No air conditioning- Tips for reducing heat?

Title says it all. We don't have air conditioning and we have a heat wave coming. How do we make sure he survives? 14 week old male.

UTH on thermostat, supplemental cool side bulb also on a thermostat, cool side temps are around 85 right now so cool side bulb is pretty much off for the summer.

Just the one snake? And are you home during the hottest part of the day?

Turn off the UTH (& any & all other sources of heat to cage) once your house is staying 80*+. How hot does your house get? Snakes can only take so much...

Temporarily you could hold him in a secure cloth bag, inside a thick styrofoam food-shipping box or ice chest...and inside that a jar of cool to cold water will help
keep the temps. down but you'll have to monitor it.

In a dry climate, a fan blowing thru damp towel helps to cool the air. Cover & insulate your windows to keep out as much heat/sun as you can...good luck.

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Originally Posted by Ranulf

Title says it all. We don't have air conditioning and we have a heat wave coming. How do we make sure he survives? 14 week old male.

UTH on thermostat, supplemental cool side bulb also on a thermostat, cool side temps are around 85 right now so cool side bulb is pretty much off for the summer.

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Do you have a basement?
Where are you keeping the snake?

A heatwave where I live doesn't really pose any immediate danger to the snakes because they are in the basement. We do have AC but sometimes I like a 95 degree, humid day so I let the place warm up. Unless my wife objects and then I turn on the AC.

If you don't have a basement to move the snake into, I would make sure there is no direct sunlight on the cage. Take regular readings of the in cage temps and adjust as needed.

Most snakes live in climates that are very hot and very moist. They regulate their body temps by moving into warm areas and then into cooler areas however, cooler is relative and doesn't mean "cold". South American jungles and African plains or Malaysian jungles are not typically cool but they are moist.

IF your snake is feeling overly hot it will likely find a water bowl and submerge to cool down.

I suspect you already have a big bowl or you can easily provide one?

Change the water frequently if your snake spends any significant amount of time in it.

Misting the cage with cool water can drop the cage temps a bit.

I don't know enough about your setup or the other options you have in the home. Because of that I can't offer much more advice.

If you have shade and don't expect cage temps to go much above the mid 90's, I don't think you have much to worry about.

A big, cool water bowl should solve you problems.

I caved in and got a portable AC unit. Amazon has a payment plan option so you don’t have to cough up the entire cost all at once. Idk something to look into.


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I agree with shutting off the UTH and providing fresh water at all times. An 85-90 ambient temp shouldn't hurt. You could also put a frozen bottled water in a ziplock bag and place it in the enclosure to create a temporary cool spot for the snake to escape the heat.

OP, it's hard to tell from your question just how long you anticipate the high temps. or how dangerous they may become. My response was aimed at a few days, &
I've moved cross country with bagged snakes in insulated transport for several days with no issues resulting at all...they didn't even seem stressed. But I also agree
with El-Ziggy's post (below)...if this is a long-term thing, you might need to insulate the enclosure your snake lives in (to keep the heat OUT) and do as he suggests,
adding frozen/chilled water bottle to help the snake cope. None of this is ideal of course, & not knowing where you live (local humidity) I hope you either get A/C or a
"swamp cooler" installed...this problem isn't likely going away with just this one episode.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I agree with shutting off the UTH and providing fresh water at all times. An 85-90 ambient temp shouldn't hurt. You could also put a frozen bottled water in a ziplock bag and place it in the enclosure to create a temporary cool spot for the snake to escape the heat.

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Thanks for all the advice guys. Sorry I haven't responded. I used what yall said but since this is going to be a long term issue this summer I broke down and seriously invested in window air conditioning. I dont want to look at the bill.

We are on the second floor of a formerly single family victorian home, which means we have no basement as well as the hardest section of the house to keep cool.

We have a bowl large enough for him to soak in and he is in a room that doesn't have an air conditioner in it. The AC seems like it should still cool the room he is in, and if it gets too cool I can always shut the door.

UTH and heat lamp are back on their normal settings and it seems like the heat gradient is slowly being reestablished.

Before today, the entire tank was at or near 90.