Any Tips on Reptile cooling in Extreme weather?

I am in need of finding ways to keep outside kept reptiles cool in extremely hot weather. I have used fans to my advantage but I was hoping on getting some other tips for ambient temperature control in a screen enclosed breezeway that can reach 100 degrees in the summer. The screen enclosed patio is ~14 long x 8 wide and 8 tall. It houses a pair of versa rack 11unit tall cb 70 with bps and bloods in Homestead florida.

Ice packs, misters? any experience, suggestions appreciated.

2x4's, plywood, fiberglass insulation, and possibly a window A/C unit. Turn that patio into a room! Apart from that, I've got nothing, as I've always kept all my animals indoors.

unfortunately thats not an option, that would be sweet. Are there any outside keepers that have some tips for me?

BP should never be left outside SPECIALLY in Fl....dont mean to sound rude, but if you cant keep them inside why keep them at all.... i live in fl too and if i ws to leave my snakes outside in the summer they would FRYYY... nothing short of converting a patio into a room is going to help, cause it gets extremely too hot

if you look at the weather in togo benin ghana where they come from its 78-99 degrees right now. they do live in the ground ... so wouldnt you say they could live in the ground in florida rather than shooting down keeping them outside together... thanks anyways but i was looking for a solution like using soils as substrate or .....

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Originally Posted by Vilenica

I am in need of finding ways to keep outside kept reptiles cool in extremely hot weather. I have used fans to my advantage but I was hoping on getting some other tips for ambient temperature control in a screen enclosed breezeway that can reach 100 degrees in the summer. The screen enclosed patio is ~14 long x 8 wide and 8 tall. It houses a pair of versa rack 11unit tall cb 70 with bps and bloods in Homestead florida.

Ice packs, misters? any experience, suggestions appreciated.

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Well, I live no where near Florida, I live in New Jersey. However, I used to keep my monitors it my screen porch in the summer, which had windows over the screen. But were not your typical windows, they are cheap thin things, almost like putting a piece of glass over the screen. Any how, I had only had one week of really hot weather, which I had to cool them down. I didn't want to move them just for one week. But, what I did was put an ice pack in a ziploc bag that was full of sand, just so if they were to lay on it, it would not be like them laying on a block of ice. It may take some toying around with to get it right so it is not too cold, but it worked for me during that week. Hope this helps you, I no longer put them on my porch just because I had to toy with my temperatures a lot, but if moving them is not an option for you, maybe that will be worth a try.

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Originally Posted by maria1232

BP should never be left outside SPECIALLY in Fl....dont mean to sound rude, but if you cant keep them inside why keep them at all.... i live in fl too and if i ws to leave my snakes outside in the summer they would FRYYY... nothing short of converting a patio into a room is going to help, cause it gets extremely too hot

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Agreed!

Thanks for the tip with the sand that seems worth trying. I was trying to pull together a way to use ice packs (economical, can be cycled easily) a large pack on one side of a tub would definitely affect the ambient temp.

By the way im not concerned with how people in North Florida and the Carolinas, feel about keeping ball pythons outside I started this thread for help because I havent had problems In ten years and I did last year with Ambient temps in the 87-88 range If you want to start a poll about keeping reptiles in your basement or outside be my guest.

if you dont want to hear our point of view, dont post it on a public forum, send a pm, or dont complain when people dont agree with your point of view, its a forum and people will say what they feel like saying, you can do whatever you want to do, believe me, i wont be there to scold you, wether i or anyone thinks its right or wrong, it obviously wont change your mind, but then dont go saying that you dont care what people of diferent places live at, most people here dont live in fl or NC, so basically u just shot down all your chance of getting a response, good luck

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Originally Posted by Vilenica

Thanks for the tip with the sand that seems worth trying. I was trying to pull together a way to use ice packs (economical, can be cycled easily) a large pack on one side of a tub would definitely affect the ambient temp.

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Yeah, that worked for me, but I only had to do it for one week. I'm not sure what Florida's weather is typically like, but it would be worth a try. But like I said, it could take some toying around with before you get it at a good temperature. You may need to add or take away sand to get it right.

I'd worry more about humidity in south FL than heat (we're talking 80-100+% all summer, and very frequent rain). You can get rid of the heat to an extent, but in a screened in patio, the humidity will be much higher than what is appropriate for Python regius. I would never risk keeping any of my collection outside if I still lived down in Ft. Lauderdale.

Hello everyone,
Im new to the site and I was actually looking for information along these very lines. I live in Arizona so I am on the oppsosite extreme in terms of humidity. We do get temps above 100 degrees in the summer though. I am not looking to keep my BPs outside but I am looking to make my garage into the room where I plan to keep them once I get things prepared. I dont yet have snakes at the moment but I have had a few in the past (red tail boa and wetsern diamond back).

Dont know if this will help but one solution that I am looking at is to purchase a portable A/C unit for my garage to cool things down. I have been pricing them online. Wal-Mart has them starting in the high 200's...

I plan to get a good one and see how it works, then I will proceed with plans for creating a terrarium and snake purchase or rescue....

I hope this helps.

Hey Flathead hunter that sounds like a pretty good ideal thanks for bringing that up I figured they would be much more $$ . I think that would solve my ambient temp issue especially if i could hook it up to flex duct and diffusers.

If you're adamant about keeping them outside in a garage or patio, I would first take your thermostat and probes and figure out how hot it really gets at the hottest point and how cool it gets at the lowest point so you have an idea of exactly what you're dealing with, then you can decide whether it's practical or possible. Do it for a week, get an average, and you'll more or less be seeing what you are truly dealing with.

Is your house/patio shaded by trees? They are pretty much awesome heat diffusers (my house goes on the chilly side even during the summer because it's surrounded by large trees). Similarly, a room/house made of concrete will hold less heat than one made out of wood, so that may be something to look into. I visited a friend of mine whose family lives in Taiwan and their house is concrete and it's COLD (despite being in the unbearable hot sticky humidness that is Taiwan.)

If you're building a cover over your patio or building a new room, high ceilings will keep the room cooler and tin roofing will reflect more heat (courtesy of spending large majorities of my summers in south america in which the natives use these ways to keep cool because they can't afford AC)

Hope these ideas help!

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Originally Posted by Vilenica

Hey Flathead hunter that sounds like a pretty good ideal thanks for bringing that up I figured they would be much more $$ . I think that would solve my ambient temp issue especially if i could hook it up to flex duct and diffusers.

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Keep in mind, this is just an idea that I have been thinking about. Im not sure at all if it would actually work. My garage is attached to my home so its the same construction as the rest of the house, minus some insulation. Either way, I plan to use it as a work out room but if it gets cool enough, then I can procedd with my BP plans;).

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Originally Posted by Vilenica

if you look at the weather in togo benin ghana where they come from its 78-99 degrees right now. they do live in the ground ... so wouldnt you say they could live in the ground in florida rather than shooting down keeping them outside together... thanks anyways but i was looking for a solution like using soils as substrate or .....

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Soil is definitely not something you want to use. Just because of the possible fertilizer in it that the python can swallow or get in its mouth while roaming around or just swallowing soil in general.

It's a lot easier and less costly to keep a Ball python indoors in a plastuc tub with a UTH controlled by a thermostat. That's where she was getting at. And since they do not need much space to roam around anyways and like to be kept in smaller places you will not need a large outside enclosure.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vilenica

Hey Flathead hunter that sounds like a pretty good ideal thanks for bringing that up I figured they would be much more $$ . I think that would solve my ambient temp issue especially if i could hook it up to flex duct and diffusers.

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So, you're going to hook up a portable AC unit to your outdoor enclosure in Florida? The cost to operate that unit would be astronomical. It would never shut off. You would be pulling the humidity from the environment, not just the enclosure.

You came here looking for answers, I can't give you any to fit your situation. All I can say is to build an insulated enclosure, then use the AC unit or move the reptiles inside.

I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but I can't see a solution with your limited resources.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

There are a few breeders in Florida that have their very large ball python collections in un-airconditioned/unheated sheds, garages, semi trucks and out buildings here in Florida. They have been very successful over the years. Most rely on large fans to move the air. I've heard of many more people cooking their snakes due to a heat spike within racks then I have from the use of ambient temps in these arrangments here in Florida . . . even during very hot summers.

I doubt many are aware of this and that might be why some posters felt it wasn't a good idea.

I've been experimenting with ambient temps and no heat tape for over a year now in the room where we keep our collection . . . this breeding season will tell me if this experiment failed completely or there is no difference in egg production. In terms of the adults, they are fat, healthy and eating with no RIs so they adjusted immediatley to no hot spot/cool spot and just warm ambient air. I know that goes against standard BP husbandry practices, but it's working and working well.

Good luck to everyone on their breeding season!