Thoughts and ideas for "Snake Room"........

We are going to be looking for a new house this year, and one of my 'needs' is going to be having a dedicated snake room, maybe with seperate temp and humidity controls even, not sure yet. But what I am looking for here is what else I need to consider. Obviously this is aimed at those you of you that have already built/modified for expressly taking care of snakes. I would love to learn from you what worked, what didn't, maybe things to definitely avoid, or ideas you have that you just havent tried yet. Mainly looking for proven "DO"s more than anything else. THanks loads!

Well insulated
Climate controlled
power outlets -- you can never have enough
an easy to clean floor
well lit...very well lit
and a place for a storage and work table is a must.

Well our snake room is really just a quite large extra bedroom Vince but the things I like about it are.

- loads of power outlets (watch in Toledo with the old houses, some outlets may still be 2 pronge ones or they give you one for a huge room :mad:)
- really good size storage cupboard with shelving....I love this for keeping the rat feed and extra tubs, etc.
- ceiling fan and two windows plus a good heat source, this allows us to really keep the room stable year round
- hardwood floor which I love, so much easier than dealing with carpeting
- close to the bathroom so I can easily get water for refills...I'd love a sink right in the snake room but it's a rental so I'm not going to worry about plumbing in a sink, if it was my own home, I'd likely want a sink installed big enough to clean tubs in (utility sink size)

They only thing I can think of I don't have in the snake room currently is a big work table, that would be nicer than my small dresser top. I use an old wooden dresser to hold all sorts of small supplies like spare hides, etc. I'd also love it if I can get my hubby to wire in sound so I can listen to music or Reptile Radio podcasts when I'm working in there. :)

oh Jo water is a must

You need lights on a timer for your artificial day/night cycles also.....but you'll also need "work lights" on a switch if you have to work in the room when the cycle lights are off.

Power outlets and one's w/ dedicated circuits/breakers if you need to run a heater and or humdifier. That way a heater can run full blast and not overload other outlets in the room.

Work table and storage shelves
Water
Lights
Desk for paperwork/recordkeeping.

I think you need your favorite chair with your favorite bookshelf filled with your favorite books and some of your favorite music so you can sit and relax in your favorite room!

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Originally Posted by monk90222

You need lights on a timer for your artificial day/night cycles also.....but you'll also need "work lights" on a switch if you have to work in the room when the cycle lights are off.

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I bought a light switch at home depot for $15 which I can digitally program light cycles and turn on and off anytime I want. Its a direct replacement of your normal light switch in the room.

I'm starting to think with all these great suggestions we should just toss the computer and a snack fridge in there and never leave the snake room! :rofl:

Don't forget a rat freezer, and a microwave!!:8:

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Originally Posted by FIREball

I bought a light switch at home depot for $15 which I can digitally program light cycles and turn on and off anytime I want. Its a direct replacement of your normal light switch in the room.

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I have one of those and it never worked correctly, so I just installed flourescents with their own timers.

I think that a utility sink/drain would be a great addition. I hate lugging my tubs into the laundry room for cleaning! A nice table/work space would be great too, for weighing snakes, thawing feeders.. that sort of thing. Besides the obvious things like racks for what you have and what you plan on having. I believe that you can never have enough racks!

Thank you for all the replies, and ideas, some of which I think are really good and will more than likely be used. I never heard of the timer light switch, but I love the idea. I had figured on putting a utility or some other deep sink with counter room in there for washings, bowl filling, etc... I will need some water supply for a room humidifier anyway, right? In my dream room I would use electric floor heat and one of those poured floors for even heat distibution, it's own heater with humidity control, lots of flourescent lights, outlets every 4 feet, and lots of racks. I will need to leave some room for the burm, and boa enclosures. Don't see any sense in putting them in any other room, what with the controlled environment and all, right?

Things that are important to me in a snake room ... good one! ... everyone has great suggestions so far, and some of these might be duplicates ...

1. Lots of power ... outlets every couple feet and a dedicated breaker or two.

2. Everything on wheels! ... This is one of my must haves ... I'm a nut about clean floors and wheels is the only way to go ... racks, trash can, work cart ... everything!

3. Double basin deep sink with as large of a drain board as possible ... absolute heaven in any snake room.

4. Storage cabinet for all of your cleaning products, green scrub pads, tongs, hooks, etc ... if at all possible, a hanging wall cabinet is best as it won't take up floor space that can used for snake racks.

5. Some type of exhaust system or way of allowing fresh air into the room ... it's nice to be able to ventilate "big stinks" out quickly.

6. Great lighting ... the best florescents that you can afford will make picture taking a whole lot easier.

That's all that I can think of off the top of my head, but if I come up with any more, I'll post them up.

Good luck!

-adam

one additional thing is a timered light switch for the flourescents.. makes cycling so much easier!

*edit, okay now i see this was mentioned...

Whats everyones preferences as far as flooring?

Laminated wood floor? Tile?

Lots of outlets,

A nice size sink with a good quality sprayer hose. (like they have in restaurants, not like you have in your kitchen).

High gloss white enamel paint on the walls (easier to wash).

Ceramic tile floor (easier to wash).

I also like those wire drying racks on wheels too, think of anything that would make it easier to clean.

Lots of lighting.

I've also got an exhaust fan on a timer thats been nice to have, keeps the air smelling fresh.

Lots of storage.

I have a carpet, easy to clean up with a vaccum....but terrible for water spills....I would go tile all the way...racks on wheels slide better...

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Originally Posted by monk90222

I have a carpet, easy to clean up with a vaccum....but terrible for water spills....I would go tile all the way...racks on wheels slide better...

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Just thinking of the wheels when they hit the grout, a little bumpy. Thats why I was thinking the laminated wood floor.

i have the really tough, thin indoor/outdoor carpet. mainly because it's somewhere in between the two. i havent regretted it yet.

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Originally Posted by FIREball

Just thinking of the wheels when they hit the grout, a little bumpy. Thats why I was thinking the laminated wood floor.

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I was talking stick tiles...lol..not ceramic...

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Originally Posted by monk90222

I was talking stick tiles...lol..not ceramic...

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Also know as
Vinyl floor tiles or floor squares :)

Laminated wood flooring if it is board's will warp and buckle w/ water spills.