Need Heat Source Suggestions For Insulated Box.

Hello, I am having to secretly keep T's in my house right now. I haven't bought them yet, but I'm going to once I have a spot set up for them. I have to keep them hidden when I'm not home. Their enclosures will be kept in my closet, behind a curtain, under a shelf, inside of and insulated and ventilated cardboard box. To anyone else it will just look like a box of stuff in my closet (if anyone is ever to see it). I live in VT and it gets pretty cold in my room sometimes. So I need to get a heat source to go inside of the box. I can't use a heater. So far I've heard of heat tape and heat cord as options. I got a heating pad, but am considering taking it back because I don't think it will work how I'd like. The box will be insulated with styrofoam boards. I'm also worried about creating a fire hazard. Anyway, please help with some suggestions. There will be about 3 sq ft of space inside of the box. And please tell me your opinions on heat tape and cord. Thank you in advance!

If you have to hide it, please don't get it. "To anyone else it will just look like a box of stuff..." Which means it will be treated like a box of stuff...who's gentle with boxes like that, and what incentive would they have to not move it should they be looking for something. Wait until you can keep it properly and openly.

Heat pads are not a good option, use a heater if you must, there's no better option, especially in a closet...except waiting. They will still be there when you (and your housemates/family) are ready.

For the sake of the tarantulas that would be put In this situation you should not get them until you're "allowed." If whoever doesn't want you having them finds them, then who knows what they would do to them? They could easily kill them and it's really not worth it.

I appreciate your concern for the T’s, but it’s really not necessary. There is no reason why anyone would be moving things around in my closet. This isn’t a shared closet, and there’s nothing in it that anyone in my household would need. This is just a precaution in case someone gets curious and peeks behind the curtains. The only time the T’s will be here is when I am spending a night away from home while my room mates are home. Otherwise, they’ll still be in the same position, but they’ll have a ventilated plexiglass wall in place of one of the cardboard and Styrofoam ones which I have already planned to make removable which, as stated above, will ALSO be ventilated. My closet is very large and has no doors, its basically an extension of my bedroom that I put a lot of my stuff in. The air is not still or stagnant. They will have a day and night because daylight lights up the room during the day and the curtain is somewhat see through and very breathable (which is exactly why I picked the fabric that I did), so even if the curtain is closed, they'll see daylight.
I know at first while reading this it seems like I’m a kid trying to hide T’s from my parents or something but that is not the case. I’m a 21 year old woman, with a job and a car. I am renting with roommates and will have my own place ready next year. I have read multiple books about tarantulas and other bugs’ care, anatomy, you name it AND taken notes (that is not an exaggeration, I literally have notebooks full of notes, which may be overkill, but taking notes is how I remember things). I have cared successfully for many T’s and other bugs before. Unfortunately about 3 years ago I had to move suddenly and unexpectedly and had no choice but to rehome all of my bugs. Now I am in a stable living situation and foresee no reason for me leaving other than moving into my own place next year.
I am not jumping into this decision to get T’s impulsively. I have been thinking about this for a long time. I have considered everything that might be a detriment to T’s in this situation and come up with solutions, the last one that I need now is how to heat them. They will not be cared for improperly, T’s are kept in heated cabinets all the time when the owner can’t dedicate an entire room to them, that’s essentially what I’ll be doing.
I understand your initial concerns when first reading this thread, but please put your worries to rest. I would never get T’s (or any other animal for that matter) if it would put them in harm's way, or if I couldn't care for them properly.

Oh and I should clarify that I am looking for something to heat the air in the box, not the individual enclosures. I’d never stick a heat pad or any other heating element to a T enclosure.

---------- Post added 10-05-2014 at 10:48 PM ----------

samatwwe said:

For the sake of the tarantulas that would be put In this situation you should not get them until you're "allowed." If whoever doesn't want you having them finds them, then who knows what they would do to them? They could easily kill them and it's really not worth it.

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Nobody will find them, that is why I'm camouflaging them as a precaution. I know my roommates very well, none of them would root through my stuff, and they DEFINITELY would NOT kill my bugs or harm them in any way in the hypothetical case that they did find them. I would never get T's if my owning them would place them in danger.
I'm simply trying to avoid more silly and pointless arguments over things that will not effect my roommates in any way because one of them has an irrational fear that one of my spiders would get loose and then attack them.

If it was me I couldn't deal with the hassle of having to hide them everytime I left the house. All that regular moving around and packing up wouldn't do your Ts any favours. Sure, they'd probably handle it but I'd rather not have to do it to them. If you're planning on keeping them in a box in a closet then what's the point in getting them?
I assume your still fairly young, I'd say wait untill you can give the Ts the environment which they deserve. I'm not having a go at you or trying to discourage you in any way but you have to have the upmost respect for the Ts. I had to wait a good few years before I got my first.

I really don't see the need for the secrecy. You're an adult, paying your bills, why shouldn't you be able to have a couple spiders in your room which you're paying for? If it's a matter of the roommates fearing an escape, then why not show them the enclosures they will be in and show them just how secure they are. You'll be out of there in a year anyways. I just think being upfront about it and standing your ground would be the way to go.

IHeartBugz said:

I have to keep them hidden when I'm not home. Their enclosures will be kept in my closet, behind a curtain, under a shelf, inside of and insulated and ventilated cardboard box. To anyone else it will just look like a box of stuff in my closet (if anyone is ever to see it).

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So, basically you'd keep it right next to your stash of pot?

NewAgePrimal said:

I really don't see the need for the secrecy. You're an adult, paying your bills, why shouldn't you be able to have a couple spiders in your room which you're paying for? If it's a matter of the roommates fearing an escape, then why not show them the enclosures they will be in and show them just how secure they are. You'll be out of there in a year anyways. I just think being upfront about it and standing your ground would be the way to go.

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Trust me..... I've shown them, like I said I don't want any more POINTLESS arguements. If you knew this woman, you'd understand. And besides, one year of secrecy, is so worth it. It will be far less stressful for me to hide them. The biggest amount of effort will go into making the box, but that can be done in a day and I've already gotten the materials for it. If I werent hiding them, I'd still need to have them in something because I can't heat an entire room for them right now anyway.

GG80 said:

If it was me I couldn't deal with the hassle of having to hide them everytime I left the house. All that regular moving around and packing up wouldn't do your Ts any favours. Sure, they'd probably handle it but I'd rather not have to do it to them. If you're planning on keeping them in a box in a closet then what's the point in getting them?
I assume your still fairly young, I'd say wait untill you can give the Ts the environment which they deserve. I'm not having a go at you or trying to discourage you in any way but you have to have the upmost respect for the Ts. I had to wait a good few years before I got my first.

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It seems like you didn't read everything before you posted, I'm not going to continue repeating things. But hun, I do respect them. If you'd read everything, you'd know it isn't often that I'd have to fully camo them into a box. And the most stress they'd go under is being picked up and slowly turned around a couple times every 2 weeks or so. I think they'll survive, in fact I think they'll thrive.
I've also been waiting a few years. That is also typed above.



Well, with all that said, can we please get back to the entire point of this thread now? Opinions on heat pads, head cord, heat tape? Other suggestions? Or would everyone prefer that I find out through trial and error? Thank you.

They will find out. They will be angry. You will be on the spot. It does sound like the way 20th century Medical Marijuana patients hid there prescriptions.

right....
lets avoid any more beating around the bush. about your living situation...and roommates...and finding out...and why hiding...and respect....lol.
and all that things that are not really the stuff you need, right?
instead lets get technical.

what your trying to do isn't hard to set up, and as long as they get half of day/night outside they will be fine.
look into heating cable. really useful thing. you plug it in, starting like 15cm it has a part that is just a normal cable. this allows you to put it where you need without loosing heat. then it starts to heat up during its entire length up until the end of cable. there it again has like a 15cm normal cable, no heat. good thing about cable is that you can 'sculpture' it into shape/space you need. and if you really want to, you could pull it so it would go to the back of a whole cabinet/closet. every shelf, from top to bottom. it would involve some drilling and fixing it to place with heat resistant tape used by electrician. we cal it insulir band, if that means anything to you.

if you need to heat just one small space in your closet, there will be no need for drilling anything, just fix it into shape you need. i have a similar setup for a few species of roaches who are not jet adult. your closet is probably different shape, but general principal is the same.

Nice looking setup, xkris. That looks like it would work just fine. And IHeartBugz, you never mentioned what Ts you are getting. I wish you best of luck in keeping them hidden and in getting a new place next year.

Thank you xkris and NewAgePrimal, I appreciate your responses, and the information is very helpful.
The only ones I'm certain of that I'm getting are some G. pulchra slings if I can find any. I think right now is a great time for me to start growing up some slow growers. And I want one or two sub adult or adults that I can handle sometimes, like and A. hentzi or chalcodes or anax, I really love the browns blacks and tans in terrestrials. And I'm definitely getting at least one B. albiceps, I don't care how big, I'll take whatever I find, I just want one so badly, if I find slings I'll probably get at least 2. Other than that I haven't decided. I'll probably get some other slings, and I know a local dealer so I'm also gonna talk to him, possibly today, if not then next week, and see what he's got right now.
I won't be able to get any arboreals until next year when I move. But this will be plenty for now.
I'm beyond excited.

I use a commercial medical heating pad for my small roach colony, that I keep warmer (under my desk) than other things in that room. It took me quite awhile to find one that had a "constant on" setting vs. the safety timed switch. It works.