Hi
I have started this hobby again after few years since before i met my wife and my boys are very interested in anything with six legs.The problem is we have been designated to the shed as "THEY ARE NOT COMIN IN THIS HOUSE"

We have an exo terra 18inch x24inch high tank that is to be kept in an insulated cabin in the garden.It is only heated some of the time when im working and in this weather the temp sometimes goes down to 3 or 4 degrees at night.

We have some Australian pricklys and some phyllium leaf nymphs on the way that can stay in the house while they are tiny.

Is there a way of keeping the temp constant in the tank without heating the whole building
I have a 24 x 11inch heat mat.
Some advice regarding the different options-kinds of heaters-lights etc would be greatly appreciated.

If you only have one enclosure to heat it's probably going to be quite expensive - the best bet is probably the heat mat with a thermostat and lots of insulation around the enclosure, as heating the whole shed is obviously not practical.

Of course phyllium sp will need ventilation, so will be a difficult balance.

My advice would be to keep them in the house and hope they grow up unnoticed and never have to go outside...

Great advice to insulate the tank,i can use foil bubble wrap and polystyrene sheets-didnt think of that-thanks.
If i cover the open half of the lid in front of the lights at night it will keep the heat in but will it cause a problem? some airflow will still pass through the exo compact light box.
Is there some kind of thermostat switching night light i can install?

This morning it was 8 degrees in me shed and with one big heat mat it was 16 in the tank with no insulation and an open top.

Trust me there is no way they are staying in the house.
Its a very well insulated log cabin with double glazing so perhaps an economical heater set to keep it up to 15 or so is the best solution

thick polyatyrene sheets are great insulation & at night you can stick one over the front of the tank for all round cover


for the macleays the airflow shouldnt be a problem , although the phylium (who really cant live in the same tank!) will need better airflow .
the fitting of a small pc fan may help .
there are blacklights & ceramics available that will work quite happily on a stat but its a bit excessive & expensive for a few stickys


just a thought , but could you get a fish transport poly box on its end & put your tank inside ,
leave the lid (now the front) off through the day so you can see them & while its a bit warmer
then put the lid on at night .
you would need a stat on the mat though if you have a spare one kicking around as it would heat up real fast , also you may have to cut a few holes in the box to allow airflow

I will be seperating them (mclays-phylliums) as have room for several more tanks.IT ALL STARTS WITH JUST THE ONE EH!!!

In me shed its a bloke room with nooooo wifey durisdiction and i love chopping up conti board to make storage.
I will fit the tanks into lined conti board shelf boxes with thick perspex doors (a tank in a box) super thick double glazing.
Got a roll of aluminium bubblewrap from b+q thats =to 65mm of polystyrene.
Got a matstat and two mats so its a bit of trial and error now before the sticks go in.

how attatched are you to the missus ?
or is there no way you could maybe sell a kid to make room ?
women usually cave in eventually though , & 1 or 2 bugs almost always ends up as a room full

Wouldnt get owt for the kids -- saw a post displaying the upended fish poly-transporter boxes you described--- they look really cool-i will try one----look very easy to make.

Speaking of fish polyatyrene boxes have a look at the caresheet on this website for incubation,i found it very helpful with great photos,also lots of good sticks.

http://www.phasmidsincyberspace.com/Insects.html

the incubator on there is a lot like the ones i used to make for gecko eggs .
they work really well when a decent humidity level is needed