Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here is the scenario. We have had to discontinue the use of the hvac since our daughter has tested positive for allergies to cats and everything else under the sun (got rid of the cat). The house we are in is a rental since our new home is under construction (just started and wont be ready till spring). We have a wood stove that heats the whole house really well, too well actually. I can't find a spot cool enough for brumating the corns/kings real well. We will definitly need the wood stove as the weather is getting cooler in VA but the temps are constantly above 70 degrees even in the farthest upstairs bedroom. Any alternative methods out there?

Check the temps in a closet floor that is close to an outside wall. That is what I will be doing this winter.
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
0.0.1 MO Locale Black Ratsnake "Molly" (Flogging Molly)

"I'll be whatever I wanna do!"

We will definitly need the wood stove as the weather is getting cooler in VA but the temps are constantly above 70 degrees even in the farthest upstairs bedroom. Any alternative methods out there?

I have a Brumation Room (n. MI) that is in the mid-50's already, but hardly any of my snakes are in there, yet. That's because most of them are still feeding. It's a walk-in closet, and we just close the door to keep any heat from going in directly.

A few of my snakes need a little longer brumation, like the intermountain rats, some Eurasians, and a few kings, but most can go with very little down time. I wouldn't cool corns until the end of November, at least. Mostly I only cool those in January and February, and then usually around 60*F. only. Babies I keep going.

For corns, cooling isn't usually necessary, but for kings it might be, depending on how old they are and where they are from. If they shut down, just monitor them and if they look hungry offer a small food item. If they need to eat they probably will. Otherwise hope that you can find a cool spot somewhere in the house when winter comes, or outside (shed, garage, etc). Next year you'll be in your new house and will have different options, I'm sure.

PS: With the wood stove heat you might want to monitor the humidity levels. When it gets cold outside and the heat is going a lot, the humidity will fall.

TC

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Ratsnake Haven...researching ratsnakes since 1988

Ratsnake Haven Group...an information providing list site.

Good luck with your little girl. By adding an electrostatic air cleaner and a humidifier to the central heat, we reduced allergies and winter Strep throat infections to nearly zero.
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On cooling. You may have no places suitable in your rental....

Assuming you are brumating temperate animals, and not tropicals, and, depending where you are in Virginia, you may be able find someone with an unfinished basement. They are common on older homes.
Monitor the temp with a thermometer that captures MIN and MAX (Wal-Mart - $10 to $15).
Put the brumation containers in cardboard boxes with insulation like shipping boxes have.
Your local pet shop often throws away many of these from fish shipments.
Don't seal the boxes because you still have to visit periodically to check water bowls.
Make sure the boxes are on a waterproof barrier and are off the ground if there is a chance of water in the basement.
This works well in the piedmont and the mountains. If you're on the costal plain, basement flooding may be more probable. As long as people are living in the house all winter, unfinished basements, dependent on how far north or south you are, are often a pretty constant 55 to 60F.
Network with a Herp Society and someone may help you out.
Good Luck.
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Regards, Bill McGighan

We have had to discontinue the use of the hvac since our daughter has tested positive for allergies to cats and everything else under the sun (got rid of the cat)... We have a wood stove that heats the whole house really well, too well actually.

You should really read up on the link between allergies and the use of wood burning stoves or inserts. The last thing you should be using for heat is an wood burning heat source, short of an outdoor wood-fired boiler.

Here are the results of a google search:

Search Results.

So first thing first, find another way to heat your home this winter. Then find an exterior wall and build a brumation chamber next to that wall. Not knowing how many snakes you need to brumate, it could be as simple as a cardboard box lined with Reflectix insulation. Line the entire thing except the side that will sit next to the exterior wall.

You'll be amazed at how cool it will be inside of the box. If you have a lot of snakes you could even make a walk-in closet out of Reflectix stapled to the ceiling. I know a guy who used to have a large bomb-shelter type room off of his basement. He kept one side heated to 80* or more and then simply divided the room with a drape of Reflectix that overlapped by a couple of feet. With just a thin layer of Reflectix he was able to keep the opposite side cool enough for brumation.

Actually, I think he used something other than Reflectix, but any of these products are very similar. In case you're not familiar with them, they look like bubble wrap covered in aluminum foil. All of these products are potent blockers of radiant heat.

Best wishes to your daughters health and your snakes breeding.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

Since I live in Virginia and in a very old steam heated apartment that stays very warm all winter, I will share with you what I did last year that worked out great. I took a very large plastic cooler with a drain, and to it I added thru the drain the wiring for a heating unit (flexible cable type), an air hose attached to an external aquarium air pump, a thermostat sensor, and a power cord for a led nightlight. The light and air pump were on a timer so that the snakes had some light and fresh air pumped in to the cooler about 9 hours a day. I made a false bottom for the cooler with lots of holes, and placed the heating cable under it.

When it was ready, I placed the snakes in the cooler, and the cooler in a shed and started the process of cooling them in mid December (I had to wait for it to turn cool here in Tidewater.). Around the first of March, I started to warm them back up. For my area, this was very close to their natural cycle and I got two good clutches from the two pairs that I cooled.

In what part of Virginia are you living?

great idea!! I was trying to brainstorm a way to do this with an old refreg. Great idea on the aquaium air pump. I live in Ashland, VA. Do you seal the drain plug shut? Thanks for the great idea, I do have lengths of flexwatt laying around that would be perfect for this!!

If your collection isnt too big, you may be able to get an inexpensive electric wine cooler fairly cheap. You could even use a dormitory refrig (or larger refrig if you have the room) set up on a thermostat. I have a breeder friend of mine who custom built his brumation chamber out of plywood and foam insulation, then installed the cooling mechanism from an old refrigerator. Set the unit up on thermostat. Had great luck cooling his pyros and durango mtn. kings using the box. I am sure a refrigerator would work just as well.