Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got my heating bill for the last 30 days, it was over $500, ouch! I had my room in cooling mode up until the end of Dec. then started ramping the temps up. I wonder if there are any ways I can help reduce my energy use in the room.

I currently have the windows covered with reflective insulation and padded with a layer of 1 inch thick insulation (from an old delivery of frozen rats). I have the house thermostat set to 64. I have the snake room heater set to 79. I have towels covering the gaps at the bottom of the doors to keep the cold air out. Besides the room heater, I have one small wood cage (about the size of a 10g aquarium) on a 50w bulb, one medium wood cage (about the size of a 30g aquarium) on a 70w bulb, (2) 4'x2'x1.5' critter condos on 75w CHE, one large wood cage (approximately 6'x2'x2') on a 250w CHE, 2 boaphile 421 D's w/ 1.5 x heat, 1 FB rack (27 x 31 [7 tub] with only 2 heat strips plugged in), and a small melamine rack with only 3 levels of heat (3" heat tape approximately 36" long) plugged in.

I've been piecing my snake room together with stuff that becomes available at a discounted price. I haven't had the funds to purchase a bunch of new cages that all match each other. Do you guys think I'm losing heat with some of the taller cages, or CHE's, or lightbulbs? Am I better off using only under-tank type heaters like the boaphiles and the freedom breeder.

At certain times of the year I have problems maintaing ambient room temps above 70 without the use of the space heater. It seems to me like the heat tape only provides a hot spot and doesn't really do enough to raise the ambient temperature in the cages or in the room. Any idea of how I can keep ambient temps up without the space heater? I'm pretty sure the space heater is sucking up the most energy.

I'd greatly appreciate any insight/experience as to how I could improve my set-up.

Thanks in advance,
Anthony

radiant heat panels..... they lowered my elec consumption by half when I switched,,,,,, flexwat is inefficient
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Marc Duhon
Lafayette, Louisiana
SURINAMBOAS.COM
kaiyudsai@SURINAMBOAS.COM

I'll second the radiant heat panels. They give you a hot spot and ambient heat. I've tried them all and radiant heat panels, hooked up to a thermostat are the most efficient way to heat. They are also much safer for the animals, you, your house, family etc.
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Jason Dowell

Creative stacking on the Critter Cottages using CHE to create floor heat to the cage above is another tech that I use. Winter temps dont have have to as high as the spring and summer if cooled properly.....depending on what you have.

$350/mo hear in sunny So Cal. But I have 30 animals and I'm running Vapor bulbs and have a wife who loves to sleep with the TV on.
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5.4 BCI (Developing Project)
1.1 Eastern Indigo (Takata/Bruce)
2.3 Western Hognose (Albino/Het Albino)
2.2 Ball Python (Het Pied/Spider/Pastel)
1.1 Chondro (High Yellow/Sorong)
1.1 Kimberly Monitor
1.0 Ctenosaura Conspicuosa (Sexy Tame!)
1.1 Sahara Uromastic (Deer Fern Red Phase)
2.2 Crested Gecko
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python (Trophy)
0.0.1 African Long Neck Turtle (Pet)
1.0 Pitbull (Exceptional)
1.2 Kids (Hybrids)
0.1 Ball and Chain (Used)

I do not worry about ambient temperatures. The room temp in my snake room during the winter is 67 deg. I heat my Barr and Vision cages with ZooMed UTH only to provide a belly heat area on one side of the cage at 90 deg. My boas and pythons thermoregulate and have thrived with this set up for years. Bill
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

I have a room with an oil filled radiator that is on in the coldest part of the winter....I maintain the 10X10 at 75. I have 6 four foot shelves and a nine drawer rack all with flexwatt. I have a 75 gal boa enclosure and a timor monitor enclosure...only ones with overhead heat....60 watt bulbs and a 60 watt CHE. Not counting the radiator...which is something around 1500watt I am drawing only a couple three hundred watts. And I have an upstairs SST enclosure with a heat panel that runs all year but the heat of summer.

In the winter my bill is up $30 bucks from summer. I never pay more than $200 total for my electric for the whole house including hot water (we heat the house with a propane heater). I am in upstate NY, so yes, it does get cold.

I think key is the low wattage flexwatt use instead of bulbs and insulating the room. My herp room is in the basement....two exterior walls and two inside insulated against the rest of the 50 degree cellar. Ceiling is insulated too. The bill goes up when the radiator is on.

Usually if you keep your ambient up then you reduce the chance of an animal burning on a heat source. Only downside of heat panels is initial cost.
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Sonya

1.1 Candoia Paulson
2.2 Western Hognose
1.2 Mexican Black King
1.3 Greenish Ratsnake
1.1 Yellow Ratsnake
3.1 Everglades Ratsnake
2.1 Honduran Milksnake
0.1 Mexican Milksnake
1.1 Black Pinesnake
1.2 Sumatran Shortailed Python
1.3 Boa constrictor
2.2 Childrens Python
1.0 Irian Jaya Python
0.0.2 Timor Monitor
2.2 Mossy Leaftail Gecko
1.1 African Helmeted olivacea
0.1 Savannah Cat F7
1.1 Sugar Glider
Numerous Dogs, Cats, Birds, Fish pets and fosters
Husband
2.1 teens plus…..
You get the picture.

I keep my boa room around 72* with an electric ceramic heater. The rest of my house is around 64* and my oil bill for January was $640....

Im also in Los Angeles and my electric bill is only like $60-70 a month and i have about 75 boas.
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Richard Ceniceros

how to do that?! I'm in the high desert and can't get my bill under $250. I have about 120 animals (boas, balls and corns). I'd love to know what you do for heating setup.

Thanks!
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Cheers,
Jessica Gibbs
Ball Pythons; Corn Snakes; Green Tree Python; Jungle Carpet Python; Bci; Bcl; Bco
www.supercoilconstrictors.com
LEARNING PREVENTS IGNORANCE OF THAT WHICH SURROUNDS YOU...AS LONG AS THE SOURCE FROM WHICH YOU LEARN IS A VALID ONE.

All of my snakes are inside my house in a bedroom so the rooms temps dont fluctuate too much.

All my adult boas are housed in boaphile 4' footers or Pro Line 4' footers, and other smaller stuff are in Boaphile racks etc... They all use flexwatt and are connected to thermostats.
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Richard Ceniceros

I live in mass and it gets cold here and my electric bill has been under $150. My snake room is around 15' by 10' and I keep it at 85 always. I dont use any heat pads just lights when cleaning. I have 20 snakes, pythons and boas.
I have the electric base boards all thru out the house and a heater plus base boards set up in snake room. I use a wood stove to heat the rest of the house other wise my bill prolly would be higher.
Mike

I got a lot of great ideas. Maybe the answer is simpler than I think. Maybe I just need to get more snakes, lol. More snakes means more racks, which means more heat strips and maybe less need for that room heater. I'm pretty sure that's what's pulling all of the juice.

Thanks,
Anthony-