Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Lost the A/C this morning, no panic have been there before. Previously upon the repairmans determination I've opted to move the animals. This time we are only talking about 24-36 hours to full restoration.

That said, what is the panic point in terms of temp for a reptile collection? My thought is, most of the collection comes from these kind of temps but they have become aclimated to something lower by virtue of A/C.

Expect the temps in the snake room to top at about 95F probably less. Running about 84-86 now and approaching the heat of the day.

Thoughts?
J.

jeff, i'd give them good sized soaking bowls as they're gonna need it at the temps mentioned and put them on the floor if possible......every bit helps! although these snakes are from areas where the temps are quite warm, they seldom experience [avoid] that in the microhabitat they inhabit, where temps can be as much as 15/20* lower than the ambient daily air temp. good luck!

Thanks Dan,

I'm with you. Was going that direction, then by the grace of whatever the S. Fl. squall lines started moving in. Cooling the place significantly. Haven't seen 'em in a while but they seem to be coming back after Katrina. Took a little while.

If I had known those squalls would appear I'd not have posted. Was looking at the worst case scenario and a way out of it.

Regards,
J.

d

in the upper 70's to max 90 /-..I think we keep most of our animals way too warm..I agree with Dante..
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Carl W Gossett
Garage Door Herps
Monument,Colorado...northern territory of the Great Republic of Texas

In the wild these animals can thermoreulate as they choose.
(weather permitting). They spend a large amount of time deep in burrows at (approx) 65-70 in warm months and 55-65 in winter.

But...they come out and sun themselves when they need to.
Ever take the surface temp in the sun? It can be 90 on a 50 degree day.

I go by the thought process that it's best to similate this and have the low temps mentioned above for the cool side and have basking place during the day allow themselves to heat up to the 90's, if they choose.

In a large cage with a heat source like a heat lamp at one end, they have a whole range of temps to choose from.

Some snakes like smaller colubrids seem to do ok in captivity at the more or less constant 78-83 that herp keepers provide, but indigos just seem to require self-regulation.

Dean, I am glad you shared this as I too, am a firm believe in providing many choices to captive indigos (and captive reptiles for that matter). I am one of those people that likes to document things and take many notes and for the most part, my indigos will spend much of their time in areas/zones that are in the 68-78 degree range but will always come out and spend a few hours each day basking in temperatures that are in the low 90's and they need to have these choices to do all of the things that they do. Also, have a bright light source as a basking source is a win-win with indigos as I feel that they do much better if given an area of their cage that has bright light (I also have large windows in my herp room that receive indirect light which creates a nice ambient and natural photoperiod). In order to create these large thermal gradients, it is important to provide as large a cage as you possibly can; you really can't provide a cage too large.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL

>>In the wild these animals can thermoreulate as they choose.
>>(weather permitting). They spend a large amount of time deep in burrows at (approx) 65-70 in warm months and 55-65 in winter.
>>
>>But...they come out and sun themselves when they need to.
>>Ever take the surface temp in the sun? It can be 90 on a 50 degree day.
>>
>>I go by the thought process that it's best to similate this and have the low temps mentioned above for the cool side and have basking place during the day allow themselves to heat up to the 90's, if they choose.
>>
>>In a large cage with a heat source like a heat lamp at one end, they have a whole range of temps to choose from.
>>
>>Some snakes like smaller colubrids seem to do ok in captivity at the more or less constant 78-83 that herp keepers provide, but indigos just seem to require self-regulation.
-----
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Thanks to all for the insight!
Understand the considerations. FWIW the house is now cooling with a much more reliable system in place. Snake room broached 88F briefly. Witnessed increased activity in the charges as a result, but did not observe signs of obvious distress, (agressive attempts to exit caging and the like). Seems while they found it higher than normal it was not too difficult to withstand, much like myself and my warm blooded charges.

Lesson learned. FWIW I may get a window unit to go with the generator as we are hurricane prone.

Regards,
J.