Heat question
- Thread starter stk5m
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Excellent steady apartment temperatures, my house can drop down to 50F and I live in Southern Cal.
How about a heat mat? I recently learned lamps can dry the humidity in terrariums.
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- Apr 1, 2006
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70 degrees is fine. They'll just grow a bit slower.
-Sean
-Sean
I've been using one on my A. Avic and i think she likes it because i'll come home some days and see her out on a leaf basking in the light. I water down the cage about every two days and it seems to keep the humidity high. I was just wondering if it could harm my spider.
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Agree
Theres no need for supplimental heat at 70 degrees for any T. You should only be considering heat when temps are consistantly below 65. A lamp will just make you fill the water dish more often than needed and dry everything out too fast. Avics like a little moisture and a lamp would burn it off too quick.
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I've been keeping Ts since 1981 or so and have yet to keep them at anything other than plain old room temp. If you've got temps at 70 or above for 9 months out of the year, I wouldn't even worry about some 60ish temps in the winter. I know I never have.
Someone, Baerg, I believe, did a study of how they reacted to temperature. At anything in the 60s or above, they did fine (just slower). Negative effects from temperature weren't seen until prolonged exposure to 50s or below.
Someone, Baerg, I believe, did a study of how they reacted to temperature. At anything in the 60s or above, they did fine (just slower). Negative effects from temperature weren't seen until prolonged exposure to 50s or below.
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Do you know if any of this applies to A. hentzi as far north as Missouri? I've caught a few and they don't seem to have very deep burrows. I'm guessing around 6 or 8 inches below the surface. That would get close to freezing for a few months out of the year.
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I agree completely with Chip. I haven't been keeping mine quite as long but I have never used any type of additional heat. During the winters my house usually stays in the upper 60's to lower 70's and I haven't experienced any problems.
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If it was Baerg who did the study, he did it almost exclusively with California Aphonopelma species, so the findings would be very applicable to Missouri Aphonopelma moreso than, say, a Brazilian jungle dweller. The key part of the study was prolonged. These spiders were held at temps in the 50s for months on end and began dying off around the 9-12 month mark. A seasonal cold spell would likely be of no consequence for any but the most tropical of "hot house flowers".
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I was using a heatmat until last week, I bought a thermometer and found it was holding my tank at just over 80 degrees. Since removing the heat mat it stays at an average 74-5 degrees.
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when i was winterizing my collection my room was hovering around 50-52*F for a few weeks and stayed beneath 60*F for 5-6 weeks. no one died from the cold that i could see and now that i am simulating spring (50*F in your room is kind of cold to stand it for months on end, hehe) with increased temps and watering everyone is becoming active again.
to be honest i had some bugs (including tarantulas) feeding at 55*F so i think the whole temp thing is not quite viewed correctly by the hobby as a whole, yet
to be honest i had some bugs (including tarantulas) feeding at 55*F so i think the whole temp thing is not quite viewed correctly by the hobby as a whole, yet