Heat mats yes or no?

Hi, I am mixed up as to whether or not I should get a heat mat for my pink toed tarantula?
When I first started out with these wonderful creatures I was told to use a heat bulb which I fixed into my tank and have since not used since I heard about the fact that she could become burned or too hot.
The temp at the moment in my tank ranges from 23-27 it is summer here so staying quite warm.
should I buy a heat mat and install? someone said I should and keep it on at all times, someone else said buy one for the winter...someone said place it under the tank...someone said the side:? me is confused!

What would be your opinion? i have just ordered a humidity gauge to keep eye on that, so that should be good, it has a dry section moderate and high so It will be helpful, should I aim for high? or moderate? thanks so much xxx

As most people are going to tell you, don't use them if it is at all possible. If you must use them then they should only be placed on the side of the enclosure. Preferably on one end so that the T can move to a cooler spot if it feels to warm. If you only have a few T's, then this may be practicable. If you have many, maybe heating the entire room would be a better solution. I use heat mats but, only have 4 T's. The heat mats are only going to raise the temp by about 5 degrees providing that you use the appropriate size mats. If you do a search, you will find many opinions on using heat mats on this site alone. Read as much as you can, then make your own choice as whether or not to use them.

As far as humidity goes, check the humidity requirements for the particular T that you have, and check more than one site, never base your knowledge on only one opinion, what ever it might be.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=125613&highlight=heat+mat

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=124593&highlight=heat+mat

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=123348&highlight=heat+mat

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=115895&highlight=heat+mat

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=114679&highlight=heat+mat

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=108766&highlight=heat+mat

I feel that if you keep your house at a comfortable temperature (and are not one that likes it cold) the T's will do fine. I've always held the belief that what isn't spent on expensive enclosures or fancy equipment can be invested into more T's. Who me? I'm not addicted! lol
Rev

Problem with heat mats (one of them) is that they don't work.

If your house is cold in the winter, use a red bulb. The one you have described strikes me as the infrared type sold for heating reptiles. This is indeed likely to be too hot. Just get a 25 watt red party bulb at your local discount store. Saves money and provides a nice amount of heat. I wouldn't affix it to your tank, just put it in a desk lamp next to the enclosure. Shine it on one side of the enclosure only. If the T stays far away from the light, it may be too warm, so you can move the lamp farther away or turn it off. If it sits right in the middle of the light it may be a bit cold so if you choose you can move the lamp closer.

if ur gonna use heat mats then dont get reptile or animal ones go with human pads from cvs or walgreens. I got one for my roaches and its perfect. Problem is that they heat up way to much for T's so u gotta elevate it from the pad i would assume. Anyhows I dont heat my T's, and my AC goes as low as 67 at nights;P

I used to use heat pads, but I've since changed my approach. The tarantulas suffer along with me in heat and cold. But then, I have fairly hardy specimens. In my experience the heating pads did little but dry out the enclosure. It's virtually impossible to regulate the temperature with them, and if not inspected regularly could turn your furry friend into a crispy treat. In the coldest days of winter I will sometimes place an ordinary light bulb in a lamp and put the lamp near the tank, but pointing away so she's not feeling like a broadway star. Doing this I can raise the temperature a bit without stressing and/or frying her. I know this doesn't always work for the more humid-loving Ts, though, so that's another adventure.

Yeah, heat mats are expensive and really don't add much heat overall. Go with a 25 watt bulb and you should be good... and don't worry about the summer. I use low watt bulb in all of the natural vivaria that I have, but those are for the plants. In the winter my house gets down to 50 degrees (sorry, I don't know Celcius conversions). In that case I use bulbs for heat, and they usually are good to raise the temperature a good 10 degrees.

If you aren't keeping live plants, go with a red bulb... If you are using live plants, make sure your spider has enough space to choose where it wants to make a hide, and can hide when it wants to. I generally don't think a regular light schedule is bad for Ts, so long as they can do what they would naturally do, and that is stay in the dark when it's light out, and come out at night.

I have a G Pulchra spiderling (1 1/4") that lives in a plastic deli container within a large Exo Terra Flat Faunarium.
The faunarium has 2 heat mats, one underneath and one at the back side.

The deli container is placed to the back of the faunarium close to the back heat mat and sits halfway over the edge of the underside heat mat.
Initially the mats were rigged to a thermostat.

I made the substrate quite deep, about 2/3rds the way up the deli container, and the spiderling has shovelled right down to the bare surface of the container and spends most of its time huddled cosily directly on top of the heat source - even more so now that I've switched off the thermostat!.

If heat mats can cook spiders then what gives here?

I keep my home at 66F in the winter and I use flexwatt (11") wired in series with a rheostat during the winter. Flexwatt is relatively inexpensive, easy to wire up and my tarantulas appear to grow faster and continue to molt through-out the winter. I have the flexwatt tacked to the back wall of the shelves and keep the containers about an inch away from it. Diane

My home is really rather cool in the winter, so I attach heat mats ( the kind you get at the pharmacy for sore muscles, with the variable heat controller ) to the sides of their tanks. I then include a thermometer in the tanks, and keep temps to 70- 75, when it might otherwise be only 60.

If you keep an eye on the temps, it isn't a problem at all. Just make sure they have water and a good retreat.

I absolutely agree with this. Heat mats or Flex Watt heat tape is a very good way to provide supplimental heat for your T's. However you have to use some type of rheostat to monitor the temps. I have been using heat mats and Flex Watt for so long I cant even remember. Been in the the reptile/arachnid hobby for 30 years. I have never had a bad experience with any of these things especially if used correctly. Helix controls are by far the best I have ever used to minitor the temps. Night drop function is awesome. They are pricey but if your gonna spend the money on your animals you might as well provide the best materials and conditions, No?

That being said, heating the enclosure from the bottom will also raise your humidity. The condensate created by this will cover the sides and top, and eventually come back down the sides to replenish what is evaporating in the substrate. You will still periodically have to wet down the substrate again at some point as some condensate will evaporate completely. As far as burrowing species go, if the substarte is deep enough no burns should happen. All rheostates come with a probe that is sensing heat. This will send a signal to the mat increasing and decreasing voltage to maintain proper levels of heat. The colder the temps the probe will send a signal to the stat asking it to increase the voltage to the mat making it warmer, then as the temps rise the voltage decreases and causes the mat to be luke warm or turn off completely. Place the probe in the area you want your temps maxed out at.

The failsafe on these products are just as reliable. It will maintain a warm temp a few degrees lower then set for in the event of probe failure or device failure. I have 10 Helix devices and 8 of them are at least 20 years old. I have changed 1 failed probe on 1 unit in all those years.

Anyway, if used correctly and with the right materials you are not at risk of frying your T's. Its more reliable then overhead bulbs, safer too. Overhead bulbs will dry out your enclosure, and trying to toy with distance from cage and size of bulb is too risky.

My 2 cents anyway, but what works for me works for me.;P

dianedfisher said:

I keep my home at 66F in the winter and I use flexwatt (11") wired in series with a rheostat during the winter. Flexwatt is relatively inexpensive, easy to wire up and my tarantulas appear to grow faster and continue to molt through-out the winter. I have the flexwatt tacked to the back wall of the shelves and keep the containers about an inch away from it. Diane

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