Outdoors Enclosure?!?! Please Help!

[calypsomommy]

Hey everyone!
I am moving and I refuse to get rid of my babies so would putting their enclosures outside on a patio (in Florida) be ok? How would I manage their heating lamps? The where I am moving ranges between 80-95 F during the day and 70-80 F during the night. I really appreciate some help on this because I REFUSE to get rid of them! (This post is in reference to my ball python and corn snake.) Thanks all!
~Calypso's and Treble's Mommy

[cinderbird]

Hey everyone!
I am moving and I refuse to get rid of my babies so would putting their enclosures outside on a patio (in Florida) be ok? How would I manage their heating lamps? The where I am moving ranges between 80-95 F during the day and 70-80 F during the night. I really appreciate some help on this because I REFUSE to get rid of them! (This post is in reference to my ball python and corn snake.) Thanks all!
~Calypso's and Treble's Mommy

why would you have to get rid of them? Does the apartment now allow pets or something? Usually that applies to animals that can actually do damage to property (cats and dogs).

Personally, wouldnt keep animals outside. They can pick up god knows what parasites and the temps dont stay steady and having a heating lamp outside with a cord thats not really made for outdoor use is a fire hazard.

[Sarin]

If you are not willing to give them a proper, safe home indoors then you are being completely selfish in refusing to get rid of them.

There are more factors then simply heat when it comes to the outdoors. There's unpredictable weather such as rain, wind, and hail. There's also the chance of hungry wild animals trying to claw at your snakes.

Please find them a good home, you will not regret it. I honestly mean no offense in this post.

[DarkComeSoon]

what the hell is wrong with you? also why cant you bring them inside?

[cinderbird]

and i KNOW that it goes down to 40 F at night or lower in parts of florida, it snows in florida, albeit rarely during the winter.

Like the above posters, an outdoor enclosure can be very dangerous for these guys.

Even people with tortoises take them inside during parts of the year when it gets cold.

[Vypyrz]

what the hell is wrong with you? also why cant you bring them inside?

What's the point of a post like this? At least offer something constructive...


OP, I would also be concerned about the build-up of heat inside the enclosure from the sunshine. But ultimately the decision will be yours...


Rob

[calypsomommy]

Ok, to all those who left negative comments, that wasn't much help. Where I am in Florida it reaches 40 F about twice a year. Also, where I am moving to does not have the room for the enclosures inside and the PATIO that I am wondering about is ENCLOSED (hence patio NOT PORCH) with wood half way up the walls and screen the rest of the way up to the roof. No animals or bugs would get to them. Rain, hail, wind would not be problems where they would be located. I am mainly concerned with the temperature differences from day to day and how to handle heating elements and such.
Thank you to those who actually tried to give me some GOOD advice and for those who didn't, thanks for making my day with the immature comments.

~Calypso's and Treble's Mommy~

[cinderbird]

Ok, to all those who left negative comments, that wasn't much help. Where I am in Florida it reaches 40 F about twice a year. Also, where I am moving to does not have the room for the enclosures inside and the PATIO that I am wondering about is ENCLOSED (hence patio NOT PORCH) with wood half way up the walls and screen the rest of the way up to the roof. No animals or bugs would get to them. Rain, hail, wind would not be problems where they would be located. I am mainly concerned with the temperature differences from day to day and how to handle heating elements and such.
Thank you to those who actually tried to give me some GOOD advice and for those who didn't, thanks for making my day with the immature comments.

~Calypso's and Treble's Mommy~

If it gets to 40 twice year.. it gets to 39 at least twice a year, at 38 twice a year and 41 twice a year and 42 twice a year and 43 twice a year... you see where this is going. Any temp below 78 on the cool end can be detrimental to ball pythons. If you're going to house them in glass enclosures outside the heat will bake them and i'm pretty sure it gets to over 100 in florida too. I'm in Maryland and we've had over 100F days here and i'm well north of florida. The summer may be over now but what about next summer? Flexwatt has a range of temps it will work in, I dont think freezing is near those temps (you'd have to ask someone who works with it more often though). You will definitely be replacing equipment more often because of the temperature changes.

We're advising you against this (some better than others it seems). You still didn't discuss -WHY- you cant house them indoors. Perhaps giving us that reason can help you as well. Giving us all the info will only help.

I feel that outdoor US conditions, even in the far south, are too unstable for BPs. You can't honestly tell me with a straight face that you've never had pests in your home, let alone a screen-enclosed porch-type area. (PS, padios are open spaces, decks are open spaces). This will become an issue for you. What if you get an ant infestation? Ants are nasty creatures and your animals in outdoor enclosures would be literally at their mercy. They'd have no place to escape to. Carpenter bees? (They love wood). If you've got lights at night they attract a whole multitude of other annoying bugs.

And like I said before, even people with tortoises bring them indoors for the cooler months. No one leaves herps outside that can't handle the temperatures. You can't have a perfectly stable enclosure outside where your temps need to be in the 90s and outside is in the 40s. Your ambient temps wont make it past 50, and then you have humidity to contend with.

I feel that doing this would seriously put your animals at risk. What you are basically asking for is RIs for your BPs. Im SURE that isn't what you want. You don't have room for the enclosures? What enclosures do you use? Have you thought of using a small rack? You can even use one of those as a night stand or table. I have a 6 slot rack and it takes up a little more than a 2 x 3 foot area on the floor.

[rabernet]

Why not house them in tubs - inside? Finding room for tubs shouldn't be too difficult.

[calypsomommy]

Thank you very much cinderbird! I really appreciate your input on my situation! I will definitely look into the rack situation because my problem is lack of space. This was pretty much all i was looking for (for those of you who don't know how to reply to a post) and it cleared a lot of things up for me in a very educational way. Thanks again! :-)