Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im moving soon and im ready to increase my collection.i want to build a independent shack for my snakes for my wifes sanity.i want to be able to enjoy my hobbie without having do deal with the wifes smell issue and fear of the large snakes.so if anyone has a building like this what do you do for ventilation ,heating,and water.im very mechanical skilled so i want to build one from the ground up so any advice or pics would be greatly appreciated.thanks

help us out a little. what part of the country are you in? worries about excessive heat/cold elements etc.

I am in coastal CA and built a 200 square foot shed for my snakes. Huge improvement over using an attactched garage, where an open door could stink up the house and land me in the doghouse It has done wonders for my relationship. Wife thinks I did it for her, so I earned brownie points,HA HA. My own private snake hideaway/playhouse does it get much better?

I'd be happy to point you in the right direction once I have a little more information.

im in south jersey it gets pretty cold in the winter here.

Depending on how big you want to go basic stick framing is the easiest way to go. For less than the cost of a pre-fab shed at one of the big box stores you can build something nice to really fit your needs. It will probably run you 1-3000 when all is said and done obviously depending on size.
I'll try and get some pics of my shed posted before too long.
There are many sites where you can get plans or ideas to use as a STARTING point.
Most sheds hold tools, not temperature sensitive critters. With this in mind I'd go with 2x6 studs 24" on center. This allows for more insulation in a finished wall. Carefull figure out the number and placement of outlets. Then add a couple more, they're cheap and you never know when you might need just one more.

More questions?

I'm looking into buying a metal building kit and then using spray on insulation inside of it. I'm in Colorado so I have to ensure I have good heating. I'll be working a backup generator into my budget in case I loose electricity during the winter. So far I've found prices for a 30X40 building to be around 9,000. It's a chunk of change but I day dream about having a huge reptile house to hang out in.

Three years ago, I built a small building in my back yard for my snakes. It's a 12x12 shed built to match my house: vinyl siding, shingled roof, etc. Inside, I framed and screened a third of the room for my lone big snake, a 15-foot burm. The snake has a 12-foot by 3-foot walk-in enclosure in which to live. On the other side of the room, I have an 8-foot Neodesha cage that I use periodically depending on what rescues I have (most recently, I had an 8-foot boa in there).

I have no problems with ventilation, but I do have two small windows that I can open if I need to. I'm in South Georgia, so my weather isn't too bad, but it can get fairly cool here in the winter. For the colder months, I have a propane heater that works wonders. I can keep the room about 40 degrees warmer than the outside temperature with the propane heater. When it drops into the 20's, I supplement the propane with electric heaters and a pig blanket. In the summer, the temp rises to nearly 90 on its own.

My burm quits eating from October until February, but he did that when he was inside, too, so my heating/cooling strategy seems to work. I love having the room, and wouldn't have it any other way. I have had as many as 18 snakes inside my house at one time, including six over 10 feet (the largest being a 16-foot retic). My snakes have been outside now for several years, and I have no desire to have a big snake in my house ever again. I'll take a few photos of the building over the weekend and post them soon.

RP

I have few suggestions for your snakeroom. First figure how much room you need then add 50% for growth(at least).you will want to have some type of flooring that you don't mind getting wet such as tile. It would be nice to have a drain in the middle of the floor so you could just hose out the cages.I also suggest having a water hook up close by.It would be a good idea to run a whole new electric breaker for your new room and only use grounded electric outlets like are used in bathrooms and kitchens.I hope this helps Lonnie