Low Ambient air temperature enclosure set up ideas

Hi all..

I have always kept my animals on the main level or the upstairs where the ambient temperature of the room(s) is 74-78 year round and I have never had any issues with keeping temps right with the proper set up. My house has an amazing build in downstairs in the basement that literally nothing goes in and its a wasted space for now. I could have an excellent set up for 3-4 ball pythons in pvc enclosures but I have balked at it for years because of a couple reasons...

1.) Its COLD down there... Even in the summer there is a 10 degree difference because it is majority below grade. Where this is nice for humans its not nice for the sneks... Winter is brutal and can get as low as 60...
2.) Its in an open room so I can't really heat that area without heating the entire basement of about 1500 sq ft...

Has anyone overcome such conditions? If so, how? I am willing to build the entire thing from scratch I'm just afraid of doing it unless I know I can regulate the temperatures..

In closing this could be an awesome space for the animals but I just need to make sure that before I do it and spend the time and money it can be done..

Thanks in advance..

With such a big open area you could just close in a 10x10 space (or however big you wanted) with drywall and insulation and just use an oil heater to keep ambient temps.

I'd bet an RHP of sufficient size would do the trick. My BP's are on the second floor which can get to 62 in the winter as I'm a bit Scrooge with the oil bill. I have two wooden enclosures I built in February and the 80w RHP in each was enough to keep temps at 90. I use ambient temperature gradient of 89 hot to 78 cool side off just the one RHP per enclosure. I have to cover some of my vents and add water to substrate every few days in the winter to keep up humidity but it works great. I went with the next higher size RHP then was recommended because of the lower house temps and I feel only ever running at say 80% is better the running it a lot at 100%. Should help increase the life span of the RHP.

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Originally Posted by Toad37

With such a big open area you could just close in a 10x10 space (or however big you wanted) with drywall and insulation and just use an oil heater to keep ambient temps.

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I was thinking the same thing, but the downside (for me, at least) is that when you take a snake out, you are confined to that small area, or it's going to get chilled
when you take it out to go upstairs, & later, when you return it. I suppose the answer would be transporting it in a styrofoam box/ insulated cooler, as I do when my
snakes have to travel in a car, to keep their temperatures more constant.

For me, the biggest downside would be having to go so far out of my way to keep an eye on my pets...for that reason, they are integrated into my living space.

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Originally Posted by gunkle

I'd bet an RHP of sufficient size would do the trick. My BP's are on the second floor which can get to 62 in the winter as I'm a bit Scrooge with the oil bill. I have two wooden enclosures I built in February and the 80w RHP in each was enough to keep temps at 90. I use ambient temperature gradient of 89 hot to 78 cool side off just the one RHP per enclosure. I have to cover some of my vents and add water to substrate every few days in the winter to keep up humidity but it works great. I went with the next higher size RHP then was recommended because of the lower house temps and I feel only ever running at say 80% is better the running it a lot at 100%. Should help increase the life span of the RHP.

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This was something I saw researching RHP's... Apparently they can come with custom wattage to help adapt to the ambient air. I just can't remember the name of the company right now.

Thanks for the input..

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Originally Posted by Moose84

This was something I saw researching RHP's... Apparently they can come with custom wattage to help adapt to the ambient air. I just can't remember the name of the company right now.

Thanks for the input..

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Not too sure if the wattage is custom or just selected based on your environment factors and needs, but Pro Products will tell you the size to pick based on usual and low room ambient temps, cage size, and species kept. (Maybe a few other questions, I forget).

That's probably the brand you're thinking of.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I was thinking the same thing, but the downside (for me, at least) is that when you take a snake out, you are confined to that small area, or it's going to get chilled
when you take it out to go upstairs, & later, when you return it.

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As long as your transporting it from one "room" to another would that be an issue? At most they would be in the chilled area for 30-45 seconds? As soon as you get upstairs with the animal I imagine they would be fine as long as your not staying in the cold area except to quickly walk. Or would the temperature change be too much even for that short of a period?

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Originally Posted by Toad37

As long as your transporting it from one "room" to another would that be an issue? At most they would be in the chilled area for 30-45 seconds? As soon as you get upstairs with the animal I imagine they would be fine as long as your not staying in the cold area except to quickly walk. Or would the temperature change be too much even for that short of a period?

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It's possible...some snakes are a lot more sensitive than others, that's why I mentioned it. It's something I'd consider...some snakes take any "excuse" to declare it's
winter & time to fast, lol.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

It's possible...some snakes are a lot more sensitive than others, that's why I mentioned it. It's something I'd consider...some snakes take any "excuse" to declare it's
winter & time to fast, lol.

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Gotta love them bps!

My situation is a little different because I use racks but I had to find a way to keep mine in a cool basement as well. My basement never gets to 60 but in the winter it averages 65-68 which is still pretty cool and using rack systems I was limited to the heat tape as my only heat system within the enclosure so it made for a challenge. What has worked for me is attaching sheets of insulation to all sides but the front. It significantly increased my ambiant temps in the tubs. I don't see why this wouldn't work the same for a pvc enclosure. My ambient in the tubs went from 67-68 to 75-76 with no other changes and only using heat tape as my heat source.