To heat, or not to heat a Chilean Rose?

[Justin Lycett]

Hello. I've only just bought my first tarantula, so sorry if this question is something that's already been covered lots of times.
We all know that there is a lot of confusing information out there about how to look after tarantulas. One thing that I'd really like to know is what temperature should I keep a Chilean Rose at?
So many people say that they need to have a heat mat in their vivariums; others say absolutely not. "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" says that room temperature is absolutely fine, and that these spiders can even survive frost - this book is something that I'm more inclined to believe.
Pet shops, however, say that it does need heat, though they've also said that she needs to be sprayed with water to keep the humidity up, and I know that's not the case with this breed of spider.
If you do think that she needs heat, can you recommend the best place to fit the heat mat? I've been told the outside of the tank on the side wall, but surely a lot of the heat wouldn't actually enter the tank.
Thank you in advance. Justin.

[Peter Roach]

One thing that I'd really like to know is what temperature should I keep a Chilean Rose at?

Room temperature is perfectly fine

So many people say that they need to have a heat mat in their vivariums;

Generally newbies who listen to the petshops or their equally clueless friends

"The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" says that room temperature is absolutely fine, and that these spiders can even survive frost - this book is something that I'm more inclined to believe.

Stan sometimes posts on here when he is not traveling. In the meantime here is his Chile rose caresheet >>> LINK <<<

Pet shops, however, say that it does need heat, though they've also said that she needs to be sprayed with water to keep the humidity up, and I know that's not the case with this breed of spider.

Most pets shop employees shouldnt be allowed to keep a pet rock and that goes double where Tarantulas are concerned !!!
They have this strange idea that ALL tarantulas MUST be kept hot and humid for some strange reason.

If you do think that she needs heat, can you recommend the best place to fit the heat mat?

er . . . . to the inside of the nearest rubbish bin (unplugged of course)

I've been told the outside of the tank on the side wall, but surely a lot of the heat wouldn't actually enter the tank.
.

If a heatmat just absolutely must be fitted to a tank then either the back or side of the tank is acceptable. As heatmats radiate heat from both sides, a small piece of polystyrene cut to the same size as the mat should be taped to the back of the heatmat to keep the heat going the way it should . . into the tank. Many, if not most of the articles that say to use a heatmat almost never recommend using a thermostat for some reason. A thermostat must ALWAYS be used when a heatmat is fitted, a mat stat is the cheapest version to use.

If any of these petshop employees checked the weather temperatures in Chile they would have found that it has the same or slightly cooler temps than the UK !!!
>>> Chile weather stations LINK <<<
and another website that lists the Chilean weather stations >>> LINK <<<
On this site you will have to look at an atlas to determine the natural range of the Chile rose and then the nearest weather stations to cross reference the temps and humidity etc.

This what what every hobbyist should use whenever they get a new species of tarantula but many just Goggle for the usually erroneous caresheets and then wonder why things go wrong. >>> The myth of the caresheets <<<

[Stanley A. Schultz]

... Stan sometimes posts on here when he is not traveling. ...

Glad you brought this up. As I type this I am staying in a little RV park in a place called Peñitas, Texas, little more than 2 km from the Rio Grande River and Old Mexico. (Click or right-click the thumbnail to see a larger image. Google Peñitas Texas for a more accurate location and more information.)



And, as soon as I finish this and get something for breakfast I'm going a bit west on Highway 83 to look for Aphonopelma moderatum (Rio Grande gold tarantulas) and an unusual color form of Latrodectus hesperus, the western black widow. I'll post more photos tomorrow.

... Generally newbies who listen to the petshops or their equally clueless friends ...

... Most pets shop employees shouldnt be allowed to keep a pet rock and that goes double where Tarantulas are concerned !!!
They have this strange idea that ALL tarantulas MUST be kept hot and humid for some strange reason. ...

There are several possible explanations for this:

1) The pet shop personnel are reading the same Internet care sheets that most newbies do.

2) For lack of better information, pet shop clerks and newbies alike default to caring for tarantulas using the same paradigm (Oops! Another of those words with more than 4 letters or two syllables!) as is used for guppies and scalares, snakes and lizards, budgerigars and canaries, hamsters and gerbils. This is particularly confusing to me because a lot of those same pet shops have Breene, Marshall, Baxter, and TKG3 right on their shelves. Why not circumvent the whole time wasting, error prone, memory lossy, lecture process and sell them a good book instead?

3) Their supervisors have instructed them in this fashion.

4) The heat and humidity argument requires that the customer/enthusiast purchase a humidity gauge and humidifier of some sort; and a thermometer, heater and thermostat of some sort; all of which tends to inflate the sales figures for the month and make the stockholders happier! (This is also important to the clerks if they're paid on a commission basis.)


And, thanks for all the good words. I couldn't have stated it better myself.



SIGN IN A PET SHOP

"UNATTENDED CHILDREN WILL BE FED TO THE HUNGRIEST TARANTULA IN INVENTORY!"
- R. W. Schultz

[vincent winyard]

the myth of care sheets what an interesting read cheers pete.

[Peter Roach]

the myth of care sheets what an interesting read cheers pete.

You should thank Stan, he was the person that wrote it

[Justin Lycett]

Thanks Peter and Stan for replying. It's a great help and put my mind at rest. I feel sorry for all those tarantulas that are stuck in pet shops roasting away!