Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello Everyone,

I'm planning to build a small out house for my growing snake collection and was wondering if anyone has done the same? What would be the best way to go about this? Should I put together a nice shed and insulate all the walls, floor, and ceiling? It will also be climate controlled of course. I am located in Southern California so the weather is usually pretty moderate year round. Thanks for your time.

That is the best way to keep lots of snakes. You can go with standard contruction e.g. add-on to your house or garage, or else simply get one of those sheds from Home Depot or similar.

Here is what to make sure the structure has:

1. Insulation insulation insulation. If using a shed, insulate it as well. Styrene foam sheets work great.
2. Air conditioner (portable window-type is great)
3. A thermostat for the AC (additional to the one that comes with the unit)
4. Thermostats for any space heaters if used.

Some handy items:

1. Window for natural light cycles.
2. Room lighting.
3. A sink.

If the room is well-insulated, a small space heater will do wonders in heating the whole room. But, don't rely on the thermostat that comes with the heater. Wire in a backup thermostat. Ranco's are perfect for this application.

I live in So Cal as well. Your concern needs to be overheating in Aug and September due to outside temps. That is why an Air Conditioner may be mandatory. If the room is North-facing and out of direct sunlight much of the time, then you may get away with no A/C.
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Mark

Thanks for the quick reply,
Adding to the house is not an option so I am planning on purchasing a nice shed kit and just go insulation crazy. The shed I'm planning to buy has a couple windows so I plan on using one for the a/c unit. Should I bother getting an a/c unit with a heating function as well or should I use a good space heater? I also plan on wiring some sort of remote thermometer with alarm that will allow me to check the temperature from inside the house. Thanks again.

>>Has anyone here built a DIY out house for snakes?

No, but I've modified two existing structures to house reptiles. One was a "pole barn" or one of those metal sheds.
The other was an unheated room in a garage.

I've learned a lot from both. I'll likely be building an outbuilding for my snakes in the near future once I buy a house so feel free to stay in touch.

For heating I recommend those oil-filled, radiatory style space heaters. They are remarkably efficient and very safe. There are also radiant ceiling heaters but they are more expensive.

I run mine through a thermostat rated for 2000 watts and maintain a constant temperatures. I run a multi-strip outlet through the thermostat so I can plug both the heater and a box-fan into the strip. What this does is kick the fan on whenever the thermostat cycles. This way the fan distributes heat only when the heater is running. It also provides me an audible indicator of how often the thermostat is cycling.

Now I also have an air filter plugged into that thermostat.

Thermal gradiants and night time temperature drops are provided to each cage individually when appropriate.

If you'll need any cooling for brumation purposes or during summer heat waves I recommend a portable air conditioner vs. a window air conditioner.

They're more quiet and only need to be vented through a very small area.

Insulating the floor is a very good idea unless you have a lot of species with different temp requirements. In that case it can be helpful to have some near the floor and others higher up. Or some species can be brumated on the floor while others still have the benefit of a heated room.

Another way around insulating the floor is to install radiant floor heat when the slab is poured. You can use either electric panels or a water based system. I doubt either is practical from a cost standpoint, especially in southern california where there are probably not incentives for their use.

When you insulate consider using an insulation with a reflective component as well as a resistive component. These are much better for the type of heat typically used to for reptiles. They will also do a better job of preventing the building from heating up on sunny days.

Lastly, find out what the legal ways are for you to run water. I currently cannot do that and have to carry 4 gallons of water to my snake room every time I clean. For regular water changes I just use dilute Nolvasan. About once a month I do a more thorough job and bring all the bowls inside.

I wish I had water.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

Thanks Chris,

Would you have any pictures of the Metal Shed you modified? I'm planning to do the same. I just want to make sure I find a shed that has no roof leaks, and is easy to insulate. I also plan on filling in all the nooks and crannies so nothing gets in, and nothing gets out!
I'll have to find out about running water, I'd love to have a small deep sink in there as well. Would ranco's be able to regulate an AC unit or would I have to get a more heavy-duty thermostat? Thanks again for the replies.

>>Would you have any pictures of the Metal Shed you modified?

Well I did but I lost them all during a flood last year. I had a lot of trouble with condensation and subsequent buildups of water in the ceiling insulation. I had to have the roof sprayed with a rubber compound to prevent this.

I'll probably go with a wooden shed for my next herp room. Ironically I may be buying a house with a small cabin in the back yard so that may end up being my snake room. It's very small, though.

>>I just want to make sure I find a shed that has no roof leaks, and is easy to insulate. I also plan on filling in all the nooks and crannies so nothing gets in, and nothing gets out!

Consider having a contractor use the expanding foam insulation. It will fill every crack for sure! Very good R value.

Again, it's probably cost prohibitive, especially in southern CA.

You can fill in the cracks yourself with the individual cans. Then cover with normal insulation. I'd probaby use the foil-covered styrene insulation in southern CA. Good R value but also blocks radiant heat fairly well.

>>Would ranco's be able to regulate an AC unit or would I have to get a more heavy-duty thermostat?

I have not checked the max wattage output for the various portable AC units. My guess is that a Ranco can handle it.

First you'll have to figure out how powerful of an AC unit you'll need and check the wattage.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

I would imagine they would not be against allowing you to use a water hose. What you can do is set up a sink base in the shed with an outlet to outside the shed (for drain off) and install an attachment to allow you to screw the hose directly to the sink when you will be working in the shed.. This would be much easier then lugging gallons of water from the house out to the shed. This will be the method I will be using when I build my out building.

Later
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Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com

Hi Randy,

I'll certainly do that once I buy a place if I cannot run true water lines. But right now I'm renting and keeping my snakes in a heated room in the garage and don't want to push this compromise with my landlords.

As you can see from my signature my collection is on the low side right now anyways so it's hardly a big deal.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

I had a similar issue many times when renting.
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Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com