Heating problems... Help.

Xie

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 24, 2006
Messages
19
I searched the board and couldn't find the info I needed. I just got my first scorp two days ago. An emp. I got an under tank heater for him, however as of late due to the weather our house has been quite chilly and I need another method to heat his enclosure. Hes getting sluggish from the lack of heat. Please give me a bit of advice I'm worried about him. I have 1 scorp in a 5 1/2 gallon enclosure, a peat moss/clean soil substrate, under tank heater, a small little hide, and a water dish. I just cant seem to get the heat is there anything acceptable to use besides an under tank heater its just not doing the trick.

Thanks.
 

Brian S

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
6,526
What are your temps? They seem to do better with temps at least 80F. I personally prefer to heat the entire room however I have a fairly large collection.
 

brandontmyers

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
841
i have the same problem..i have a heat lamp, but cant seem to get the temp above 72-75, humidity is around 80-85 so thats good, but i dont know what the problem is
 

P.jasonius

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 19, 2006
Messages
422
You didn't mention what type of scorp you got.
Is your under tank heater under the tank? If it is move it to the side of the tank. Take the temp reading at the soil, not the air above the soil. If moving the heat pad to the side of the enclosure doesn't work, fold some aluminum foil like this: /\/\/\/\/\/\ and attach it behind the heating pad (the opposite side as attached to the enclosure). This will reflect back to the enclosure some of the lost radiant heat, which was reflected by the glass (assuming your 5.5 is glass) and substrate.
Hope this helps, welcome to the boards.
-jason
 

Xie

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 24, 2006
Messages
19
i have the same problem..i have a heat lamp, but cant seem to get the temp above 72-75, humidity is around 80-85 so thats good, but i dont know what the problem is

What type of heat lamp could I use? I thought certain types of light were bad for emps.
 

brandontmyers

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
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841
i use infrared....that way it doesnt interfere with the day/night cycles, and you don't have to turn it off at night either.....
 

quiz

Arachnoprince
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Jan 27, 2006
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i use infrared....that way it doesnt interfere with the day/night cycles, and you don't have to turn it off at night either.....
you use infrared to heat up your tanks and you never turn it off?

I use 10 gallon tanks and 50Watts red heat bulb. The temps will reach over 35C degrees within minutes if I don't use thermostat to control the heat. Also, I always turn it off at night or the whole basement will be red :confused: .
 

brandontmyers

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
841
i have a very cold apartment...and it never reaches over 75F, i do realize that the red light is kind of annoying, but it seems to be the best thing for me atleast
 

Xie

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 24, 2006
Messages
19
Red lights.

I already use red lights in my bedroom so I doubt it would bother me. There great if you have light sensative eyes. :) Thanks for the advice. I'll go pick one up this weekend. I also just worked a ton of water into the substrate last night, I made a huge mess but my scorp seemed a bit happier. Nice and moist now.

Thanks again, Xie.:D
 

Thaedion

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 20, 2006
Messages
894
...i have a heat lamp, but cant seem to get the temp above 72-75, humidity is around 80-85...
What type of heat lamp could I use? I thought certain types of light were bad for emps.
i use infrared....that way it doesnt interfere with the day/night cycles, and you don't have to turn it off at night either.....
...you never turn it off?

I use 10 gallon tanks and 50Watts red heat bulb. The temps will reach over 35C degrees within minutes if I don't use thermostat to control the heat. Also, I always turn it off at night or the whole basement will be red :confused: .
I use one 50 watt IR bulb for a 10 gallon tank, placed outside my tank and pointed towards them. The pic below is for reference. My ground temps are low 80°s F (26°-27° C) [I put a probe about 1" / 25mm below surface] and air temps go up to 88° F (31° C) My humidity stays up in the high 80%, condensation on the glass occurs, that is one reason I open them up for a couple of hours a day. I use the false bottom set up in these tanks. But I'm really interested in the "plastic" container idea as my collection of scorps is greatly increasing



Thaedion
 

Xie

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 24, 2006
Messages
19
I got one of the lights today, and a thermometer/humidity gage. Temp is about 82 and humidity is about 85. Thank you all for your help. And I love the red lighting in my room. ^_^
 

Xie

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 24, 2006
Messages
19
So now I'm having a new problem. I have constant heat but the light is sucking all moisture from the enclosure... :wall:
 

~Abyss~

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 28, 2006
Messages
2,980
Well if light is a big problem like it is for me you can get ceramic heaters they work great but are a little pricy. And read the FAQ's for emperor enclosure if you can do something with a false bottom you shouldn't have a problem especially if you use Eco-earth. Or you can mist the substrate every once in a while.
 

EAD063

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
1,415
So now I'm having a new problem. I have constant heat but the light is sucking all moisture from the enclosure... :wall:
If there is an apprioate cover on the tank that wont happen. Where is the light positioned? Mine go in front of or on the side of the encolsure, not directly overhead.
 
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