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for those of you that keep mtn.kings in so. cal. How do you keep the temps cool during the summer months? I installed an air conditioner in my snake "shed" (the wife thinks I'm nuts)but I am wondering if there is a more cost efficient method of keeping cool here in L.A. county. I need to keep the temps no higher then 82 degrees for many of my mt species. Any response would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave
BTW it is a 10 x 19 frame and plywood shed with a 5/8 drywall interior. It is shaded by tree on the south and east sides

I don't keep Mountain Kings nor do I live in Southern California, but I have some ideas.

If the air conditioner is not doing enough, or you keep other species that require higher temperatures, you have other choices.

Obviously, you could cool the room to the desired temps for your mountain kings and use supplemental heat to raise temps in other cages. Either UTH's or radiant heat panels will raise temps with minimal effects on the ambient temps in the room.

If the air condition is not quite doing it's job you could purchase an ultrasonic humidifier and run aquarium tubing off of the resevoir. Then direct the tubing into your mountain king cages specifically and the evaporate cooling will bring the cage temps down considerably.

You'll have to make sure there is sufficient ventilation in your Mountain King cages as to avoid excessive substrate moisture.

Lastly, if you're just trying to bring the temps down in the room a bit more than the AC can handle, consider building a swamp cooler.

BigTatto posted a great design for this on the old caging forum. He strung burlap over a PVC frame and down into a large tub of water. The water wicked up the burlap and he had a box-fan blowing on the burlap. This caused evaporative cooling in the entire room and helped cool things down.

I hope I remember his design correctly.

Like I said, a lot of this depends on exactly what you're trying to do and what other species you keep.

for those of you that keep mtn.kings in so. cal. How do you keep the temps cool during the summer months? I installed an air conditioner in my snake "shed" (the wife thinks I'm nuts)but I am wondering if there is a more cost efficient method of keeping cool here in L.A. county. I need to keep the temps no higher then 82 degrees for many of my mt species. Any response would be appreciated.

Thanks for the input. The evaporative cooler sounds like a good idea. I don't know much about thermodynamics. If I use an evap cooler should i leave the windows open or closed? The shed has 2 vents at the ceiling level. i also thought about freezing several 2 or 3 liter bottles of water and blowing a fan over them towards the cages (of course i would have to experiment a bit to get the temps right)I recently put my montane species (Pituophis Deppei deppei) on the floor where it gets a bit cooler so they may be a be ok until the end of the month. The only others i keep are Mex kings and a rosy boa
Stay cool,
Dave

Sounds like you have plenty of ventilation so you should leave the windows closed if you use a swamp cooler in conjunction with AC.

However, I'm sure you can play around and create a vertical gradiant for the species you keep with the AC only. Some of your species may require a bit of supplemental heating but that's easy.

Start with just the AC and see what kind of gradiant you achieve. You could possible use a ceiling fan or something to increase the vertical gradiant.

So I doubt a homemade swamp cooler will be necessary.

Thanks for the input. The evaporative cooler sounds like a good idea. I don't know much about thermodynamics. If I use an evap cooler should i leave the windows open or closed? The shed has 2 vents at the ceiling level. i also thought about freezing several 2 or 3 liter bottles of water and blowing a fan over them towards the cages (of course i would have to experiment a bit to get the temps right)I recently put my montane species (Pituophis Deppei deppei) on the floor where it gets a bit cooler so they may be a be ok until the end of the month. The only others i keep are Mex kings and a rosy boa

One my snake is out sunning in her outdoor cage, I fill five bleach bottles with water and freeze them. I then glued a thick fabric around the outside. I placed them around the cage and she would wrap around them. this is good cause if she got to chilly, she could move. Make sure to put the fabric around, so it doesnt give your snakes frost bite

Do you kep any desert species? If you are thinking about evaporative cooling you are going to increase the humidity in the entire room, that could lead to respiratory infections on some animals.

If you want to try the evaporitive cooling, I would also suggest getting a small dehumidifier. I wouldnt open the windows since the air outside is going to be warmer then you are trying to acomplish inside.

You probably already mentioned/thought of this, but I didn't catch it...
Do you have any type of insulation in this "room"??? This could make a big difference in your electric bill... If you're cooling the room with A/C, but don't have insulation, the walls, being hot as they are with outside temperatures, will heat the room back up...
Good insulation will make a HUGE difference in maintaining different temperatures between inside and outside... Not only when you want to cool the inside, but in the winter you might want to keep the room wormer, and this will also help...
It might be a bit costly at first, but it will definitely be worth it in the long run...
Good luck,

~ El__Quijote