Suggestions for Insulating Room

[Archimedes]

I keep my two prehensile slinkies in my bedroom, and I've noticed with the weather becoming frigid, my room does not get as warm as the rest of our 3 bedroom apartment. I think it has something to do with my room being on the other side of the hall as the closet that contains our HVAC unit. My room stays 15 to 20 degrees colder than the communal spaces or the other bedrooms. As annoying as it is to sleep in there, I am more concerned about my animals not having proper ambients.

I'm considering putting up curtains to prevent a draft from the windows, which I'm hoping will help exponentially. In the event it doesn't, does anyone have any ideas that DON'T involve a space heater? I am reluctant to leave one running all day without supervision, and I already have a mini fridge running in my room for rats, so I'd prefer to avoid using even more energy.

Their hotspots maintain the proper temps, but their ambients and cold side are too low for my comfort. Any suggestions would be helpful.

[satomi325]

You can get insulated foam panels for a few dollars at Home Depot/Lowes. Those would be good to put in your window. You could probably insulate your enclosures with the same stuff.

As for heat. Have you tried closing the other vents around your apartment so more heat could reach your room?

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[bcr229]

For the windows, definitely heavy curtains but also use these:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_61805-1410-V...%7C1&facetInfo=

There are electric heaters that have internal thermostats, so you could shut your bedroom door and set it to 75*F.

[Pyrate81]

Check for drafts around your windows. I had to caulk between my window sill and the molding underneath last year which so far as saved me $25 on my electric bill over this time last year.

Sealed plastic(as linked by BCR) over the windows will help as well and/or curtains as suggested.

If your HVAC is in a closet, place foam pipe covers or a towel at the bottom of the door to keep the draft from coming in. There is an "As seen on TV" product which is sold at wally world, kmart, etc which actually works. If the HVAC is in the room itself, try covering it with foam board insulation, a blanket, or a towel.

For the winter months on my BPs, I use a 40w red light to supplement heat.

[KMG]

I use a oil filled heater with a built in tstat for my snake room year round. I keep my home at 68 so I just close the vent in the snake room and use the heater to regulate the temps. It made my keeping so much easier than trying to keep each cage correct being that each was a bit different and needed different solutions.

Plus if you don't like it cold either you would benefit from the heater as well.

I know that's not the response you wanted but I found it the best solution for me when I was having the same issue.

[Marrissa]

If you have tubs, you're going to have to go the heater route. If you have tanks or PVC enclosures you can use a heat lamp or radiant heat panel. I'm going to be buying an oil filled heater for my apt bedroom soon. Moving on to some tubs and small rack systems so I've gotta get the ambient up.

[Archimedes]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I will hunt around for vents I can close today, for example my sisters' room backs right up to the HVAC unit so they could probably do with a little less power to their room.

Capn, my windows take up a good portion of one wall in my room, so with the temps outside, I can't tell if the glass is cold or if there are actual drafts. I could probably caulk up all the sealants to be sure. I already have triple-cell sealant tape along the inside of the opening section, but I'm not sure it's actually improved the seal any.

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[Pyrate81]

...
Capn, my windows take up a good portion of one wall in my room, so with the temps outside, I can't tell if the glass is cold or if there are actual drafts. I could probably caulk up all the sealants to be sure. I already have triple-cell sealant tape along the inside of the opening section, but I'm not sure it's actually improved the seal any.

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You'll know a draft by placing your hand 6 inches to a foot away from a possible crevice and feeling air blow on it. You most likely have cold windows which are radiating the chill into the room.

[Badgemash]

I'm making two assumptions, which if they're wrong make the following remarks way less useful (sorry).

If they're in glass, and heated from underneath you could just insulate the actual cages for the winter. I'm thinking foam panels, or those rolls of insulation at the hardware store (although I freely admit I know nothing about insulation, so if that stuff is dangerous or chemically coated please ignore), basically making a little winter coat for the tank instead of trying to change the 'weather.'

[SaintTawny]

+1 to the notion of sealing the windows and covering them in heavy curtains. Don't skimp here, I'm talking really thick heavy full curtains. That will help reduce heat lost by convection on the cold glass windows.