neil.truter wrote: ... thus I would like to keep my T's more comftarble and not just within the extreme limits. ...
An admirable pursuit as long as you don't "go nuts" over it.
neil.truter wrote: ... Now here is the part I might disagree slightly with you (or maybe I'm misunderstanding),
In nature our T's have quite a bit of realstate where they can move about, thus if they are to cold/warm the can move to a better place, ...
Not really correct. All evidence strongly suggests that once a terrestrial tarantula settles down in its burrow, they seldom leave. The only two forces that can dislodge them are flooding and predators digging them up. They really are that "locked into" living in their burrows. (Arboreal tarantulas don't seem to be quite so dedicated to their nests.)
neil.truter wrote: ... or burrow deep down etc. ...
And this they will do. But there are severe limitations. Burrowing requires a great deal of time and effort. It is not done lightly or quickly by tarantulas. Neither do they often dig deep. When excessive cold or hot weather arrives they first hunker down into the bottoms of their burrows. Later, if the inclement weather persists they will plug the entrances. Still later they may begin to dig deeper, but this is a last ditch effort at survival and is a slow process, often too slow.
And, these reactions are normally in response to excessive heat. In the face of excessive cold, they merely go dormant at the bottoms of their burrows, not attempting any major earth moving projects. This may be because at lower temperatures they are not as strong or well coordinated as at more moderate temperatures. This may also be partially due to the fact that lower temperatures are nowhere near the danger to them that excessively high temperatures are.
neil.truter wrote: ... In captivity this is not possible, we allow them only 100square centimeter and only 3cm substrate, if they hit the bottom glass they can do nothing, same with the sides, thus it is in my opinion better to manage their environments a bit to provide them with conditions where they dont need to try and get away from the problem. ...
All this is true except for the contention that confinement (as such, not cage care in general) in a cage is significantly different than confinement in their burrows. In both cases they are quite limited in their options and responses.
If you have only one or perhaps two tarantulas, artificial heating appliances for each cage may be a tenable option. But, if you have three or more you might be much wiser to set up a "constant environment case" in which to keep them. I have seen converted bookcases, refrigerators, freezers, wine coolers, Styrofoam picnic coolers, almost any container that is insulated or can be easily insulated, used for these.
Consider for instance a discarded refrigerator. Employ a refrigeration technician to pump out any remaining freon first. Then remove the compressor and as much of the other hardware as convenient to make room for the cages. Anything that produces heat can be used as a heat source (e.g., medicinal heating pads and small wattage light bulbs). The temperature
MUST be controlled with a
thermostat
, but these are not terribly expensive, usually about the price of one pet tarantula or less. And generally, you only need one per case, not one per cage. It is not unreasonable to expect to control the temperature of 25 to 100 tarantulas of varying sizes and ages in such a case.
It's now mid or late spring in South Africa. You don't have to worry about excessively low temperatures for another 6 or 8 months. That should be plenty of time for you to "think outside the box," acquire the necessary hardware from scrap heaps and second hand stores, and finally take a weekend to throw together a respectable little case to hold your collection safe from the cold.
Enjoy your little 8-legged
Esquimaux
!
