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heating two enclosures

britjeff

New Member
Messages
7
Location
whitby, united kingdom
everyone, have a question. going to b getting two 300mm enclosure to house a new river rust rump and a curly hair. the question is how to heat them. both will have 3d backgrounds. do i use one heat mat across the back so half of each is heated, one small mat per tank again only covering half the back or us a mat on the top so it radiates down? either wat there will be a thermoststat to regulate the temp. TIA
jeff
 

Konstantin

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3 Year Member
Messages
967
Location
Preston,UK
Hi Jeff.
If your room temperature is arround 20°C ish most Ts will be comfortable with that.The New River Rust Rump (Aphonopelma chalcodes )likes it a bit on the cooler side so I wont go more than 23-24°C with it.If your enclosures are next to each other U may put one small mat between them .I will personally get a small one that goes about half way of the side not the full lenght.
Regards Konstantin
 

Phil

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1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
3,919
Location
UK.
exactly what @Konstantin has said. Room/ambient temps are best and I have no problems with my Ts at sbout 20/21°c If (and only if) you have to heat with a heat mat, no more than 50% of any side so one mat spanning 2 tanks is fine, and always try to use a thermostat to make sure no overheating. Never place a heat mat underneath the tank especially for terrestrial/borrowers.
If you do use a heat mat on the back, remember to keep an eye on the water dish as it will evaporate more quickly so I always tend to have water and shelter in the "cooler" side when I have ever had to heat with mats.
I actually have a dedicated spider house so just heat the whole area with an oil heater connected to a thermostat and fan for better warm air circulation but that only works if you have a large collection (I have nearly 200)
Hope this helps. :)
 

Jess S

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Location
South Wales
How cold are you expecting the room you keep those T's to get? As both are hardy species that can cope with a surprising drop in temperature.
 

TSpider-Fan

New Member
3 Year Member
Messages
15
Location
Colorado
What brand of heating mat do you recommend? I can't remember the brand, but in the past, the adhesive side didn't stick well.Also, do you recommend the hide be right against the wall of the enclosure where the heating mat is?
 

Jess S

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Location
South Wales
What brand of heating mat do you recommend? I can't remember the brand, but in the past, the adhesive side didn't stick well.Also, do you recommend the hide be right against the wall of the enclosure where the heating mat is?

Most keepers will not recommend heating mats as there is a high risk of overheating and killing your tarantula with them.
The best way of heating the enclosure is to actually heat the room the enclosure is in.
If that is not possible, and you absolutely have to use a heat mat, maybe someone can chime in with the safest way to go about it.
 

m0lsx

Moderator
Staff member
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3 Year Member
Tarantula Club Member
Messages
2,012
Location
Norwich, UK
One way of providing some heat is to use a heat cable, these, being cables, provide a very narrow area of warmth. All you need to do is run the cable beside the enclosure & it will provide a gentle area of warmth, within the enclosure. But do not forget temperatures naturally drop at night & if you want to provide a natural enviroment, then the temperature will not be stable 24 hours of each day.

Also T's that burrow, will do so, in part, to get away from heat. So any heat below them could be an issue. Plus T's do not naturally sit in the sun all day. So looking at temperatures in their natural enviroment, will not tell you the temperatures that T's try & find within their natural enviroment.
 

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