Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello, i have 3 or 4 pair of colubrids that i would like to cool down this winter. i no longer have a whole room to work with just for cooling.

any suggestions on making a small scale brumation chamber? thanks...

jonathan

What size of a cooling chamber your talking about, and temperatures you cooling at?
It depends, you could make your own chamber from a picnic cooler and thermoelectric coolers on a 12v or 24v stat or have the TE's power supply plug onto a 120v coolstat if the later stat is used.
Or, you can buy a new or used winecooler. I've seen some for 20 bucks at swapmeets and yardsales. However most winecoolers only get 60. You might find some that gets 55 temps, but that's pushing it's limits... These winecoolers won't work for you if you need lower temps or a consistent 55 temp. I opt to making my own TE cooler. I have pics of my cooling chambers posted for ideas.
The first one is the one I used before. It's plug onto a Spyder stat w/cooling setting. The small chamber is wired up to a 12v coolstat.

thanks for the ideas. i will do some research on them. i had heard of the wine coolers before but not the others. you've given me some ideas.

i am going to try cooling a pair of pits and a pair of brooksi. i was planning on trying to reach 55-60 and stay there. we'll see. thanks again...

jonathan

"I had heard of the wine coolers before but not the others."

"I was planning on trying to reach 55-60 and stay there."

These wine coolers are also known as thermoelectric wine coolers. They cool using the Peltier (TE) effect.

You can achieve those temps with most wine coolers with no problem, providing the room temp is not too hot.
Most coolers have tstats intergrated in them that allows to control the temp. Some have a basic red wine and white wine setting. Others have a more sophisticated tstat that allows you to control the temp by one degree increment.
I had one that cooled at 57.2 - 60.8 (stop at 57.2, restarts at 60.8)in red wine seeting and 48.2 - 50.9 (stop at 48.2, restarts approx. 10.5) in white wine setting. I think this kind of cooler should suit you. However, if you feel you need more control of the temp, then you should get a cooler with a sophisticated tstat. By the way, I converted this cooler to an incubator that maintains temp by warming/cooling.
Glad to help a fellow reptile enthusiast.