Placing bp tank on back patio

Okay so I know basically the responses I'm going to get here, but before you say anything, I live in south Florida, its humid and 90 everyday. We have a 7ft high brand new wood fence around the property that you can't access from anywhere but inside the house. The back patio is screened in and on top of that has about 2 feet of mesh chicken wire at the bottom that wraps all the way around the inside (we used to let cats out there but they ripped the bottom of the screen to escape, chicken wire fixed the problem.) BP's tank is securely locked.

The reason I want to do this is because we keep our house *cold*. And I feel like her natural environment's climate is exactly the same (if you've never been here, its ***humid***)


So tell me why this is a bad idea, or what you think. This is kind of a common thing to do here for reptile owners.

What are the night-time temperatures like? Do they stay up around 85-90, or do they drop? And how humid is 'humid'? It's possible to be TOO humid.

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Originally Posted by Caspian

What are the night-time temperatures like? Do they stay up around 85-90, or do they drop? And how humid is 'humid'? It's possible to be TOO humid.

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Humidity around 70s. temperatures get to low 80s at night... Is that too low? From what I've read its ideal.

I live in s florida also and I will give you my data to interpret as you see fit. Some may disagree with my experimenting however my animals are thriving and reproducing.

I reached a point with the number of animals I had this winter, that dealing with the heat tape and thermostats became a large pain in the butt. In the spring I began the process to go ambient only. Right now the only thermostats I have running are my home one and my incubator. The only time my incubator really cuts on is at night. Minimum temp I hit at night is around 78 but it is usually around 80. I was actually more concerned about highs than lows so I carefully observed my animals and really experimented on days that I could actually be home all day. Long story short, the hottest I was able to let the snake room get was 88 before I started to see unusual behaviour in the animals. At a constant 89 they began to show signs of stress. So, the hottest I allow is 88 during the day. At that point the AC kicks on. By the time fall comes I intend to be able to do ambient for lows as well. I'm insulating up the snake room and putting in an efficient space heater.

So, to your original question, right now I am reading 92 on my porch. Too hot in my opinion.

To others who might want to try ambient... From what I experienced, when you bring new animals in they need to be acclimated gradually to this setup. New animals seemed to be more nervous than usual without having access to a gradient. The temps are also probably a little higher than the environments they came from and there is no cool side.

I have never had humidity problems, but i open up the house at night. AC sucks humidity out so that is a consideration. Outside, the humidity is almost always high.

I guess another issue would be, even if the ambient temperature was acceptable now, what do you do in the winter. I know S. Florida stays relatively warm during winter, but it can still drop well below the acceptable temperature for the snakes. Do you think your home would have an acceptable temp then and you'd bring them inside and regulate with a UTH?

You also have a lot of insects down there. Not sure if those could become an issue.

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Originally Posted by BPGator

I guess another issue would be, even if the ambient temperature was acceptable now, what do you do in the winter. I know S. Florida stays relatively warm during winter, but it can still drop well below the acceptable temperature for the snakes. Do you think your home would have an acceptable temp then and you'd bring them inside and regulate with a UTH?

You also have a lot of insects down there. Not sure if those could become an issue.

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I keep her inside in the winter. I Dont think insects should be an issue. Screened in patio, screen top tank, and the top is also partially covered w a pillow cloth.

Others may disagree, but if temps are about right, and enclosure isn't getting sun or rained on, I don't see the problem.

The fresh air should be a good thing. I've seen many videos of places in FL and in SE Asia where the animals are kept in semi-outdoor environments.

My snakes (so far) stay inside, but I've considered it for our NM summers as well. Everything else is outside now, including numerous fish, and the mice, and most of the house plants.

Yeah I agree, if it's 90F ambients during the day your snake is going to overheat. It's one thing keeping a hot spot or a small area of an enclosure at 90F, but on hot days I definitely notice odd behavior in my ball python. He's the only only out of my 11 snakes that seems seriously affected by the heat. Even my rainbows were handling it better than he did before we installed the A/C unit outside the snake room (I open the door to let the cool air enter). I noticed him curling up in a tight ball, digging into his EcoEarth, on the hottest day we've had so far this year. I though he had neurological damage, but I took him out and he never did it again, it's been 2 weeks (actually no it's been more like 2-3 months sorry) and he hasn't done anything odd since. I've got a nearby vet if anything happens, but it goes to show you they're a bit more delicate than you'd think.

I also live in Florida and never had a problem keeping my BRB in a tank on the back porch, which was fenced in, covered, shaded, etc. Humidity and temps were perfect day and night, but only for summer. Any other seasons the air dries out and it gets too cool.