Minimum temps for spiders

AmberDawnDays

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Ok this is a legit question and I need answers quickly, so thank you in advance. There is a severe wind storm in my area currently and my house has lost power. The shingles are blowing off my roof. The temp in my home is dropping. It's 50° outside with heavy winds and inside is currently 66° and dropping.

I'm not sure when power will be restored. Can this kill my T's? I don't have a generator nor will I be able to get one. What can I do for my T's so they don't get too cold and die?

Am I worried for nothing? Can they withstand these temp changes? Is placing a blanket over their shelf advisable and do you think it would even help?
 

EulersK

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What species do you have?

The moment I started reading, I knew you were in Michigan. I've got friends that are worrying about the same thing. Honestly, those temps are a bit low. But I had power outages that lasted for days in colder temperatures and I had no deaths. I'd have your enclosures somewhat near your water heater, because word has it that your gas will continue to run, correct? It won't keep them toasty, but it'll keep them warmer than anywhere else. Best of luck.
 

Chris LXXIX

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This is one of the reasons why I have, on my cellar, a power generator :-s

Try to move your T/T's to the most "secure" - "hot" place like EulersK said. Btw you mean 66 F not 66° C ah ah. Well, 66 F if I'm not wrong is 18° C, not exactly the green light for death, especially for a 'Grammo/Brachy' and such. But not even certain OW's. Granted, not the best on the long run.
 

nicodimus22

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If you have a gas oven, you could always leave the door open a crack and keep it on low to warm the kitchen up a little, and move them in there. (The kitchen, NOT the oven!) I've done that with power outages during the winter.
 
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Rittdk01

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Windy as f in Indiana too. My power went off while I was at work, but is back on now. I know the power was off cuz my microwave and stove clocks were wrong and flashing when I came home.
 

Ungoliant

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I'm not sure when power will be restored. Can this kill my T's? I don't have a generator nor will I be able to get one. What can I do for my T's so they don't get too cold and die?
Some tarantulas are more tolerant of cold than others.


Is placing a blanket over their shelf advisable and do you think it would even help?
A blanket isn't going to do much unless there is a source of heat to be trapped by the blanket.

Back when I just had one adult Avicularia avicularia, we had a freak ice storm that knocked out power for several days. Fortunately, we were able to raise the temperature a little in one of the rooms by closing off the other room (it's little more than a studio apartment) and running the gas oven.

I brought Twinkle Toes into the "warm" room and kept her warm by filling a large bottle with hot water (we have a gas water heater) and setting it against her cage. I changed it every few hours, especially at night when the temperature dropped below freezing. She pretty much stayed on the part of the glass that was touching the water bottle.
 

The Snark

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If you have a gas oven, you could always leave the door open a crack and keep it on low to warm the kitchen up a little, and move them in there. (The kitchen, NOT the oven!) I've done that with power outages during the winter.
NO. Not with gas ovens. Unless vented (extremely rare) an oven is the same as an unvented heater. Consumes oxygen, puts out carbon monoxide. Never use gas ovens as space heaters.
As for electric ovens used as space heaters, the average home will never have a less efficient appliance.

We, LA County FD, did a test. Opened a natural gas oven door, turned it on full blast, and sealed the doors and windows with tape. 5 candles left lit in the room were extinguished in about 45 minutes.


Want to warm up yourself and a room? Get out that 1000 watt plus vacuum and give the room a twice over, floor to ceiling. Your vacuum is a highly efficient convection heater.
 
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nicodimus22

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NO. Not with gas ovens. Unless vented (extremely rare) an oven is the same as an unvented heater. Consumes oxygen, puts out carbon monoxide. Never use ovens as space heaters.
Perhaps I was brain damaged from doing this. It would explain a lot of my posts.
 

Ungoliant

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We, LA County FD, did a test. Opened a natural gas oven door, turned it on full blast, and sealed the doors and windows with tape. 5 candles left lit in the room were extinguished in about 45 minutes.
Sealing a room up as much as possible is not necessarily the best way to test it. I would like to see what the oxygen and carbon monoxide levels are in more natural conditions. (Most homes are not tightly sealed.)

Our home is one of two 100+-year-old cottages that were shoved together to create a duplex. To say that it is well ventilated is an understatement; it has no insulation. (We also run a carbon monoxide detector with battery backup for power outages, and when the gas oven was on at night, it was just on the lowest heat setting.)

In short, I wouldn't say never use a gas oven for emergency heating. There are circumstances where the risk is acceptably low for a short-term emergency if appropriate safety measures are taken.

A helpful article on gas ovens and carbon monoxide (the author does say not to use it as emergency heat due to the risk of "re-burn" in an unventilated environment).
 

nicodimus22

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Sealing a room up as much as possible is not necessarily the best way to test it. I would like to see what the oxygen and carbon monoxide levels are in more natural conditions. (Most homes are not tightly sealed.)

Our home is one of two 100+-year-old cottages that were shoved together to create a duplex. To say that it is well ventilated is an understatement; it has no insulation. (We also run a carbon monoxide detector with battery backup for power outages, and when the gas oven was on at night, it was just on the lowest heat setting.)

In short, I wouldn't say never use a gas oven for emergency heating. There are circumstances where the risk is acceptably low for a short-term emergency if appropriate safety measures are taken.

A helpful article on gas ovens and carbon monoxide (the author does say not to use it as emergency heat due to the risk of "re-burn" in an unventilated environment).
My apartment is in part of a 150-year old house. Very drafty with ancient windows that are falling apart...I have foam shoved and gorilla taped in some of the worst areas. I wouldn't consider it to be a sealed environment at all. Perhaps that's why the brain damage wasn't worse.
 
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Spidermolt

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If temps get too low i'd just make a large tent out of comforters and put them in there and close it up. to warm it up just crawl in there with them watch a movie on your phone and over time your body temp to warm it up.
 

The Snark

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Sealing a room up as much as possible is not necessarily the best way to test it. I would like to see what the oxygen and carbon monoxide levels are in more natural conditions.
My apartment is in part of a 150-year old house. Very drafty with ancient windows that are falling apart...I have foam shoved and gorilla taped in some of the worse areas. I wouldn't consider it to be a sealed environment at all.
In FD back room talk we have a term for the excuse makers and 'it's a drafty house' victims: woke up dead.

Have we ever heard these arguments before. Do you have a certified, calibrated CO sensor in your living space between you and the unvented gas heat source? Does the term Russian Roulette ring any bells? CO pools and does not vent easily.That is what the CO sensor on our FD turnouts is all about.
https://www.testproductsintl.com/indoor-air-quality-iaq-2/pgm100-personal-carbon-monoxide-monitor/
https://www.kane.co.uk/products/kane77-carbon-monoxide-monitor-personal-co-alarm

As for candles going out, that simply indicated a lack of oxygen in the room. Harmful or lethal CO concentrations can be reached quite a while before that.

PS We also hear a lot from the hundreds of people who have claimed they can smell CO.

Recalling AFD response to a home. Woman freaked out. Her baby had passed out on the floor. FD entered and every one of their CO monitors went off. CO was concentrated down near the floor, mother was still able to breathe.
 
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Venom1080

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winds insane over here today too, crazy.. i suppose a last resort could be putting the cages in contact with yourself... weird as that sounds its logical. humans produce body heat and im sure the spider doesnt care where the heat comes from.
 

cold blood

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op has been locked out and cant post for some reason, so i will update. Shes decided to heat a drawer (or cooler) with hand warmers....works for shipping and sounds like a decent short term solution. Hopefully power is restored fairly quickly.
 

EulersK

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op has been locked out and cant post for some reason, so i will update. Shes decided to heat a drawer (or cooler) with hand warmers....works for shipping and sounds like a decent short term solution. Hopefully power is restored fairly quickly.
I've got family in MI, and they're saying that power isn't expected to be back until the 11th sometime in the evening. Granted, they are in rural Michigan, but hopefully the OP doesn't have to deal with that.
 

The Snark

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I'm visualizing a keeper packing off their collection to a rescue center/shelter. "Excuse me but can I bring in a few hundred Ts?"
Remembering some major freeze back east where a canine rescue center brought all their friendly dogs to an emergency rescue center. Lots of love, warmth and cuddles to go around.
 
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