Is it necessary to have a basking sot for tarantulas?

[Vagansfordawin]

Hi.
If you want to keep a T as natural as possible you wil need a small basking spot , which should not be too hot. It should only be a few degrees celsius warmer than the genera air temperatur.
For example i have a smithi terrarium with a general air temp of 26°C and a basking spot of 29°C.

I prefer having these spots in my terrariums, but a lot of people say, that you can add them to your tank if you want and others say, that they are always necessary.

Are they optional or necessary?

 

[kormath]

totally optional, and usually not recommended. heat lamps will dry out a T. Rule of thumb, if you're comfy in a tshrit in the room the T's are in then they'll be fine. No need for heat pads or lamps, etc. unless the ambient room temp is cooler than 70F consistently.

 

[Vagansfordawin]

Hey. I don't use heat lamps. I get a spot by placing the decoration high up and near the light source. The light source is an energy saving daylight lamp which stays very cool.but creates a small amount of heat around it. I use this bulb, cause i don't like the colors of LEDs and halogenic bulbs get too warm. I don't heat my terraria. Our room temp is very(24-26°C) high.
A spot is there for "basking" and as long as it isnt too hot a T will like it.
A temperature gradient is very healthy for a T and if you give them the option to climb they will "bask" in the area in which they like the temperatur the most.
Many people think, that Ts don't like bright lights but actually they like to sit in the sun at some times of the day.
Punctual temperatur increase(like a small spot) will make your T live longer and that is just a fact. There is this one guy, who studies Brachypelma and puts all his research on his website. If you want, i can give you the link.

Rule of thumb: Don't trust any rules of thumb . No srsly. In a Room with 23°C you will be fine with a vagans but a smithi needs min. 25°C. but in both rooms you could wear a t-shirt.
Don't wanna be rude to anyone but i totaly hate keeping Ts without lamps.

Thanks for your answer though Thanks a lot!

 

[kormath]

Actually, the rule of thumb is "never trust a care sheet"

The awesome part of this hobby is everyone raises their Ts their own way, and none are wrong, unless they're dying anyway

 

[Vagansfordawin]

Exscuse me but what is a care sheet?

 

[Tomoran]

Many people think, that Ts don't like bright lights but actually they like to sit in the sun at some times of the day.
Punctual temperatur increase(like a small spot) will make your T live longer and that is just a fact. There is this one guy, who studies Brachypelma and puts all his research on his website. If you want, i can give you the link.

Rule of thumb: Don't trust any rules of thumb . No srsly. In a Room with 23°C you will be fine with a vagans but a smithi needs min. 25°C. but in both rooms you could wear a t-shirt.
Don't wanna be rude to anyone but i totaly hate keeping Ts without lamps.

Thanks for your answer though Thanks a lot!

You're obviously free to do whatever works for you, but I've found them to be totally unnecessary and, in many instances, they can do more harm than good. They're not reptiles and don't need a basking spot to digest their food, and they do just fine growth-wise when kept without a warm spot. When folks start dabbling with heat mats and heat lamps, they can end up with a dead and dehydrated tarantula. Two weeks ago, I spoke to a keeper who was told to add a basking spot to his tarantula cage by someone in Petco, and she ended up with a dead Avic.

I would love that link, as it is definitely not a fact that a basking spot makes them live longer. We don't even know how long these animals live for, and some still believe that they can live past 40. How on earth did this guy manage to do an experiment that proved that a basking spot makes them live longer? Has he been studying multiple groups for over 40 years? Did he have control groups with basking spots from multiple clutches and others without? How did he determine that spider that didn't have a basking spot and died didn't just die from natural causes? I'm sorry, but it's just not possible. There is no way to prove that.

And where does the seemingly arbitrary 25°C come from? A quick search of their natural habitat would reveal that they experience a wide-range of temperatures. So, my B. smithi that has been doing great in my care for years in temps between 21 and 27 isn't doing well? Nah. And if you're trying to keep them "naturally", wouldn't you then have to simulate seasonal changes? You certainly wouldn't keep them at the same temp all year.

Not to mention that the hotter it is, the faster they grow. So, by adding heat, you'd be jacking up their metabolism, increasing their growth speed, and possibly shortening their lifespan. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Again, I'm not trying to be rude or contrary, but I spend a lot of time speaking with new keepers on proper care, and have heard numerous horror stories about folks harming these animals by obsessing over arbitrary "ideal temperatures." You obviously have a system that works for you, and there is often more than one way to skin a cat in this hobby, but I always worry a bit when someone starts quoting "facts" that aren't and stating ideas or opinions as absolutes. If the basking spots work for you, great; I wouldn't even attempt to argue that it's wrong. But the stuff about life span and ideal temps for certain species is just not true, and I just worry that the wrong person will read this and take it as fact. Then we'll have more Ts fried by heat sources.

 

[Tomoran]

Actually, the rule of thumb is "never trust a care sheet"

The awesome part of this hobby is everyone raises their Ts their own way, and none are wrong, unless they're dying anyway

Amen!

 

[kormath]

Exscuse me but what is a care sheet?

I hate using Mike's care sheets as an example, he actually has some really good info in these, unlike 90% you'll find online.

http://www.mikebasictarantula.com/B-smithi-care-sheet.html

You're obviously free to do whatever works for you, but I've found them to be totally unnecessary and, in many instances, they can do more harm than good. They're not reptiles and don't need a basking spot to digest their food, and they do just fine growth-wise when kept without a warm spot. When folks start dabbling with heat mats and heat lamps, they can end up with a dead and dehydrated tarantula. Two weeks ago, I spoke to a keeper who was told to add a basking spot to his tarantula cage by someone in Petco, and she ended up with a dead Avic.

I would love that link, as it is definitely not a fact that a basking spot makes them live longer. We don't even know how long these animals live for, and some still believe that they can live past 40. How on earth did this guy manage to do an experiment that proved that a basking spot makes them live longer? Has he been studying multiple groups for over 40 years? Did he have control groups with basking spots from multiple clutches and others without? How did he determine that spider that didn't have a basking spot and died didn't just die from natural causes? I'm sorry, but it's just not possible. There is no way to prove that.

And where does the seemingly arbitrary 25°C come from? A quick search of their natural habitat would reveal that they experience a wide-range of temperatures. So, my B. smithi that has been doing great in my care for years in temps between 21 and 27 isn't doing well? Nah. And if you're trying to keep them "naturally", wouldn't you then have to simulate seasonal changes? You certainly wouldn't keep them at the same temp all year.

Again, I'm not trying to be rude or contrary, but I spend a lot of time speaking with new keepers on proper care, and have heard numerous horror stories about folks harming these animals by obsessing over arbitrary "ideal temperatures." You obviously have a system that works for you, and there is often more than one way to skin a cat in this hobby, but I always worry a bit when someone starts quoting "facts" that aren't and stating ideas or opinions as absolutes. If the basking spots work for you, great; I wouldn't even attempt to argue that it's wrong. But the stuff about life span and ideal temps for certain species is just not true, and I just worry that the wrong person will read this and take it as fact. Then we'll have more Ts fried by heat sources.

Very well said, thank you

 

[Vagansfordawin]

Hi.
I'm sorry but i have spoken with some breeders, that are experienced and it works fine for me.

 

[Vagansfordawin]

I probably have explained it wrong.
I mean it is good to have a little spot where they can sit under direkt light.
This spot should not be too hot because it isn't a basking spot thats why i said "bask" instead of bask.
It just a little spot under direkt light which normaly is warmer than the rest.

 

[Vagansfordawin]

And what i meant with it is helathy for them was, that temperature gradient is healthy for them i acidentaly said basking spot.

 

[Vagansfordawin]

And the things that i've called basking spots, i've looked it up. They are actually called punctual light and heat increase.
In germany they are used a lot in tarantula terrariums. like i said, they shoud not be like a basking spot but more like a little tinie tiny spott where there is a lot more light and maybe just a bit warmer but as i said just a bit warmer.
I feel like you don't understand me.

 

[Tomoran]

I probably have explained it wrong.
I mean it is good to have a little spot where they can sit under direkt light.
This spot should not be too hot because it isn't a basking spot thats why i said "bask" instead of bask.
It just a little spot under direkt light which normaly is warmer than the rest.

My apologies if something was lost in translation and I misunderstood you. I'm NOT trying to be rude or nasty. If it's just a light that you're talking about, that's obviously much different. It was the "basking" part and the comment that it was a "fact" that they live longer with these that I found worrisome. I just know that there is so much misinformation about tarantulas reported as facts online, that I always worry that someone will see something like this and fry their poor T trying to achieve some false "ideal" temperature. I will definitely look up the punctual lights, as I'm curious as to what they do.

 

[Tomoran]

Hi.
I'm sorry but i have spoken with some breeders, that are experienced and it works fine for me.

Again, I am in NO way telling you not to do it. My main concern were with the "facts" you quoted. Doing something different than others if it doesn't hurt the animals is fine. People can often learn from other techniques and perspectives. However, presenting what you're doing as if it's the "correct" way and saying that it is proven to make your T live longer is just a bit different. I'll definitely look up those lights!

 

[IamKrush]

Tarantulas arent to keen on lights of any form. I have a led desk lamp not on them, but in the general area just to have a day night cycle for them. Most of the time they are hiding when its on and come out when its off. The only time they will come out when its on is when they are hungry.

 

[IamKrush]

Exscuse me but what is a care sheet?

A care sheet. Is a general break down on how to care for an animal. Like what to feed it. What temperature the animal needs to live healthy and happy, Animals temperament ,etc. this website has a bunch of them on different Ts.http://www.mikebasictarantula.com