Hi everyone

[Gscottjr]

Hello everyone. I am new to T keeping. Bought my 1st one yesterday and looking for lots of reading materials so decided to join this group. I got a B. Emilia spiderling. I would post a picture but can't figure it out. lol

 

[Enn49]

Hiya, welcome to the forum and to the hobby. We're a friendly bunch here and there's always someone to answer any questions you may have so don't be afraid to ask.

 

[Rmac88]

Hey and welcome! B. emilia are beautiful spiders! Brachypelma sp. are great for beginners

Sent from my SPH-L520 using Tapatalk

 

[Kymura]

Hi and welcome! Emilia are my favorites of the red legged T's
To post an image goto upload file at the bottom of the post box and navigate to your image, let it upload then choose either full image or thumbnail view

 

[Gscottjr]

Thanks for the info. Here's my little bugger

 

[Phil]

Thanks for the info. Here's my little buggerView attachment 17397

Welcome to the forum. Great choice for a starter T. Everyone on here is really welcoming and informative so any questions, just post and we will be there for you.☺

 

[Gscottjr]

Welcome to the forum. Great choice for a starter T. Everyone on here is really welcoming and informative so any questions, just post and we will be there for you.☺

Thanks Phil. I have been reading several threads and am learning.

I do have a question about temperature. The guy at the store I bought my T from told me to keep the enclosure 80 degrees and fairly humid. I bought the small stick on heating pad and put it on the side of my medium sized critter keeper. I have the T in a small plastic container inside the larger enclosure. I put a thermometer on top of the small container and last night it was 78 degrees F but this morning it read 70 degrees F. Is that too cold?
I don't think the heating pad is doing much as it is just barely warm to the touch. I'm not sure how to raise the temp unless I use a heat lamp but am worried it will dry everything out too much. Any suggestions would be great.

 

[Phil]

Thanks Phil. I have been reading several threads and am learning.

I do have a question about temperature. The guy at the store I bought my T from told me to keep the enclosure 80 degrees and fairly humid. I bought the small stick on heating pad and put it on the side of my medium sized critter keeper. I have the T in a small plastic container inside the larger enclosure. I put a thermometer on top of the small container and last night it was 78 degrees F but this morning it read 70 degrees F. Is that too cold?
I don't think the heating pad is doing much as it is just barely warm to the touch. I'm not sure how to raise the temp unless I use a heat lamp but am worried it will dry everything out too much. Any suggestions would be great.

Temperature usually sparks almost as much debate as humidity. I tend to keep all mine (23), including my B. Emelia at about 75 to 78 during the day so your day temp is fine. I also turn any heating off for approx 4 to 6 hours at night as that is a bit more natural. 70 IMHO will be ok as mine often goes down to that. Not sure where you live but I am in UK and so ambient temps are never really high. I read a lot of posts on here from US members who are lucky enough to just have in the house. Some even have a chiller as it gets too hot....lol. Heat pads are often frowned upon but side mounted is better for us in case they burrowed and hit the heat source. I do use heat mats but they are a) all on thermostats so no chance of overhearing, b) on timers like I have mentioned, c) protected by cork bark or other safe material so not actually in contact with the glass, and finally so low powered (5watts) with a variable dial that tbh, nothing will hurt them but they do take the edge off especially in winter. If your house is centrally heated, just turn the rad up in the room the T is in if the hear mat is struggling. Never have a heat mat that covers more than one third of the tank as your spider will want it's warm moments as well as its cool moments so they have a choice.
I may as well mention humidity now seeing as I mentioned at the start. B. Emelia like the substrate dry usually but always have an open water dish with fresh water (I boil and cool down all my water for drinking and misting). When reaching pre-moult ( the time they shed their skin to grow) you will probably see a couple of tell tale signs at that size. These being, darkening of the colours and if there is a bald patch on the abdomen, darkening as new hairs are growing underneath. The spider will also stop feeding so always remove any live prey that is not eaten within say 12 to 18 hours max. At this stage, I would mist the part of the tank they are settling in to so there is a little bit more humidity as this helps the moulting process.
Sorry about length of response and any spelling kistakes but one thing just led to another....lol

 

[Gscottjr]

Temperature usually sparks almost as much debate as humidity. I tend to keep all mine (23), including my B. Emelia at about 75 to 78 during the day so your day temp is fine. I also turn any heating off for approx 4 to 6 hours at night as that is a bit more natural. 70 IMHO will be ok as mine often goes down to that. Not sure where you live but I am in UK and so ambient temps are never really high. I read a lot of posts on here from US members who are lucky enough to just have in the house. Some even have a chiller as it gets too hot....lol. Heat pads are often frowned upon but side mounted is better for us in case they burrowed and hit the heat source. I do use heat mats but they are a) all on thermostats so no chance of overhearing, b) on timers like I have mentioned, c) protected by cork bark or other safe material so not actually in contact with the glass, and finally so low powered (5watts) with a variable dial that tbh, nothing will hurt them but they do take the edge off especially in winter. If your house is centrally heated, just turn the rad up in the room the T is in if the hear mat is struggling. Never have a heat mat that covers more than one third of the tank as your spider will want it's warm moments as well as its cool moments so they have a choice.
I may as well mention humidity now seeing as I mentioned at the start. B. Emelia like the substrate dry usually but always have an open water dish with fresh water (I boil and cool down all my water for drinking and misting). When reaching pre-moult ( the time they shed their skin to grow) you will probably see a couple of tell tale signs at that size. These being, darkening of the colours and if there is a bald patch on the abdomen, darkening as new hairs are growing underneath. The spider will also stop feeding so always remove any live prey that is not eaten within say 12 to 18 hours max. At this stage, I would mist the part of the tank they are settling in to so there is a little bit more humidity as this helps the moulting process.
Sorry about length of response and any spelling kistakes but one thing just led to another....lol

Thank you for the quick response. I will leave him as is for now and see how it goes. Thanks again

 

[Kymura]

I live in central alabama. I run a space heater in a closed room in below freezing weather. Just to give them a bump. I let nature tend to the temp the rest of the time. I do keep the central air vent closed in my room for them in summer. And Windows open for circulation
(I don't like it frigid either)
I do keep my tiny slings warmer (under an inch) usually put them where they stay toasty,
(right near my laptop power supply)

 

[Gscottjr]

I live in central alabama. I run a space heater in a closed room in below freezing weather. Just to give them a bump. I let nature tend to the temp the rest of the time. I do keep the central air vent closed in my room for them in summer. And Windows open for circulation
(I don't like it frigid either)
I do keep my tiny slings warmer (under an inch) usually put them where they stay toasty,
(right near my laptop power supply)

I live in Texas so it is hot all the time. The A/C is always on. I am going to make sure the enclosure isn't under the vent though.