The Right Temperature For Pedes

[tkkim50]

What temperature do you guys keep your pedes in? I have a Scolopendra sp. and it's enclosure is always around 80F (if not, at least 77F plus). I was wondering if this is the right temperature, and if I needed an additional heating source. I was told that heating mets are always better than heating lamps. (lamp will dry out the enclosure much faster, direct heat could dry out the pede very quickly) It makes sense to me and all, but I just wanted to double check with you guys. What temperature do you guys keep your pedes in? And what method do you guys use to achieve this?

PS - The humidity for my pede enclosure is always 80 and above. This is right, right?

 

[Steven]

Im' not that familiar with FahrenHeit ,...
but i keep al my pedes around 23°C daytime,... 19°C nighttemp.

I don't use any extra heating for the big guys (got a room with heather on 21°C) smaller species i keep in a heathed closet with heath-pads on the back-wall,... gives 23°C ) never use any lights cause pedes don't like it anyway,..the're nocturnal so

 

[CedrikG]

maybe the problem of my pede was Over Heated ??? I keep my room at 25-28 all the time, even the night

and there's also a heat pad under the tank! she might get too hot :8o :8o :8o

Steven: 23C. gives 74-75 F.

 

[Wade]

What temperature do you guys keep your pedes in? I have a Scolopendra sp. and it's enclosure is always around 80F (if not, at least 77F plus). I was wondering if this is the right temperature, and if I needed an additional heating source. I was told that heating mets are always better than heating lamps. (lamp will dry out the enclosure much faster, direct heat could dry out the pede very quickly) It makes sense to me and all, but I just wanted to double check with you guys. What temperature do you guys keep your pedes in? And what method do you guys use to achieve this?

PS - The humidity for my pede enclosure is always 80 and above. This is right, right?

I'd say that's plenty warm enough without any additional heating. Heating devices can cause more problems than they're worth. My animal room is in the low 70's right now, and everythings fine.

I don't measure humidity in my cages, but if you're maintaining humidity by keeping the cage damp with low ventilation, you could have problems. I either opt for keeping the substrate just slightly moist.

Wade

 

[JonDaAzn]

be sure to give the pede a temperature gradient, try placing the heat mat on one side of the tank, that way the pede can choose whether or not it wants to be cooler or warmer

 

[tkkim50]

I'd say that's plenty warm enough without any additional heating. Heating devices can cause more problems than they're worth. My animal room is in the low 70's right now, and everythings fine. Wade

I was actually told that too much air ventilation could cause problems for pedes... (They like it nice and humid, don't they?) By all means, correct me if I'm wrong. I just want what's best for my pede.

PS - What kinda problems would it bring to the table if i continue to keep my pede the way i'm doing right now?

 

[Wade]

It's all about finding the right balance between humidity and ventilation. Yes, they do like a humid environment, if the ventilation is such that the tank dries out quickly, they could dessicate easily. On the flip side, if they're kept very damp without much ventilation, the air can become stagnant and you could run into problems like "leg rot", which is probably the result of a fungal infection. The key is to pay attention to the conditions in the tank. If it smells dank and musty when you open it, it may be insufficently ventilated or overly wet. How much ventilation you need will depend on how humid the room is that they're in to begin with. My basement bugroom tends to be on the humid side, so I offer more ventilation than I would in a drier place. Also, remember that even a small amount of substrate moisture in a container with limited ventilation will still provide high humidity, it doesn't have to be wet. A water bowl isn't really needed if the substarte moisture is right, but I provide one anyway as a backup. Also, water evaporating from the bowl also raises humidity.

Your conditions sound fine to me, just keep an eye on the substrate. if you see lots of mold or it smells foul, you may want to make some adjustments.

Wade

 

[CedrikG]

**It's all about finding the right balance between humidity and ventilation.**

at my stage, that mean newbie, It is very hard to get a ideal ventilation with the ideal humidity, im working hard on that but can't find the right thing, if I put ventilation in my room there's too much,the humidity get at 70, if I dont then the humidity get around 86 .... it is frustrating :wall:

anyway i'll find the right thing im sure one day

 

[tkkim50]

Thank you veery very much guys.

 

[Wade]

**It's all about finding the right balance between humidity and ventilation.**

at my stage, that mean newbie, It is very hard to get a ideal ventilation with the ideal humidity, im working hard on that but can't find the right thing, if I put ventilation in my room there's too much,the humidity get at 70, if I dont then the humidity get around 86 .... it is frustrating :wall:

anyway i'll find the right thing im sure one day

I'd just like to mention that I've never owned nor used a hydrometer (the device used to measure humidity). The cheap ones aren't accurate, and the expensive ones need to be frequently recalibrated. The good news is that they are not needed.

I haven't a clue as to what the humidity percentage in any of my cages is. If I want the cage to be humid, I keep the substrate SLIGHTLY moist (Not wet!). That's it, I don't need to know the exact percentage. Stressing out over a pecentage number is not necessary. If you're worried about it dropping too low, provide a water bowl as a back up. Simply paying attention to how quickly the substrate dries and the bowl evaporates will tell you everything you need to know about the humidity. If you find yourself refilling the bowl and moistening the substrate 2-3 times a week, then chances are it is indeed too dry and you may wan to limit ventilation. If the water never evaporates at all and the substrate is perpetually damp, you might want to think about increasing the ventilation. If a simple top-off once a week is sufficient, however, than odds are you've got it right.

Beware of care sheets that specify humidity percentages. This implies that you need to buy a hydrometer to keep invertebrates successfully, which is BS.

Wade

 

[CedrikG]

thx for the reply, then if what you say is true, wich Im probably sure it is ;P

then im not soo bad, my new ventilation is very nice, happy to hear that

i've dropped a frozen pinky mouse at the entrance of his burrow, i'll wait till tomorrow to see if it disapear ... I was thinking to remove it tomorrow if he's still there, to dont attrack mite, what you think about that ? how much time a corpse can stay there without attrack these little pest

 

[Wade]

thx for the reply, then if what you say is true, wich Im probably sure it is ;P

then im not soo bad, my new ventilation is very nice, happy to hear that

i've dropped a frozen pinky mouse at the entrance of his burrow, i'll wait till tomorrow to see if it disapear ... I was thinking to remove it tomorrow if he's still there, to dont attrack mite, what you think about that ? how much time a corpse can stay there without attrack these little pest

I'd pull it out it it hasn't eaten it by tomorrow. In addition to mites, it will also attract flies.

Wade

 

[CedrikG]

yep, ok thx i'll do soo

anyway i removed the pinky and frooze it, I'll put it back before I get to bed, I got better chance this way, i'll give you new about it