Answer needed

[M Zurowski]

Hello all,

I have kept tarantulas for many years. Mostly I have owned a very large Viv and just heated that. I have since sold my viv because I have moved house. I also had to sell all my T's (all 19 of them). I'm looking to buy a few slings at the show but I don't think I can heat them right. Obviously slings will be in a small tub and therefore a heat mat would be too overpowering. If I have a few slings what's the best way to heat them. Heating the entire room would not be possible.

Hope you can help. Thank you.

[Peter Roach]

Why do you think that the slings will need heat ?
If you are comfortable in just a shirt in the room then the slings will be OK without any extra heating but if you do feel that extra heat is necessary then a small heatmat LINK fitted on the outside of a small/medium plastic storage box would probably do the trick.
Unless you are using a thermostat (mat-stat) the hard part would be getting the temps just right, the only way this would be possible would be to drill multiple holes along the bottom and top (for even airflow) and then testing the ambient temps (and drilling more holes) every few hours until its right.

[Ray Gabriel]

Or have a small mat taped to the side of a drawer and keep the sling containers in the drawer until you can get another viv...................there are sometimes free/cheap ones going in your free adds papers.

[Nicola Dolby]

I put them in the cupboard next to the boiler. It's warm, dark, and as long as they have the right humidity conditions for that species and get regular feeds they're very happy.

[M Zurowski]

Hello people. Thank you for your replies.

As you can see I have very little experience with slings. My house normally sits in the 18 - 21C zone. I thought slings needed the same heat as the adult family members. Secondly, from reading the replies it looks like slings can be kept in complete darkness! Is that right?

I'm hoping to pick up some Grammostola pulchra slings at the show

[Nicola Dolby]

The slings I've got in my boiler cupboard at the mo are Grammostolas. I keep them in 10 cm plastic tubs with needle sized holes in the roof and a little substrate. They get a few drops of water in one corner of the substrate once a day (never let it be soggy or bone dry) and a small cricket once every other day (cricket size depending on the size of the spider) They seem very happy!