Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I figured this was the best forum to post this in, I find that when I post in the ball pythons / retic forum nobody wants to talk about anything other than breeding

So we just moved into a new house and I finally have my own reptile room. The only problem is that the house is really old and doesn't heat up very well / hold heat..

So I figured I could throw a space heater in the room to heat it up and so I don't run my gas bill through the roof by trying to keep the whole house hot.

I'm located in Georgia and it's been getting pretty cold around 30 outside..

The problem with the space heater is that it is making the room SUPER dry... Does anyone have any suggestions to keep the humidity up in the room while keeping it warm? I came in the morning and outside of the cages there was hardly any humidity but inside the cages it is probably less than what it should be..

Thanks for the help in advance, just trying to pick some brains here
-----
1.0 Het Albino Burm
1.1 Mojave Ball Pythons
0.1 Normal Ball Python
1.0 Albino Ball Python
1.1 Pastel Ball Pythons
0.1 Spider Ball Python
0.2 Het Albino Ball Pythons
0.1 Lavender Albino Retic

Seeking bigger cages for the family

Have you considered adding a room humidifier? I'm assuming you don't want to deal with the cages individually. What kind of enclosures do you have?

Yeah, I was wondering whether we should add a humidifier to the room as well...

The space heater we got is fairly nice and has a temp guage on it so it can cut on/off... We had it cranked up pretty high which really made it dry so we turned it pretty low now...

We have the burm in a 6 foot AP and the balls in aquariums with towels over the top to try and keep humidity/heat in (we'll be making/buying a rack shortly).. some of them are already in sterlite tubs...

The room is also going to be my office so I'm worried about adding the humidifier and making the room "damp"...

We use newspaper / paper towels as the substrate since it's so easy to clean and cheap...

I guess I'm wondering what % humidity I should strive for in the room ? I'm sure you all will respond with it doesn't matter, just what it is in the cage...

Thanks for the help!
-----
1.0 Het Albino Burm
1.1 Mojave Ball Pythons
0.1 Normal Ball Python
1.0 Albino Ball Python
1.1 Pastel Ball Pythons
0.1 Spider Ball Python
0.2 Het Albino Ball Pythons
0.1 Lavender Albino Retic

Seeking bigger cages for the family

The room humidity won't matter, it's what's in the cage that matters, lol!

I have a wick humidifier for me, but supposedly it won't bring a room up past 50% or something like that. It's a little known fact that native Floridians have gills and we dry out in the winter months. My house is 39% right now and my sinuses are killing me! Since I can't get the humidity up and I don't want a damp house (you're right there), I deal with the cages and suffer (I'm such a martyr).

First I make sure that the heat is high enough to support the humidity since they go hand in hand. My Burm is also in a 6ft AP and I don't have much problem with the humidity there. My bp's are in an aquarium and I have to work with them a bit more. I did construct a humid hide that I place under the heat lamp. I also go through and mist if I need to keep the humidity up. It seems labor intensive, but it's really just during the winter cold snaps when the gas furnace is running and the peak of the A/C season when I have the most problems.

I agree with Laura on considering a room humidifier. You might want to first try using something as simple as a pot or pan of water placed in front of the space heater so the warm air from the heater blows across the top of the water.

You may still end up having to put some bedding material near the heat source in each cage and keep it misted.

Let us know what ends up working for you.

Catch ya later!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

Here's an idea: Contact Bob Pound at Pro Products and talk to him about radiant heat panels. We use them inside our exhibit cages but they can also be mounted to ceilings of homes for residential use. You would be amazed at how well these things heat up an entire room and it is very cheap to operate. Just something to consider.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center

>>Hi,
>>
>>I figured this was the best forum to post this in, I find that when I post in the ball pythons / retic forum nobody wants to talk about anything other than breeding
>>
>>So we just moved into a new house and I finally have my own reptile room. The only problem is that the house is really old and doesn't heat up very well / hold heat..
>>
>>So I figured I could throw a space heater in the room to heat it up and so I don't run my gas bill through the roof by trying to keep the whole house hot.
>>
>>I'm located in Georgia and it's been getting pretty cold around 30 outside..
>>
>>The problem with the space heater is that it is making the room SUPER dry... Does anyone have any suggestions to keep the humidity up in the room while keeping it warm? I came in the morning and outside of the cages there was hardly any humidity but inside the cages it is probably less than what it should be..
>>
>>Thanks for the help in advance, just trying to pick some brains here
>>-----
>>1.0 Het Albino Burm
>>1.1 Mojave Ball Pythons
>>0.1 Normal Ball Python
>>1.0 Albino Ball Python
>>1.1 Pastel Ball Pythons
>>0.1 Spider Ball Python
>>0.2 Het Albino Ball Pythons
>>0.1 Lavender Albino Retic
>>
>>Seeking bigger cages for the family
-----
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL