a quick question about cooling

Phrasty · 07-27-04, 12:54 AM

just wanted to know if anyone knew the best way to make a "cool spot" in an enclosure instead of a hot spot. Ambient temps are ok now, but it might get pretty hot here later in the summer and i was wondering what would be the best way (most effecient and affordable way to do it...) Any ideas??

Phrasty

C.m.pyrrhus · 07-27-04, 01:49 AM

Depends on what your cooling, what the current temps are, what you want as a temp, etc, etc.

Phrasty · 07-27-04, 02:44 AM

my bad, temps are currently 82 ambient (cool) and 93, later on in the summer im sure its gonna get to about 95..ish... i just wanna be able to get that back down to about 80. he's in a custom enc, but ill be cooling the area from underneath through thin ply + substrate. I'd just replace the heat source with a cooling one of some sort.

Phrasty

Edwin · 07-27-04, 07:48 AM

Its much easier to provide heat than to cool down a tank. You could move your tank to the basement where the ambient temps are cooler, or crank up the a/c.

You could also use a very low RPM fan to extract hot air from the tank. Also, I have heard of some people using aquarium reef chillers.

Phrasty · 07-27-04, 12:28 PM

I dont have a basement, and the ac cant be run 24/7, or daily for that matter...i could use a fan but im guessing that it would get rid of the humidity in the enc, and i dont really wanna do that. so im trying to think of something else...help, i hope im not looking for the impossible

MouseKilla · 07-28-04, 11:56 PM

I'm not sure why you're worried about the temps getting high or why you want to artificially bring it down to 80. You haven't said what sort of snake you're talking about but all snakes can handle heat in the 90's for long periods of time. If you're talking about a tropical species then it's really not a problem at all.

I would be very reluctant to use any kind of cooling device in or around an enclosure because the dangers of letting the snake get too cold are much worse than anything that could happen at even 100 F+ assuming water is available.

Phrasty · 07-30-04, 10:35 AM

he's a Ball python... so i dont need to cool him just keep fresh "cool" water in the enc...always which i do already.

ok thanks
Phrasty

jjnnbns · 07-31-04, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MouseKilla
I'm not sure why you're worried about the temps getting high or why you want to artificially bring it down to 80. You haven't said what sort of snake you're talking about but all snakes can handle heat in the 90's for long periods of time. If you're talking about a tropical species then it's really not a problem at all.

I would be very reluctant to use any kind of cooling device in or around an enclosure because the dangers of letting the snake get too cold are much worse than anything that could happen at even 100 F+ assuming water is available.

I think that that is a pretty dangerous statement to make. There are plenty of snakes that shouldn't be kept in the 90s or especially 100+ temps! A couple of examples that I have are GTP and BRBs

Cool temps will have much less adverse effects for a short period of time than hot ones will on most snakes

MouseKilla · 07-31-04, 08:18 PM

jj,

I'm aware that there are some species that are especially sensitive to high heat, such as the one you mentioned, but even in those cases I've never heard of anyone giving them A/C in their cages. lol!

Phrasty,

When it gets hot in the summer I think you'll be alright just cutting off the supplemental heating till it cools off a bit.

A ball python will be just fine if it has to put up with temps in the 90s for several days (probably much longer, I hear it's hot in Africa at times. lol!) I probably shouldn't have said ALL snakes in my previous response but I still wouldn't use any kind of artificial cooling method, other than maybe an extra large water dish. I mean what would you use anyway? An old window air conditioner? A big block of ice under the cage? I just can't imagine...

jjnnbns · 08-01-04, 01:17 PM

I have to use an A/C in the summer or else my entire room would get up over 85 deg during the day! Thats way too hot for me and my herps as the *coolest* temps available.

True though, depends on the species.

python_diva_06 · 08-01-04, 02:04 PM

i have to use an a/c in the summer in my herp room or it gets in the 90's in there...

MouseKilla · 08-02-04, 01:30 AM

My herp room also will get into the 90s on a hot enough day but I just turn the UTHs off.

I think with most snakes (I'm not going to say all again! lol) if you keep an eye on their behaviour you can tell when something is wrong. If it's too hot the will generally avoid the basking area (duh) and will often spend more time than usual sitting in the water dish. That's not a big deal though, a ball python will be just fine at temps well into the 90s. Just remember to put the heat back on when it cools down again.