Input from Northern US & Canadian owners please

[forkedtongue]

About 3 months ago I moved from Southern Texas back to my home state of Michigan....which regrettably I parted with my carpet collection before I made the jump :(

I'm looking into getting a few carpets again once money stabilizes, my question for you northerners is...

With colder year round weather, are there any special needs for keeping carpets happy and willing to breed? What kind of lighting do you use / heat strips?

I'm hoping to invest some money into breeding snakes now that I'm retired but I want to be fully prepared before I do it.

Thanks

Blake

[Cam]

I'm pretty new to snakes (and carpets) but I'm not sure why you'd have any issue if you're keeping the animals indoors. The only thing different up north is the variation in daylight hours over the course of the year.

My carpet viv is heated with flexwatt, I keep it at 90F in the warm end and 80-85 ambient.

[Freebody]

im sure the only difference, would be the size of our hydro bills. other than that they both will be kept at said snakes required living conditions, It may need a little energy to substain temps in some places in canada, compared to the warmer areas like in the states, and thats only if your heating a whole room dedicated to my snakes, instead of just a few cages individually controled which would remain the same because the cages will be inside anyways. :)

[exwizard]

I agree. If youre keeping the snakes inside, there shouldnt be an issue because you control what temp and humidity level each snake gets in your setups. Ok the winter time the heat bill will go up but thats to be expected.

[shaunyboy]

it's only carpet pythons i keep mate

re heating
i use.....

non light emitting ceramic bulb

a heavy duty bulb guard

a dimming or pulse stat

ceramic set ups give good consistent ambient air temperatures,and provide a basking spot

the only light source i use is,the natural light provided,by the window in the room

i live in Scotland,so me and my carpets are used to the cold weather

i give my carpet pythons night time temperature drops of,65F to 70f with no ill effects

i use 2.0 uvb and natural sunlight bulbs,for my diamond pythons,but their husbandry requirements, are completely DIFFERENT to ALL the other carpets

your new carpets will do just fine in your new home

what type of carpets do you have in mind ?

cheers shaun

[forkedtongue]

I'm due a pretty large backpay check from the bastards in the Army, so I'm hoping to fill my starting collection with a couple picks from Anthony Caporetto's stock once these @##holes decide to finally pay out, but god knows when that could be.

I really want to get into breeding one day, and now that I'm retired I have the time.

I would LIKE.....

a few Jag IJs...

a coastal

and prolly 1-2 jungle jags

And depending on when they pay me (which will determine just how much backpay they owe me) I'd like to pick up a granite or a zebra also.

But time will tell :/

[forkedtongue]

LOL Shaun your post tripped me back into "dreaming of better days" mode and totally derailed my brain off topic.....

As far as my original post, I figured it would still be the same, I was more curious about what kind of heating people were using I guess, for instance the heating bulbs I had in Texas, I'm not sure if they would sustain the correct temps here in michigan, especially during the winter. I dont trust going to a local shop out here and asking because they just want to sell inventory, so i figured here would be the best place to get input.

Ill rummage through the moving boxes and find my old setup so I can post what I was using in texas and get some input on if I need to upgrade and maybe even some recommendations on what to upgrade to.

[Coffee Black]

Heating your home drys the air out. I find myself misting more often in the winter months. However, this greatly depends on your enclosures.

[forkedtongue]

Thanks Coffee! Thats the kind of little tips and knowledge that helps!

Granted I think maintaining humidity here in Michigan should be ALOT easier than El Paso (desert, dry, totally not humid) , thats something I would never have thought of without giong through it!

Appreciate it!

[Terranaut]

Carpets require less humidity than some other snakes but still need some. You will find your humidity will fall in your home to less than 20% in the dead of winter so plan on adding some to your home or enclosure. There are numerous heating options available. Get a heat source with a thermostat and enjoy your new pets. Its that easy. Don't over think it :)

[Cam]

If you're looking at a dedicated reptile room with vivs, then keeping the ambient in that room at 85 with a baseboard heater, then using relatively low wattage heaters or bulbs in each viv is probably easiest.

I live in Northern Canada, in a pretty dry climate. My house is warm but dry in the winter, but my viv is a glass tank with a plexi front, so one water bowl in there keeps humidity at around 60% even when it's -40 out and dry enough to crack your lips.