Acrylic enclosure

[AndyL]

Hi everybody,
I’m new to the whole tarantula thing, that new I haven’t even got one yet (hopefully next week). I’m after getting a Grammostola pulchra sling next week and trying to set up an enclosure for it. I’ve bought a small acrylic terrarium and the bits but I’ve been keeping an eye on the temperature inside it for the last few days and at night it drops down to about 17*c, during the day it’s roughly 22*c which is fine. My question is what kind of heating can I use for an acrylic terrarium as during the winter months it’s going to drop a lot less than 17*c. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks

 

[m0lsx]

First, how accurate is your thermometer? The answer is almost certainly not very accurate. I had several thermometers & hygrometers sitting around & decided to see just how they compared & the answer was maybe not surprising. They are about as accurate as any mass produced product, produced for profit, rather than accuracy could be expected to be. Each had a different reading & the differences between them changed from day to day.

I would suggest you throw that thermometer away & go by a simple phrase. Is the room warm enough for you? If so it's warm enough for your T. As for heating take great care if you want to use a heat mat etc, they can cause extra & terminal issues for your T. If you need extra warmth, then heat the space, not the enclosure & most people use no extra heating here in the UK.

Humans live in some really hostile environments. Look at the high temperatures in Australia, or the lows in Alaska. Would you thus keep a human in either conditions? Producing environments that our T's feel comfortable in is good. But that does not mean the environment has to have extra heating. I kept my T's in a room that had no heating. During the winter, I simply left the door open.

Also don't forget, it is natural for nighttime temperatures to be lower.

 

[Enn49]

I keep all my T at between17 & 23 and they have all done well so I wouldn't worry about extra heat.

 

[arachbiodude]

Be careful if you use the one held together with rubber bands. I had OBT escape this.