Question regarding heating

[3rdleggedfreak]

Hi all,

We are very new to this so please bear with.

We recently purchased an indonesian jumping spider (believed to be a hyllus diardi) who is very happy in a mesh top 31x21x30 vivarium, however the temp in the uk is not enough to keep the little fella warm enough (currently 21c). I have bought a thermostat and a heat pad, will it be ok to stick it below the substrate on the outside of the glass bottom? I wonder if it will heat the interior air enough. or do i look for a lamp type setup?

Cheers

 

[Doodlebird]

Hi all,

We are very new to this so please bear with.

We recently purchased an indonesian jumping spider (believed to be a hyllus diardi) who is very happy in a mesh top 31x21x30 vivarium, however the temp in the uk is not enough to keep the little fella warm enough (currently 21c). I have bought a thermostat and a heat pad, will it be ok to stick it below the substrate on the outside of the glass bottom? I wonder if it will heat the interior air enough. or do i look for a lamp type setup?

Cheers

Hello! I don't know much about this specific species, but if you really do need heat, it's best to use a heat pad on one side of your glass/plexiglass. I would make sure that your spider actually needs the heat, since almost all spiders can thrive at regular room temperature.

 

[Benson1990]

I wouldn't put a mat in physical contact with the enclosure, especially not under it, they can get very hot and can be troublesome to regulate, if you do need to heat then you're better off putting the enclosure into a large enclosure and heating that, I do this with my tarantulas, I'll add a picture:

I use a 4ft vivarium, I put a sheet of insulation board to the back of the vivarium and then stick the heat mat to that with some foil heat tape, I get some good temps with this and anything that I find needs a little extra heat I place higher since heat rises, but this way they aren't in direct contact with the mat and is much much safer, by the way everything is still regulated with a thermostat.

Hope this helped some.

 

[basin79]

As above you're best sticking the mat to an insulation board or similar. Then push the enclosure upto that.

Foil backed insulation board is brilliant because it allows you to put the thermostat probe under the actual mat. You can create slots for the wire/probe and the back of the mat that sticks out. See my pic below.

 

[3rdleggedfreak]

Thanks for your replies chaps!

Insulation is a good shout, let me know if this is a good idea.

My current plan is to essentially make a wooden tray, lay the mat in, put a 25mm insulation board on top, then the tank on top of that. that should also help keep humidity up as i read hyllus diardi likes high humidity?

I do have a couple of safeguards, obviously the thermostat for the pad, but i have also put a smart temp/humidity sensor in the tank which will alert if anything goes out of whack.

currently the work in progress

 

[viper69]

Thanks for your replies chaps!

Insulation is a good shout, let me know if this is a good idea.

My current plan is to essentially make a wooden tray, lay the mat in, put a 25mm insulation board on top, then the tank on top of that. that should also help keep humidity up as i read hyllus diardi likes high humidity?

I do have a couple of safeguards, obviously the thermostat for the pad, but i have also put a smart temp/humidity sensor in the tank which will alert if anything goes out of whack.

currently the work in progress

Large setup- might work fine- certainly more cage furniture too many open spaces IMO

 

[3rdleggedfreak]

Large setup- might work fine- certainly more cage furniture too many open spaces IMO

cheers, im in the process of adding more material for climbing/hiding

 

[basin79]

Thanks for your replies chaps!

Insulation is a good shout, let me know if this is a good idea.

My current plan is to essentially make a wooden tray, lay the mat in, put a 25mm insulation board on top, then the tank on top of that. that should also help keep humidity up as i read hyllus diardi likes high humidity?

I do have a couple of safeguards, obviously the thermostat for the pad, but i have also put a smart temp/humidity sensor in the tank which will alert if anything goes out of whack.

currently the work in progress

You don't want the mat under the enclosure. You want it in the back or side.

 

[3rdleggedfreak]

perfect, thanks. the back it is!