, some of these species are warm adapted (like Aphonopelma seemanni), others cool adapted like the Citharacanthus species. They live in different regions, plus different altitudes and remarkably different temperatures.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theraphosid_systematics/6252871016/in/set-72157627448542401/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theraphosid_systematics/6252863840/in/set-72157627448542401/
As stan said, larger subadults/adults often cope well enough in sub optimal conditions, even over several months. Babies and juveniles are often much less hardy. The original question was about optimal conditions to thrive, and i maintain for B.albopilosum you should be looking to maintain higher temps than low 60s. This can be done easily and cheaply with a single heat-cable or heat-mat nearby.
?Can i call this post 'stuart's Rant?'
Thanks pikaia, you been more help than you could imagine! When I was considering getting my first T. I picked up 2-3 books, yours included. And I must say, (no I'm not brown nosing) yours was the most helpful and clear! I respect you alot so thankyou for taking time to converse with the "lil guy".
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Pardon me while I sit down. I'm feeling a little light headed after that! <blush>Thanks pikaia, you been more help than you could imagine! When I was considering getting my first T. I picked up 2-3 books, yours included. And I must say, (no I'm not brown nosing) yours was the most helpful and clear! I respect you alot so thankyou for taking time to converse with the "lil guy".
But, thanks. "We aims to please!"
One last thought: With more than 900 different species one would expect more than 900 different way to care for a tarantula, a different one for each species. Actually, almost all tarantulas can be collected into about 5 generic groups, based on their care requirements. But, even then each species has its own little spin on its care. Couple that with the concept that tarantulas are much more adaptable and resilient than most enthusiasts give them credit for, and we begin to see that almost all the rules and guidelines that we propound begin to meld into a spectrum of care regimes that almost defies any sort of description beyond some very general rules of thumb.
And, that allows some wide variation in what we tell novices about caring for their tarantulas. Thus, Sam Marshall recommends allowing them to burrow in a semi-natural environment, while we don't. And, Robc likes to keep plants with his while we firmly recommend against it. Similarly, some enthusiasts go through great lengths to maintain carefully controlled temperatures, while many of us hardly care at all about temperature. Always remember that very little about tarantulas is cast in concrete. There's almost always room to "wriggle!"
We tend to recommend the simplest care strategies that will get the job done because we're far more interested in getting the newbie off to a successful start. But, we what we propound is the "high road," the most conservative approach. "Simple is better." As you gain more experience and knowledge with these amazing creatures you'll begin your own gentle experimenting, and gradually develop your own unique care regimes based on your own unique circumstances. This is good.
Enjoy your newfound, little, 8-legged buddies!
Yes, GENTLE experimenting, nicly worded.Pardon me while I sit down. I'm feeling a little light headed after that! <blush>
But, thanks. "We aims to please!"
One last thought: With more than 900 different species one would expect more than 900 different way to care for a tarantula, a different one for each species. Actually, almost all tarantulas can be collected into about 5 generic groups, based on their care requirements. But, even then each species has its own little spin on its care. Couple that with the concept that tarantulas are much more adaptable and resilient than most enthusiasts give them credit for, and we begin to see that almost all the rules and guidelines that we propound begin to meld into a spectrum of care regimes that almost defies any sort of description beyond some very general rules of thumb.
And, that allows some wide variation in what we tell novices about caring for their tarantulas. Thus, Sam Marshall recommends allowing them to burrow in a semi-natural environment, while we don't. And, Robc likes to keep plants with his while we firmly recommend against it. Similarly, some enthusiasts go through great lengths to maintain carefully controlled temperatures, while many of us hardly care at all about temperature. Always remember that very little about tarantulas is cast in concrete. There's almost always room to "wriggle!"
We tend to recommend the simplest care strategies that will get the job done because we're far more interested in getting the newbie off to a successful start. But, we what we propound is the "high road," the most conservative approach. "Simple is better." As you gain more experience and knowledge with these amazing creatures you'll begin your own gentle experimenting, and gradually develop your own unique care regimes based on your own unique circumstances. This is good.
Enjoy your newfound, little, 8-legged buddies!
Thanks for your time,
Nick