Need help with heated room

[crow002]

So i'm setting up my python in a heated walk in closet which is working ok so far but when i consider the recommended "cool and warm" sides of their racks. i se a problem coming on. who else uses hot rooms? do you do the "cool/ warm" thing? and how can i accomplish this best in a hot room? Thank you for any responses.

 

[Crazy4Herps]

If the room is on a good thermostat and you are positive it won't fluctuate, set the room at 86-87*. The primary reason for temperature gradients for snakes is because UTHs, heat lamps, and other heat elements can be so unstable and can easily overheat, which can kill your snake if it does not have a cool retreat.

 

[hhmoore]

Personally, I wouldn't start with temps that high. For several years, I used heated rooms without supplemental cage heat - and I kept them at 84 degrees*. (It should be noted that I kept a variety of pythons and boas in that room.) As far as BPs are concerned, my history with them is short (comparatively speaking), but they did well in that setup...the only problem was that when it got cold enough outside (winter), the room temperature would drop slightly. That slight drop didn't affect anything except some of the BPs, which would go off f/t at that time. Adding supplemental heat only helped with approximately 40% of them. After the first year, I just accepted it as their routine...feeding the ones that would eat, and waiting out the rest. Only one year did I have to turn back to live prey to get them going again.

Daniel, you don't mention the size of the closet, how you are heating it, or the temperatures you are using. Are the racks themselves heated (I'm guessing not, from your original post) Another consideration, which you may/may not know the answer to at this time, is how the temps are affected by seasonal temperature changes (for example, if the racks are bordering an outside wall, the tub temps may have a gradient...if only seasonally).

At some point, you will probably want to look at your set up, and consider the financial impacts, as well. Is it more cost effective to keep that room hot? Or to add supplemental heat to the racks. I have decreased the temperature in my (former) hot room to around 78, and switched to heated racks, and cut my electric bill.


*If you do opt to run higher temps, consider letting the temps drop to the low 80s at night.

 

[crow002]

Closet is 5 1/2 feet deep, 4 feet wide and 7 1/2 feet tall. i currently have 2 breeding age female regular bp's and a baby rock python. i posted immediately after setting the room up in case i was being idiotic and risking the health of my py's. the room in being heated with a space heater that has it's own auto shut off to maintain the preset temps and i have it holding at 85. the breeder I'm going in to business with keeps his heat room (also a closet, smaller in size and heated with lamps and flex watt on the racks) in the high 80's and with the flexwatt his snakes "hot spots" are in the low to mid 90's. is this the best way to go or is one stable temp in the whole room a good idea.

 

[hhmoore]

is this the best way to go or is one stable temp in the whole room a good idea.

That is a question you'll need to decide for yourself. Either way can work, if you want it to. I switched to a lower temp and heated racks because I wanted to give them a basking area and temp gradient...and for my own convenience.
The rock python won't care much what you do temp-wise for your ball pythons.

 

[HyderHouseHerps]

My hot room is in the lower to mid 80s. I mostly keep balls and day geckos. The geckos have a megaray so they do have a gradient, but I don't use any supplemental heat with my snakes and they all seem very comfortable at this temperature. Since the lights are timed, it is just a tad cooler at night, but probably only couple of degrees. I think it will also have to do with what kind of rack you have, and where you put the cages. My snakes are on inside walls and they all have lids on their cages which I think keeps them warmer, and moister. The only other thing I might recommend is a humidifier. I am starting to see the need for getting one myself just not sure which ones work the best.

 

[Gloryhound]

We just set our room up to maintain 78 to 80 degrees then use the UTH's in the rack to maintain a 90 degree hot spot. Our ball pythons have been doing well as well as our blood pythons. We also have a whole house humidifier just maintaining the humidity in that room. We keep the humidity in the room around 55%. We have gotten all good sheds on our ball pythons. The bloods still require weekly baths. The Kenyan Sand boas seem to be doing fine, but I am working on a way to reduce their humidity since they are used to an arid climate.

 

[Wolfy-hound]

I think mid-90s would be too hot. I heat the room too generally. I think the outer edge of the room(with cages against the walls) tends to make the front of the cages slightly warmer than the backs. I think I measured it once, with a heater in the room.. and there was up to 4 degrees difference in the front of the cage compared to the back of the cage. But this was winter, and there's not a lot of insulation in the walls.

I would reccomend putting the heater on a seperate thermostat, as I had a heater go berserk and overheat the room to 120F, and killed a few snakes. A closet would overheat more quickly. The thermostats on the heaters aren't really that robust, in my opinion. Can't hurt to use a second thermostat, just in case.

 

[crow002]

Thanks for all the input. I've held off on the rack for a week to get the temp the way i want it. I've taken a little more time to plan out my rack and have come up with a design I think will work well. Right now i keep the temp in the mid 80's during the day and it drops to the low 80's at night. my big female ball pys have an UTH at one end for their hot spot and my baby rock py sits a Lil closer to the heater so i leave him with out one.

the rack design will be made of wood and well insulated. the entire back wall will be heat tapped and thermostat controlled. I'm not sure about heat tape on a wood surface so any share knowledge on that would be much appreciated. even with being on a thermostat the three sides of insulated walls should hold plenty heat so i might end up dropping the temp in the room. once again thank you all for the responses and I'll let you know how things turn out.

 

[hhmoore]

A heated rack, even with back heat only, should do fine with a room temp in the mid 70s.

The UTHs are in use NOW, correct? You're not planning on using those AND back heat in the racks, I hope?

 

[HyderHouseHerps]

If you're going to be using heat tape you may want to lower the room temps then, I'd say even mid 70s. It usually stays a little warmer inside the cage/container than it does out in the room, same goes for humidity. My cages are generally 10-30% higher humidity and at least 5 degrees higher inside a containers even with holes all over the lid. I'm sure you'll get it all evened out in time.

 

[AbsoluteApril]

I'm not sure about heat tape on a wood surface so any share knowledge on that would be much appreciated.

Using a thermostat is a must with heat tape, so you sound good to go. Make sure there is air flow over or around the heat tape. For my wooden racks, I use pegboard up the back and run the flexwatt up the back (attached by aluminum tape), this provides plenty of air flow and still heats up the tubs perfectly. Here's a shot of one in process of being set up (has a better thermostat now):

I heat my snake room to 78-80 during the day, drops to around 70-72 at night. I provide supplemental heat (hot spots) for all boas and supplemental heat as needed for the atbs.

Good luck!