Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
As some of you may know, Im starting brumation for my Amel because she's not been eating. Tonight I turned the heat light off. Tom. night the UTH goes off, and Sat. night she goes in the coldest room I could find in my house. It's in the high 50's unfortunately. Im brumating her for a shorter peiod of time because of that. Does the first of march sound like a good pull out date? Im worried sick. She is my first snake and I dont want anything to happen to her. I'll keep you guys updated. That's how I'm planning it for now. Any suggestions are very welcome!
-----
No, we're never gonna quit,Ain't nothin' wrong with it,Just actin' like we're animals - Nickelback, Animals

As a con't to my other post.... Tonight I unplugged all of the heaters. Tom. night she's going to go in the basement. One thing im worried about is mold. I know we have it in our basement but will it affect the snake? It's either the basement or a side room that will get into the low 60's when the fireplace is on, which is often.
-----
No, we're never gonna quit,Ain't nothin' wrong with it,Just actin' like we're animals - Nickelback, Animals

>>As a con't to my other post.... Tonight I unplugged all of the heaters. Tom. night she's going to go in the basement. One thing im worried about is mold. I know we have it in our basement but will it affect the snake? It's either the basement or a side room that will get into the low 60's when the fireplace is on, which is often.
>>----

I have the same situation.
moisture and possible mold in my basement/garage.
It can be a danger. I just have to check on my snakes more often to watch for mold.
The first time I brumated in the basement I used small water dishes...just large enough to give them something to drink.
These were easily knocked over creating moist substrate increasing the odds of mold.
This season I decided to go with very large water bowls with low water levels. These also act as hides so they are duel purpose.
With the low water levels in larger bowls it makes it harder for them to spill water on the substarte. This seems to be working much better.
Just make sure to check often for any signs of mold and replace substrate as needed.
That, unfortunately, is the only advice I can offer and I have no idea what others may do in the same circumstances.
-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

Thank you! Looks like it's the basement! I have a larger water bowl so I'll do something similar to what you're doing. Thanks again, I was hoping someone would finally reply!
-----
No, we're never gonna quit,Ain't nothin' wrong with it,Just actin' like we're animals - Nickelback, Animals

>>Thank you! Looks like it's the basement! I have a larger water bowl so I'll do something similar to what you're doing. Thanks again, I was hoping someone would finally reply!
>>-----

Sorry it took so long
to tell the truth I was hoping someone with more experience fighting moist conditions (mold) would answer first.
Oh well we can learn from our experiences and share what we learn.
-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

Now to stay on topic, i'm currently brumating my corns as well and they have been in the basement for roughly a month! Their temps are steady between 55-57, but the humidity stays up around 90%? now up until this weekend i havn't seen any mold, but then i was checking saturday and noticed a hair like mold with a white and blue coloring forming on the lid(made of MDF) but none in or around the substrate. I immediatly removed the snake and placed her in a critter carrier full of dry sub.. I then sprayed down the mold with a 1:30 - Clorine:water mix and left it for about an hour then sprayed again and put under a heat lamp! Just wondering if anyone has run into this before?, Risks involved?, correctional measures?, should i be checking the snakes for anything in particular?

Mold is of course more prevalent where the humidity is higher. I built my own log home with a rather unique basement.

The floor is poured concrete with a plastic vapor barrier below it, that is per code. I then put 5 coats of oil bases dry-lox on the floor. Believe it of not oil base paint is a vapor barrier. Then treated 2x4" on sides every 2' with styro insulation between them. 3/4" treated plywood floor. Walls got 3-4 coats of the same dry-lox where it meets the grounds, 2 coats above that. NOTE: dry-lox will get you high! lol. OK, 2x4" walls and more styro with sheetrock for walls. I also placed a hole in my basement wall under my porch for a wall AC unit for the basement just for cooling in summer.

My idea was to stop the humidity from the ground. I did not want a humid basement.

WELL: with all that, it still will get so humid the water pipes can drip from condensation in the summer.

Long post to say ALL basements will get humid, so I'd run a de-humidifier for almost any basement. Pick one on Craig's list or somewhere. Less humidity in the basement will even help in the cages. 20% humidity in the basement will pull some of the humidity from cages, even a tub, although slower per your tub ventilation. Small bowls was a great idea.

A dehumidifier helps lot of issues not just your cages. I personally only have an issue in the summer as my basement is part of my house. So the AC is on 72 degrees and dehumidifies for me.

Far longer than I expected, sorry, I'm rarely so wordy!
-----
Thanks for reading.
Big Tom

www.HerpZillA.com

Sorry to get off topic a bit, but i think i have just about the ultimate "dry" basement design!! Being from canada, the temp. and moisture are huge factors when designing a basement. With that in mind i've designed a basement that's completely sealed from moisture and has an R-value of roughly R-27.

It consists of an ICF Wall built on a footing, gravel up to top of footing, 2" rigid on top of that with glued and taped seams, 4" Slab w/ in-floor heating on top of that. Finish the walls with drywall, finish floor with whatever you prefer! The 1st floor is then hung inside the ICF wall to provide maximum R-value and Seal to the underside of the floor sheathing! no box joist leakage(huge loss in most homes)! I actually got a kudos on this design from the guy who runs seminars for Efficiency New Brunswick.

The great thing about this design is that without the infloor heating, it should cost about the same as a conventional, maybe cheaper!