keeping racks cool in summer

It can be 100 degrees in my house in the summer no air conditioning, is there a way to cool racks?

If no A/C is used, then I would suggest having a fan directly pointed toward the racks. But otherwise, if that doesn't work, you may need to consider moving your snakes into a different location altogether. OR, buy a window unit A/C and only cool the room the snakes are in.

Fans don't work on reptiles unless they are bringing in cooler air - they feel good to us only because we sweat, and the fans help with evaporation and therefore cooling. Reptiles don't do that. Check your thermometers and if the room is sealed you'll find that fans don't actually alter the air temp.

I bought a mobile A/C unit this year as we had a really unusual heatwave. Only used it for 2 weeks but it saved lives - I lost one snake to overheating before I got into action.

Mobile (ie free-standing) A/Cs are a bit more expensive to buy and I suspect not as energy efficient as installed ones, but if you don't want to make structural alterations (I'm in a rental) might be a good bet for spot cooling.

To clarify, I'm talking about things like this (I'm not recommending a specific brand, this is what came up when I Googled Portable AC Units).

If you have a specific reptile room you need to work out the BTUs you need for the room size (see chart top right), and then run it on the thermostat.

If its a small tank or rack in a large room you can get a small one and run it constantly while it's hot, pointing directly at the enclosure. That will EAT electricity, but if, like mine, it's a short heatwave, it can work out OK.

* you do need a window to put the outlet hose through

Close any south and west-facing windows and do what you can to block sunlight from hitting them. Window tint on them also helps keep the sun and heat out. Open the windows on the north and east and put fans in them to suck in the cooler air.

If you are home during the hottest part of the day you can set up "redneck A/C", I've done this when the power is out and we're running off of a generator that is enough for the refrigerator/freezer and some fans, but not the HVAC. Take a clean, empty plastic bottle, fill it about 2/3 full with water, and freeze it. Lay it on its side to freeze so it doesn't burst. Put the frozen bottle in front of a small fan. As the air flows over the bottle it will cool off. Keep a few bottles going so you can re-freeze them as needed. You can either point the fan at the racks as long as the air isn't too cold, or just use it to help cool the room.

The "Red Neck A/C" sounds like a good idea, as long as you are there to supervise and replace the bottles (in fact I may try it in my own bedroom this summer ), but I'd caution you to keep checking the thermometer inside the enclosure and be sure the cold air is going where you need it.

I'm really concerned about this, as I lost a long-standing pet to overheating this year. Our summer temps are normally in the 90 - 95oF range, but this year we regularly went over 97oC, and I was too slow to realise the danger.

I'd add to the good advice about shading windows as well, and ask what type of roof you have? I live in the tropics and ours is a poorly insulated tin roof that just radiated heat downwards during our heatwave. If you have multiple stories, you might want to make sure your reptile room is downstairs, to avoid the hotter air upstairs.

im not sure what kind of roof its a mobile home though .

Originally Posted by catlord1

im not sure what kind of roof its a mobile home though .

Well, just check it out when it gets hot - my problem was I could cool the air inside my room, but the heat coming through the ceiling was too much and I had to move everything downstairs.

Not much else to add.
I simply agree with keeping window covered (where sunlight does not come in) and purchasing a window (or portable) AC unit.
Melinda's idea (with plastic bottles/fans) sounds interesting and may work out, for you, as well.
Whatever you decide to do, it must involve cooling the air. Especially since you reside in a mobile home (where moving the racks, to another room or basement, is not an option).