Heating a room, instead of an enclosure?

[disintegratus]

I would have thought that bumping up the ambient temp of a room would be good, but you'd need a heat spot in each enclosure as well.

 

[MonitorMayhem]

sxr have under floor heating simon did tell me in what room but clearly was not listening to well as i cant remember possibly hatchling room
but said it works very well

 

[Red_LaCN]

My father when he built his house made sure there was heating in the cement slab base of the house. They rarely need it thou as the wood heater does the job of heating the 4 bedroom house well. Alas i cannot take my snakes there,he isnt even aware that i have them as yet as he and my stepmother have gone around Australia on holidays,due back September or so,then next year when its cold again off they in another northern part of Australia. I am fully adult so he cant really say much about me having snakes,and i am in my own home (rental).

I have the enclosures in the lounge room where i can turn the heater on. However a new python would go in the hallway or my bedroom i think for a time as a safety precaution. I need a bigger house HAHA!

I work in aged care and they have solar hot water there. In some rooms the hot water is near instant,in other rooms such as tonight,i had the hot water running 5mins or more and still it wasnt warm even.

When i see the temps drop in the snake enclosures,i turn on house heating so that the enclosure temps bump up to what they should be,then i turn off my heating and the heat lamps do the rest. Just some mornings it gets extremely cold so i have been keeping very close watch on the enclosure temps. A nice temp in an enclosure means a happy snake

 

[Snowman]

How many solar panels would you need to run a few heat cords? just set them up and run them though a 12vdc to 240vac inverter and run them during the day and maybe a couple of deep cycles for the night running.


I've often thought about using the hotwater thing, but using 1/4" retic line hooked up to a pool solar heater they sell in clark rubber. But if it failed you'd know about it! there would be a lot of water going through the house!

The batteries cost a fortune. Though if you live in the pilbara you have a ready supply on the iron ore rail I used to install the solar systems for their signal equipment in the middle of nowhere. Little sheds with lots of batteries, an inverter and a few solar panels next to the shed. I'm sure if someone tried to steal them they'd probably wind up getting electrocuted unless they know what they are doing.

 

[Jungletrans]

The snakes in the room on the snake bytes show would not be able to regulate their heat as they are all in little tubs with no room to move .

 

[Reptar859]

Here is what I have done for this winter. I have a room heater attached to a a probe thermostat with the probe at my enclosure hieght.Its set to 20 deg so if the ambient temps fall below 20 the heater comes on day or night. It seems to be working well.

 

[Bluetongue1]

The trick would be to heat the room to the lower end of the temperature gradient. This would mean that you need minimal wattage heating appliances to reach the temperature required at the warm end and the basking spot.

Heating reptiles to their preferred body temperature without a temperature gradient can be done but you need to ensure that active movement of the reptile does not put it into the heat stress range. I would say it works with some species in confined enclosures but not with all.


If we took on board some of the European methods for heating and insulation, our homes would be more comfortable for less cost. Under floor heating and double glazing make a huge difference. I have seen an energy efficient house that had mass of crushed granite sandwiched between two walls. Solar hot water was used to warm the granite during the day. Then at night, water was piped through the granite to warm the house. In summer, the system was not shunted through the solar collector. The piped water through the granite lost temperature and was then used to cool the house.

So it can be done Snowman!!!

 

[MR_IAN_DAVO]

What blue is saying about a heated reptile room is exactly right. Heat only to the lower end of the scale & still have hot spot heating inside the enclosure, this way hot & cool ends can still be provided.
It can also work the opposite in Summer as i do here in Emerald with my BHPs that an air conditioner comes on during very hot days to cool the room so that the room & enclosures are not getting too hot & still provides a cool end.

Cheers
Ian

I would have thought that heating a room for reptiles would only be needed in extreme cold environments when the ambient temp stays cold. Even with my room in the winter i let the night cool the room to resemble winter night cooling. In the daytime the heat sources for hot spots in the cages is enough to warm the room sufficeintly to a comfortable temperature, but the days here do normally warm up to a reasonable temperature rather than it might do in say Melbourne or Adelaide. The main problem i find here is the hot summer temps & therefore cooling may be required.
It is my belief that a snake is better to be too cool rather be too hot, so long as a warm spot is provided during the day for them to warm up.JMO.
In outdoor enclosures as an example even in the coldest time, check the temp that the direct sun provides in the morning, it is enough for any snake to bask & warm up.

Cheers
Ian

 

[thomasssss]

i was having a little trouble with my 100w ceramics only hitting 24 - 26 , bumped up the ambient temp to around 20 with a heater like blue has suggested , now ive got a 20 cool end and 32 hot end again , works a charm

 

[MR_IAN_DAVO]

i was having a little trouble with my 100w ceramics only hitting 24 - 26 , bumped up the ambient temp to around 20 with a heater like blue has suggested , now ive got a 20 cool end and 32 hot end again , works a charm

Spot on!!!!!!!!!!!!