snake room build

ok so i will be building a snake room looking for you guys to give me some ideas,thoughts,and your mistakes

so here is what i have and my ideas so far
my room is a 12x12 that started out as a spa room
three of four walls have have 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 windows 4 on each wall they are the single pane cheap windows
but all are in decent shape and sealed around the edges well
the floor is 2x6 decking and the spa is in the floor the room was built around the spa so without cutting the spa up or removing a large portion of the wall the spa stays
walls are a mix of 1x6,10 boards no sheet rock but they are insulated the ceiling is the same as the walls

and here are my plans so far

for the floor the spa sticks up 1 1/2 inches so i was planning on taking some 2x4 and placing around the room floor and building a base of some type with 2x4 in the spa so that i could use 3/4 inch plywood as a floor for the entire room

the windows i thought of using some 1/2 insulated foam siding the stuff with foam sandwiched between the shine stuff i don't know if its aluminium or what
and sealing it in with some caulk

for the walls i was going to use the same thing i sealed the windows with only use 3/4 inch

and then i would fill it with a million snakes o wait its only 12x12 ok so 1000 anyway you get the idea

as i go i will post pics as soon as i figure out how

the build starts next weekend march 3 so get your ideas in i would hate for someone to have an awesome idea after i am done (im sure i will do that on my own)

thanks glen II

Glen II,

Four things:

* How is the room heated ?

* How is the room cooled ?

* After your floor is done, if it were me, I'd put some type of easily cleanable covering

over it, otherwise you may have an odor problem down the line.

* It's good the spa is staying so you'll have a place for your Dwarf Caiman.

Snakeman wrote:Glen II,

Four things:

* How is the room heated ?

* How is the room cooled ?

right now it is neither
is that good or bad?

Snakeman wrote:
* After your floor is done, if it were me, I'd put some type of easily cleanable covering

over it, otherwise you may have an odor problem down the line.

will do whatever i can find that is cheap 12x12 vinyl tile or whatever

Snakeman wrote: * It's good the spa is staying so you'll have a place for your Dwarf Caiman.

you know i did think of getting a thick sheet of plexie glass to put over it although i had visions of lasers on a croc to keep the intruders at bay

YOu will want to be able to heat or cool the room. Summers get very hot, winters can get very cold...unless this room is in your house, then it's probably at least OK if not idea. but like my building, yeah, that has to be heated/cooled

Paul is absolutely right. You are going to want to warm it up and cool it down. You're probably going to want a bigger room to house all of your burms and retics. I'm just kidding. They are a lot of fun though.

Glen II,

Ambient room temperature is a MAJOR factor in keeping herps and don't forget

adequate ventilation.

Many herpers overlook ventilation and having a good air flow is also VERY important.

I don't know how hot that room gets in the summer and how cold it gets in the winter,

but you must find a way to be able to control the temperature year round.

IMO since you're going to be keeping mostly snakes, the ambient room temperature

should be in the low to mid 80's, year round.

Heating the individual cages is another matter.

Also, be thinking about what you will do if you have a power failure.

yea the heating and cooling has gotten me stumped. not knowing how hot or cold its going to get when i get it all sealed up
i have had thoughts of putting in a small window unit i seem to recall that there were some out there that did both heating and cooling

know you all got me to thinking on the humidity levels
i will be keeping primarily ball pythons in there
but i wont lie i do have this huge itch for a pair of burmese

sorry zakO retics are not for me its not their size its their TEETH
imo you retic guys are like the drag bike guys in drag racing they have a little bit bigger (well you know)
than the guys who like to go 200+ in the safety of a car

If you use a window unit, keep in mind the temperature will fluctuate some depending

on where you are in the room.

The cages up high will be considerably warmer than the cages near the floor.

Without sounding too much like a commercial, there's a product on the market called

a "Vornado" which is suppossed to evenly distribute warmed or cooled air throughout

a room, eliminating hot and cold spots.

It doesn't heat or cool the air it just circulates it.

I would really take my time working out the heating and cooling issue.

If you don't get it right, you're in for lots of problems.



For humidity just put that Dwarf Caiman in the spa and you've got your humidifier.

Snakeman wrote:
For humidity just put that Dwarf Caiman in the spa and you've got your humidifier.

ok so were do i get the Dwarf Caiman

i will look up the commercial for the circulation

I was just kidding.

I would not recommend anyone get a Dwarf Caiman.

But before you get any herps, I'd check the city ordinances where you live.

i have checked them and i am ok on city ordinances

i know your kidding about the Dwarf Caiman
but a water dragon would be cool

and i checked out the Vornado site cool stuff heaters humidifiers and air circulators

Do you plan to continue to use your spa as a spa ?

no it hasn't been used for that purpose for several years

Glen II,

This is definitely not a snake for someone who's new to keeping snakes, but down

the line, if you want a challenge as well as a use for your spa (if you could make the

necessary modifications to it), you might take a look at a File Snake (Elephant Trunk

Snake).

Specifically Acrochordus javanicus (not granulatus).

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If you could keep and breed them successfully, you would definitely make your mark on

the herp world.

IMO they are so unusual and so cool.

Those are way cool that to me would be a cool project
I will have to add that to my bucket list

Now that is an awesome snake! I could combine two loves with that--aquaria and snakes . . . and I have a 75-gallon tank in the barn (though it may not be water-tight--guess I should check that).

Hmmm, I think the upstairs is getting rearranged from my vision . . .

Retics aren't bad. Just got to avoid the biting part. One day ill tell you the time my wife saved me from getting an African rock python.

"Retics aren't bad. Just got to avoid the biting part"

Zak,

Is that why you went into your snake room with a face shield and welder's gloves ?

Snakeman wrote:"Retics aren't bad. Just got to avoid the biting part"

Zak,

Is that why you went into your snake room with a face shield and welder's gloves ?

aww snap j/k

but if it were me i would also take in a riot shield

I use one of those window units that does both, it's been OK so far.
they can also just act as a vent if you set it to fan, which is what I do on day swhen the weather allows. Otherwise airflow is a bit of a problem (not awful though).

Larry you better watch it. Im like spider monkey jacked up on MT dew.