"Room temperature" is subjective?

[SpidaFly]

I always see people using the term "room temperature", and saying that X T/lizard/etc will be comfortable at whatever temperature you're comfortable at. This makes me crazy because it doesn't actually answer the question being asked.

Consider my house for example: it's 22:30 here, and it's 93F outside (not a typo). I have my AC set to 72F but since it's so hot in the attic the thing just runs and runs - that means that in my mancave here it's almost 66F. Out in the kitchen where my Australian Water Dragon & Central Bearded Dragon enclosures are, it's around 73F. In the summer months like this, around 04:00 when I go to bed, my room can reach the low 60s while my wife's bedroom and my kitchen remain low 70s. But I'm completely comfortable in shorts and t-shirt sitting here at my desk, and if I fall asleep on my couch I just sleep under a couple knit blankets and wake up comfortable.

For others, "room temperature" could be as high as 80F. Well, I don't have a proper reptile/invert room, so all my reptiles get thermostats so I'm sure they don't drop below the low 70s at night as a safety precaution.

What I'm trying to point out is that "what I'm comfortable with" is a pretty useless measure of what's good for an animal. Would it be good for a T to be exposed to these temps on a nightly basis? Well, given that terrestrial T's in the wild burrow into masses of warmer ground to avoid such temperatures, I'm going to have to guess that nightly exposure to these temps is probably not a good idea. Now go ahead and prove me wrong, I'll be glad to absorb new knowledge, I'm new to this whole T hobby and always looking to learn.

Yeah, that was probably a pretty useless rant. Sorry.

I guess what I really wanted to ask is this: I'm thinking about building an "incubator" for my slings. Since I only have a couple slings and my wife is not keen on me getting more at this point, they don't take up much space. I've got a old 10 gallon screen top aquarium, and I was thinking I could create a "micro room" for them since their respective enclosures could "grow" with them many times and still fit nicely. So my plan is to block off most of the screen lid, wire some flexwatt on rheostat to the BACK of the enclosure (read: back, NOT bottom), stick a cup of water in there to raise the humidity a bit, and then put the slings' individual boxes in there so that they are NOT touching the heated back. In this way I could maybe even keep them in my chilly mancave and keep them between 75F-85F.

Now several questions:
- Glass is a very poor insulator. Has anyone tried this and had any trouble with too much heat loss?
- The invert guy at my nearest exotics shop is absolutely CONVINCED that this is going to kill my spiders. I don't understand why this would be however. I mean, I grow my Morio colony in a 45 gallon tote lined with reflectix and flexwatt, and all my beetles/larva/eggs are in individual lidded trays. In fact I've been putting my T's in that Morio incubator at night just to make sure they don't drop below the high 70s. But I'm tired of agitating them every morning when I move them to their daytime location... So I'm just asking about it here just in case the guy knows something I don't!

 

[poisoned]

Just to warn you, some people here also have unreasonable fears of any heating elements.

Make sure your vials are not touching the wall on which a heat tape is applied and you'll be okay. I'm not sure, if slings are endangrerd at those temps (60°F), but they will for sure grow much faster at higher temps.

ps: why don't you put your AC to higher temperature if you're almost freezing because of it?

 

[SpidaFly]

ps: why don't you put your AC to higher temperature if you're almost freezing because of it?

Well, because I'm not freezing at all - as I said I'm very comfortable. That was entirely the point of my rant I'm personally most comfortable in the mid-low 60sF in light clothing or even wearing only shorts. I frequently visit Fairbanks Alaska, and even during the coldest months where it reaches -40F (-40C) I'm comfortable wearing leather boots, jeans, a single shirt, and a partially open leather jacket (ie. no long underwear, down/fleece jacket or multiple layers). I'm a freak of nature I suppose, but that alone feeds my pet peeve about "room temperature" and "your spider is comfortable where you're comfortable".

It was my point to indicate that notions of "your spider is comfortable where you're comfortable" are highly subjective and terribly unscientific. I worry that my spiderlings may NOT be necessarily be comfortable where all people are comfortable, and that contraptions/DIY projects may be required to ensure the comfort and health of the slings

 

[jayefbe]

The entire point of the "room temperature is ok for tarantulas" and "tarantulas are comfortable if you are comfortable" is that it need NOT BE SCIENTIFIC or exact. Room temperature may be a bit subjective, but 99% of tarantula species will be fine across the entire spectrum of "room temperatures". There's really no need to make it any more complicated than that.

 

[SpidaFly]

The entire point of the "room temperature is ok for tarantulas" and "tarantulas are comfortable if you are comfortable" is that it need NOT BE SCIENTIFIC or exact. Room temperature may be a bit subjective, but 99% of tarantula species will be fine across the entire spectrum of "room temperatures". There's really no need to make it any more complicated than that.

But surely that can't mean that my Avic Versi could be comfortable/safe in the low 60s all night, and no higher than mid 70s during the day? If I imagine temperatures in Honduras, I'm guessing 80-90 during the day, 70s at night.

Hey, I'm not claiming to really know anything here. I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong, I'm always looking to hone the care of my animals. Perhaps temperature obsession has taken over due to my lifelong care of herps, I don't know...

 

[poisoned]

What if you put those slings to attic, since you're saying it's hotter there?

 

[rockhopper]

But surely that can't mean that my Avic Versi could be comfortable/safe in the low 60s all night, and no higher than mid 70s during the day? If I imagine temperatures in Honduras, I'm guessing 80-90 during the day, 70s at night.

Hey, I'm not claiming to really know anything here. I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong, I'm always looking to hone the care of my animals. Perhaps temperature obsession has taken over due to my lifelong care of herps, I don't know...

Yes it would be fine in those temperatures. They seem to grow faster in higher temps, but they aren't going to keel over and die in the 60-70 range from my experience. I keep my house around 70+/- and never had a probably with my versis or any other T for that matter.

Keep in mind that just because a native species environment is one way doesn't mean its the only way it will survive or even flourish.

 

[Quazgar]

Your tarantulas will be fine in pretty much any temperature between 60 and 85, and possibly beyond that range. Most people's rooms are between those temperatures.

As far as versis in the 60's, over the winter I kept my house at 68 during the day and 62 at night, and all of my tarantulas (including two versis under 2") did just fine. They certainly didn't grow or molt as often, but that's not that ok.

 

[advan]

But surely that can't mean that my Avic Versi could be comfortable/safe in the low 60s all night, and no higher than mid 70s during the day? If I imagine temperatures in Honduras, I'm guessing 80-90 during the day, 70s at night.

Your spider would be fine in low 60's at night, it will just not be as active and grow slower. Many people use a sling "incubator" just like you've described. Just use the search function or there's even videos on youtube. Also Avicularia versicolor is not from Honduras. Welcome to the hobby.

 

[funkymonk]

I have a varied collection of 17 T's at present spanning many different genus, both NW & OW, all are thriving in my living room which is a constant 60-70 degrees max, in the UK winter its not unusual for it to dip into the mid-high 50's overnight, I don't use any other heat source other than my central heating. Had no problems at all at these temperatures. What I have noticed however, is the molting and feeding rates drop off slightly in the cooler months.

 

[le-thomas]

Don't worry about temperature until you actually see your spider acting differently because of it. The only time I would actually worry would be if one started acting extremely lethargic and/or stopped eating. I'm going to reiterate that the whole "if you're comfortable..." mindset only exists because tarantulas REALLY ARE that adaptable and hardy. People who say this fully realize that everyone has their own temperature preference. Just remember; don't worry too much unless you actually notice something negative coming out of your current care situation unless it's advised against by experienced keepers.

 

[obtenthusiast]

I wouldn't worry about your Ts temp like many have said Ts adapt well. I keep my place no higher than 65 at night and no higher than 70 during the day all of my Ts are still really active. Now if your trying to let your slings grow at a rapid rate I'd get a mini fridge and set your slings in individual glad containers on top of it the frig will never reach over the dangerous temps and it gives "heating" breaks as well as chills your beer at the same time. Lol I wouldn't trust flexwatt or any heat tape with an inverts. You might have a harder time keeping humidity in colder temps that's why I use glad containers for slings I also found that if you cut a bottle in half and cut out the glad lid and seal the bottle to the lid with aquarium silicone you can use the lid of the bottle for easy feeding and light misting and it hold humidity in the bottle top a lot better. But thats just me.

Also you live in az right? Well you have 30 species of Ts in az when wa the last time you seen one during the day? They tend to like cooler places during the day in wooded brush under rocks ext. what the outside temp is to what they hide in is an increasingly substantial differce. I personally think your Ts are fine the way they are. But you be the judge. I hope this was helpful and welcome to the hobby.