Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Reptile Room/Building suggestions

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Hi,
I am building a one car garage with a ''workshop'' addition for reptiles next spring. The room will be entirely for the sole purpose of keeping and raising Herps.
I am looking for suggestions and ideas that I could build into my dreamhouse that I might not otherwise think of myself. As this is from the ground up I have a great deal of flexibility.

I am thinking several skylights as well as windows so they can have a natural day night cycle .

I am thinking heat in the cement floor to keep lower cages from being chilly and for the economy of heating in this manner .

I am expecting basic blocks as the building material and spray foaming the entire interior .(A local company does this ) .Not only for heat insulation ,This will help seal the place off from escapes .Keep any feeder bugs from becoming a pest outside .And it only seems right to pretty much Great stuff my ''habitat'' lol.

I also plan on pipes with multiple facets all around the interior to be able to run a misting system where needed .(Admittedly I have zero ideas on how yet ..its entirely concept so far)

Same plan for MANY electrical outlets so that extension cords and tangles are yesterdays news. How I sheild these from the misting idea is one of the things to consider.

A wash basin/sink , dishwasher ,refrigerator and freezer will also be included.

This isnt a case of money is no object ....but I am willing to spend enough to do this right the first time.

I keep a variety of Herps ...for the most part they are comfortable with 60 -80% Humidity and basic heat of 70- 80 (some need hotspots ) Those that do need more heat or humidity I provide for within their cages.

Corn snakes,pine snakes , Beaked snakes , Crested geckos gargs, williamsi ,mourning geckos ,phesuma several species , dart,mantella and reed frogs of various species

Have any thoughts ? I am betting you do!

Where are you located?

Why Block construction?

Do you have a size in mind?

Everything you mentioned is pretty reasonable, although I always consider resale value for any project.

Heated tile floor makes for a well maintained environment as well as easy to clean. Although grout-less tile would be even easier.

Sky lights and windows are big sources of heat escape, if you live in an area that sees fairly cold temperatures the power you save by not running lights will be soaked up by the heaters.

If I were to build a dedicated herp room which I'm getting closer and closer to. I would build a long room with a bathroom and a closet of one end. The closet could serve as either a feeder room or extra storage. The bathroom could be dual purpose a bathroom, and kitchen of sorts, dishwasher fridge freezer.

I have yet to figure out the prefect outlet location so I would wire the room like a traditional workshop. Strip lights and outlets around the perimeter at counter height. I would then run plug mold or conduit and box's behind the cages at a height that worked for me, something that could be removed or moved if necessary. In addition to the conduit I would plumb the room as you wanted. However its cheaper to run a single pump to multiple nozzles than it is to run multiple pumps. Your mist lines are only 1/4"ID flex hose. Each cage can have its mist changed by nozzle selection. If you do have cages that need a drastic difference in misting (IE once a week vs once a day) more than one timing you can add a second pump and line for that series of cages.

As for primary construction unless you are burying this into the side of a hill, and even then poured concrete is better. Block construction is a serious cost and little benefit.

For the typical garage construction a perimeter footer with a 3-4" slab is typical. If you plan on an above garage room the footer needs special considerations.

The workshop will need to have a concrete curb dividing it from the garage portion you local contractor will discuss this and why.

None the less I would plan for 9' interior walls. Not only is it helpful in the garage but the added interior height for the workshop will allow you to add an elevated floor. By utilizing 2x6" exterior framing and 2x4" interior walls and a 2x4" elevated floor. Once the exterior is sheeted and the interior firebreak is installed the entire room can be foamed by a dedicated contractor. I would do the entire building as the additional cost will be minimal.

Finish it off with low E windows and skylights if necessary and drywall the room and it will be very efficient.

One thing I would consider given the room is a thin long room are the addition of water lines and electrical to the center aisle. Inevitable the room will fill with cages and you not be able to easily access a plug or hose bib when you need them.

Draining should also be addressed.

Good Luck
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Jeremy Payne
JB Reptile

1.0 Snow "Kahl"
0.2 Triple Het Moonglow "Kahl"
0.1 Orange Tail Hypo Het Leopard
1.0 Ghost
0.1 DH Ghost
1.1 "Kahl" Albino
1.0.2 Hypomelenistic
1.3 Pastel Hypo
0.1 Anerthrystic
0.0.2 Normal

0.0.2 Morelia Viridis
1.1 Morelia Clastolepis

I have one suggestion. When I built my old room I used quad plugs every few feet in the wall and the outlets on the right were constant for thermostats and the outlets on the left were wired through a mechanical timer. Made it much easier when using lights or even night dropping during breeding.

>>I have one suggestion. When I built my old room I used quad plugs every few feet in the wall and the outlets on the right were constant for thermostats and the outlets on the left were wired through a mechanical timer. Made it much easier when using lights or even night dropping during breeding.

I did the same and wired the Intermatic timer adjacent to the breaker box. I wired the lines like normal, than I removed them from the breaker added a pigtail and added power to the timer and back to the line (at pigtail). This way when the room was re-utilized all I had to do was remove the timer and re-attach the line, and it was simply a second circuit.

I just wish they had 5 wire romex...
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Jeremy Payne
JB Reptile

1.0 Snow "Kahl"
0.2 Triple Het Moonglow "Kahl"
0.1 Orange Tail Hypo Het Leopard
1.0 Ghost
0.1 DH Ghost
1.1 "Kahl" Albino
1.0.2 Hypomelenistic
1.3 Pastel Hypo
0.1 Anerthrystic
0.0.2 Normal

0.0.2 Morelia Viridis
1.1 Morelia Clastolepis

a large DEEP sink comes in real handy. I also have a toilet in mine...comes in handy for flushing away the occasional spoiled mouse, fecal contaminated water, and other nasty stuff. I was lucky, when I bought my house, it had a room in the garage with sink, toilet and shower. I was able to enlarge it to 12' X 24', and it makes a great snake room. Good luck with yours.
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Greg Jackson

Before using a spray foam insulation on your blocks check with the insulation contractor as most of these insulations give off formaldehyde gasses for a long, long time. A better alternative for insulation block walls is to purchase "Zonalite" which is just vermiculite in very large bags. This is easily poured into the cells of your block. This will provide a great deal of thermal value. Just be sure to do this phase on a day with no wind. This you should be able to find through any commercial contractor supply and is fairly inexpensive.

Additionally you can apply sheet styrofoam insulation to all interior walls. This comes in many thicknesses from 1/2" up to 2". Depending on how cold your winters get you can choose the appropriate thickness for your area. This can be installed using any appropriate construction adhesive and it doesn't take much adhesive to stick it up. Seams can be covered with the tape made especially for use with this product. All is available through your local home improvement center.

Seal the inside of the block with a product like UGL block sealer. This will form a vapor barrier so moisture does not penetrate into or out of the room.

Hope this helps,

Big T
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Hope this helps.

BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.