24/7 Darkness In Snake Room After Weatherization?

[Aedryan Methyus]

We have been having severe cold temperatures here in Pittsburgh, PA and due to having ongoing temperature and humidity problems in my snake room, I decided to check for drafts. Unfortunately, there is an unused door in my snake room, which leads outside onto a roof and the back of one of my racks is right up against it. There is also a window in my snake room... Lo and behold I discovered some serious drafts coming in all around the door and some coming in around the window. So, I duct taped all the way around the door and then covered the entire door with thick black plastic. I also covered the window with black plastic... I am extremely happy to say that I am now able to keep the heater vent closed in my snake room and my portable oil space heater is able to keep the temperature wherever I want them and my humidifier is keeping the room right around 50%! I am also very thankful and lucky to not have a bunch of sick snakes! I firmly believe that the drafts were the cause of some problems i've been having with a couple of my snakes...

Anyway, since I covered the window with thick black plastic, my snake room is now 24/7 darkness. Do you guys know if that could cause any other problems? I use newspaper instead of substrate, so I can't imagine that mold could become an issue. Is there anything else I should be concerned about?

[AbsoluteApril]

I wouldn't worry about the light issue. My snake room is basically in darkness unless I am in there with the light on feeding/cleaning (at various times of the week, usually at night).

[wolfy-hound]

Lack of light should not cause any issue. You could use the semi-opaque bisquine plastic, that would allow in light but still keep out drafts if you feel like you want more natural light. Just make sure it's heavy stuff, not the thin flimsy stuff they sell as paint drop cloths.

Good for you in finding those drafts! I have drafts in my living areas that I still haven't tracked down. The snake room is more secure than the rest of my house!

[Aedryan Methyus]

Lack of light should not cause any issue. You could use the semi-opaque bisquine plastic, that would allow in light but still keep out drafts if you feel like you want more natural light. Just make sure it's heavy stuff, not the thin flimsy stuff they sell as paint drop cloths.

Good for you in finding those drafts! I have drafts in my living areas that I still haven't tracked down. The snake room is more secure than the rest of my house!

Tell me about it! It's like standing outside by my front and back door in this old 1890 house and the humidity thoughout my house is probably less than 20%! Buuuut, my precious snakey poos are all warm and cozy and humid! lol I definitely take better care of things in their world than I do my own...

[Momokahn]

You may want to ask for visqueen plastic. If you ask for bisquine plastic you might get a deer in the head like look. Bisquine best I can tell is French for something about a boat.

[cchardwick]

I used thick foam insulation for my window and taped all around it, it's almost as insulated as a wall! I also keep my lights on during the day and use a night light at night, it's actually the LED from my converted beverage cooler that is the night light. I have my rats and mice in the same room so I want them to be able to see their babies so they can take care of them. I also feel it's beneficial for snakes to be able to see during the day time. I wonder if complete darkness would mess up their breeding? I turn the light on in the AM and turn it off in the PM leaving the night light on at night. My room lights are actually two 60 watt equivalent LED bulbs. LEDs take very little electricity to run all day long.

[Aedryan Methyus]

I used thick foam insulation for my window and taped all around it, it's almost as insulated as a wall! I also keep my lights on during the day and use a night light at night, it's actually the LED from my converted beverage cooler that is the night light. I have my rats and mice in the same room so I want them to be able to see their babies so they can take care of them. I also feel it's beneficial for snakes to be able to see during the day time. I wonder if complete darkness would mess up their breeding? I turn the light on in the AM and turn it off in the PM leaving the night light on at night. My room lights are actually two 60 watt equivalent LED bulbs. LEDs take very little electricity to run all day long.

Man, you must have a room full of bitey snakes 24/7 with your mice and rats being in the same room, don't you? lol But, yeah... I was also wondering if the darkness would mess with their breeding cycles. Does anyone know for sure? I don't even want to know how much my electric company is going to be raping me now! In order for my oil space heater to properly heat the room by itself as cold as it has been, so I can keep the humidity level up, I have to keep it on level 2, which is 900 watts + keep my humidifier on high, which is another 65 watts. So, that's basically 1,000 watts running 24/7 in my snake room...

[cchardwick]

Yea, you need to make the room smaller. Another option would be to build a walk in enclosure out of 2x2 lumber and 1/4" plywood, you could line it with foam lining. Or you could use a small sauna and put a space heater in it, you can get them on Craig's List for practically free. The smaller the enclosure the less electricity it would take to heat it. My snake room in my basement is only 200 square feet, small enough to heat with a space heater but big enough for several racks of snakes and rodents. My snakes don't seem to mind the rodents being in the same room. None of my snakes are aggressive, well they used to be and I've tamed them all down LOL.

[Aedryan Methyus]

My snake room is only 11' x 8', so making it smaller definitely wouldn't be an option. My collection is already going to outgrow that room and have to be moved to a bigger room at some point...

[wolfy-hound]

Last time we got severe below freezing cold here, I put a futon pad on the floor of my snake room and slept in there for a few nights. It was the first that I'd been comfortably warm the entire time!