Urgent Question

[delightfulweirdo223]

On Monday, a hatchling garter snake will arrive at my house as a surprise birthday gift from my parents. Problem is, the outside of my house is being painted over the weekend. Would the chemicals hurt him at all?
Though, thats not the only thing being painted. The room he will be kept in will be painted as well. How long will it need to air out until it is safe for the baby?
My house has three floors, and if the room is on the top floor, will it be safe for him in the lower two?

Thank you for your help, and I apologize for any grammatical mistakes, I'm in a bit of a hurry and I don't have time to check thoroughly.

[guidofatherof5]

I don't think you have anything to worry about as long as it is latex paint being used on the inside.

[Rushthezeppelin]

As long as it's newer low VOC latex paint you have nothing to worry about IMO. That stuff doesn't really put off any fumes, although some brands have a very vague smell almost akin to baby diaper but it's not harmful afaik. If you want just keep her in a room that already has the paint cured or hasn't been cured yet if you want to be extra cautious. Beyond that though is just being paranoid if you ask me.

[joeysgreen]

A good rule of thumb is if it smells bad where you don't want to hang out in the room, then you shouldn't have animals in there. Smaller animals, and especially neonates are more susceptible to inhalant toxins. I would set up the cage in the basement, and keep the windows open to air out the house quickly. If a relatively non-toxic paint, it should be tolerable after a day or two.

[d_virginiana]

Agree with what everyone else said. However, if the entire outside of the house is being painted, you may want to keep him in a room that isn't painted, and keep the windows closed... I've been awake for a very long time, so someone feel free to correct me if my reasoning is fuzzy, but when I've had similar situations, if I can put the animal in an area that isn't being treated/painted, I usually close it off (closed windows if the treatment is outside, stuff something under the door and close the vents if the treatment is inside) and air out every area that is treated until the smell is gone before moving them out of the 'safe room'.

I go by the smell rule too. If I can smell a chemical/paint/whatever, I don't put animals there until I can't smell it anymore.