Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I work in a small reptile house with 1.1 "Blairs". Last year was their first year together. She laid eggs but they were no good. I want to try cooling them down, but how? The reptile house stays ~75* year round. How can I get them to 50-55*?

your probably going to have to install a window AC unit. That's what we have.

Good Luck,

StevenX

Also remember to decrease the daylight hours while cooling down.

Not an option. The building is climate controlled and stays at ~75*. I cant change that temp because of all the other herps in the building.

I can only think of a couple of options. Either they go in a separate room at the reptile house, like a storage room, that can be cooled down. Or you take them home and cool them in a spare room or your garage.
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Kent

1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) corn snakes, 2010
1.2 Gray-banded king snakes, blairs phase, 2008
0.0.17 Gray-banded king snakes, 2011
1.1 Oregon rubber boas, w/c 2000 and something

Colossians 3:17

There is no other room and we are not allowed to take animals home.

Is there any way to modify a frig? I'm also looking at the Exo Terra incubator that heats and cools. Any reviews on that?

I have heard of using a fridge or wine cooler, but have not done it myself. I think you should put this question on the kingsnake forum. There has been discussion there on this subject in the past, I think.
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Kent

1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) corn snakes, 2010
1.2 Gray-banded king snakes, blairs phase, 2008
0.0.17 Gray-banded king snakes, 2011
1.1 Oregon rubber boas, w/c 2000 and something

Colossians 3:17

I think a wine cooler is a viable option, although getting one sufficiently large to handle adult alterna could be expensive.

You can get wine coolers in different sizes, most have a glass front so they get some light. I worked in a zoo years ago and we used and old drink box/refrigerator and succesfully brumated several species.
Later
Rick

I also used a old cold drink box. For safety sake, I added a back-up thermostat of a high quality to prevent over-cooling. I used the box for about 10 years without a problem.

I reckon a wine cooler could work in a terrible pinch. But I have to wonder, just how many species of snakes actually just go down for the count in Oct/Nov only to resurface come April, nothing in between... It's more likely that most snakes re-emerge constantly when daytime temps allow them, often on a regular basis. To just fully put them down for several months may not simulate the most normal conditions.
In your case, the answer is fairly simple. Find another place to brumate. Sounds like you're not thinking very far "outside the box".
I live in Florida. If I can brumate, so can you!
Dan.

Just to clarify, I work at a zoo. I'm not a private breeder.

The zoo has rules as to where reptiles can be kept, and those places are all climate controlled between 70-75*. We are also not allowed to remove animals from zoo property. There are 3 other people working on ideas with me, and the best idea we have is to try to modify a cooler or maybe buy an Exo Terra incubator that also cools (trying to contact the company with a few questions first). We are also only looking at brumating from mid-November to mid-February.

I could try calling some of the drink distributors and see if they could donate one...

Guess I know what's on the to-do list for Monday!

I've used a win cooler for getula w/ some success. Cost like 200 bucks.

It doesn't get below mid high 50s though, and it's small. I'm looking for a way to do more of them myself. I have a small building, but it's got retics in it too--can cool it too much because of them. I'm still playing with things to see if I can get a more economical way to burmate animals.
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.

It seems to me that a refrigerator would work. Just put it on its warmest setting and attach it to a really nice rheostat control and possibly multiple to prevent any system failure. I know helix controls have a cooling feature as I am sure others do.

Not so much about the temperature control, but the problem of exchanging fresh air... they still have to breath, and in the natural world the temps do move a bit as it is, so it is OK not be "perfect"
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___________________________
Herp Conservation Unlimited

If people really learn from their mistakes, I should be like the smartest guy in the world

I'd stay away from the refrigerator. A good quality wine cooler would be a viable opetion. But you MUST open the door for a few minutes every couple of days to allow for air exchange. Also, the quality and dependability of wine coolers varies greatly from one brand/model to the next. You need one that has a "real" compressor in it as opposed to some of the cheaper units that use other thermal electronic means of cooling. You also need one with fairly accurate temperature controls. You should also keep a small dish of water in the bottom of the unit to help prevent dehydration.

Check at Home Depot or Lowe's. They carry several makes and models. The best I found for my purposes was their Frigidaire Model LFWC42F5LS 42 bottle capacity wine cooler. It is large enough to brumate several kingsnakes/ratsnakes/etc in and I found the thermostat to be fairly accurate and reliable but I also keep a separate digital thermometer inside as a precaution. This model sells for $295.00...maybe a tad less if you catch it on sale. be careful of some of the smaller and cheaper units that do not have regular compressors. You get what you pay for. Most of the decent units will cool down to between 42 and 62 degress F.

But once again, it is vitally important that you open the door on the wine cooler for a few minutes every couple of days to allow for air exchange. Also be sure that each animal's container has a water bowl available in it.

Remember during the warmer part of the year you can store your favorite beverages in it....then change it back to a brumation chamber in the winter.

Good luck.

Gerald
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Gerald Keown
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research
www.southwesternherp.com