littebigspider
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2006
- Messages
- 32
Based upon experience, which undertank heating pad (brand) do you think is the best (highest quality,most effective, etc.)
Be careful with heat lamps. They can easily dehydrate tarantulas. I imagine they could do the same with scorpions too.IME I prefer Heat lamps with IR bulbs or ceramic heating elements, I used to use Zoo Med UTH the problem I had was that they would start to peel away from the tank, also they would bake the substrate to the other side. And as I found out later and is mentioned by 'Cirith Ungol' you should put them on the side, especially for burrowing animals. And if you use any type of false bottom set up and lets say the water dries up down under and the mat heats up and you put in more water you'll possibly crack the tank.
Most heat pads come witht the sticky adhesive already on one surface. I really prefer a heat mat on the stuck to the side "if I use one at all" because it is easier for the T to warm up and also get away and cool off. If it's underneath, you run a chance of haveing the T dig to cool off and inherently getting closer to the heat pad. It can easily overheat this way. If you put it underneath, you must make sure the pad is only under part of the tank and not the whole thing. Never used a cable. Yes they can be used with timers. If you do not keep the T's consistantly under 65 degrees, all the time, don't worry about supplimental heat. If it's always below 60 degrees, you should consider a heat option.I've been reading various posts on this forum to get information for my first set-up. I'm still unsure about heating. My home is kept at 20c when i'm home, but I turn down the heat at night and when i'm out (12 to 15c). What's the best way to heat? Many sources of information indicate using a heating pad installed under the tank (presumably attached to the tank bottom). If the pad is attached to the side, is it glued, or just leaning? How about heating cable? Can these devices be used with timers? Suggestions? Please be specific.....
Ignorant newcomer willing to learn!
So I have to ask you......... in nature the sun provides the heat that is needed...... so what is wrong with a heat lamp? I have used one now on my gravid female smithi and got good results. The lamp is hung above the tank about 1' and turned on for 8-10 hours at a time. She stays in her hide till the lamp is shut off and then comes out at night right when its shut off and sits at the front of the hide and will accept prey and such or just resume being a pet rock.Be careful with heat lamps. They can easily dehydrate tarantulas. I imagine they could do the same with scorpions too.
Personally, I don't use any type of supplimental heat. My house never gets cold enough to warrant the risk.
You can't really compare a heat lamp hung over an enclosure with the sun in a natural environment. Even in the harshest climates where tarantulas have the option to escape the effects of the sun. Burrowing species have the option of digging burrows much deeper than are possible in an enclosure. A heat lamp shining down on one or two cubic feet of substrate will dry it out quite quickly. Try an experiment sometime by creating two enclosures, one with a heat lamp and one without. Next, watch how much more quickly the one with the heat lamp will dry out. Do you realy want to subject your tarantula to the drying effects of a heat lamp. In most cases supplimental heat simply isn't necessary. In the cases that it is, it is always safest to heat the air space around the enclosures rather than the enclosure itself.So I have to ask you......... in nature the sun provides the heat that is needed...... so what is wrong with a heat lamp? I have used one now on my gravid female smithi and got good results. The lamp is hung above the tank about 1' and turned on for 8-10 hours at a time. She stays in her hide till the lamp is shut off and then comes out at night right when its shut off and sits at the front of the hide and will accept prey and such or just resume being a pet rock.
I would think a heat pad would not be the way to go its a heat source coming from a constant and I dont know that constant of anything is the way to go for any T.