aSnakeLovinBabe
09-14-2008, 06:11 AM
So, despite the fact that since I do not have the charger for my own camera, I borrowed a different one because I simply have been going through picture taking withdrawal. The pictures for this are not going to be quite as good as my normal one's, because I am working with your every day average camera instead of mine which is made for the macro shots. But anyways, here is something that is long overdue... a tour of my snakeroom.
I am asked fairly often... how do I manage it? what does a room with 100 snakes in it look like? does it smell? do I ever get tired? -No, and no. Many do not realize that 100 snakes is actually not a whole lot, especially when you are working with babies... they add up very quickly! There are a lot of people who have far more than I do. It does not really cost me a whole lot to feed, because I buy all of my feeders in bulk, either via rodentpro, or via my favorite supplier at the Hamburg show. Even on cleaning days, I thouroughly enjoy working in my snakeroom... so much that sometimes I forget that I have a life other than it. It's kind of like this... "oh yea, i have a boyfriend too! I should probably get going to his house before midnight...."
They key to maintaining a larger collection of snakes... is to do a little something different each day. I work 9-4:30, 5 days a week. After I get home, it's straight into the snake room. I don't even eat until I finish. One day, I feed the pinky eaters, the next day, feed the baby BP's. The next day, feed all the garters, and the day after that, feed whatever adult snakes are due for a meal that day. Spot clean as you go, the baby garters eat every other day no matter what, and friday and saturday are the two days that I don't do much at all other than admire my collection. Sunday is the day that I take to really check for poop's, make sure water bowls are clean and full, and change out the cages that need it. Play doctor and dentist by inspecting their bodies and their mouths regularly... and it really is a routine that never has a dull moment.
So sit back and enjoy the ride.... you will get to see the room, along with many of it's resident's! Please do not ask for peanuts during the presentation... I am all out. Ra, my 6 foot king rat snake... is upstairs in my bedroom, and I did not get the chance to photograph his tank.
Welcome! This is the view once you step in through the main door of the snakeroom. There is another door in the far left corner, that leads out to right in front of the front door, and the stairs.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752003.jpg
This is the view from the other door. My wall cages were designed by me and my father and were built by him and a carpenter friend. The outsides are decorative oak, and the insides are countertop, very durable, unscratchable, and easy to clean. The fronts are made of glass and are mounted on hinges that swing downward. The bottom cages are heated via 100 watt or 75 watt bulbs, snake depending. The cages directly above those, have much lower wattage bulbs, that are purely for lighting, because the 100 watt bulbs below these cages acts as belly heat for them. The middle cage's lights are centered in the middle, so that what little heat they do produce is split evenly as belly heat for the two smaller cages above it. This is the reason that the top cages are not lit up. The cages normally have a bunch of plants all over the place, but due to a recent and very annoying small outbreak of mites, they have all been removed until I am sure they are gone.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752005.jpg
Here is a shot of the lighting compartments. I have actually incubated several clutches in these compartments with great success. When a 60 watt bulb is burning inside of one, it maintains a temp of about 80 degrees.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752017.jpg
Hre is the view from the garter shelf.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752006.jpg
This is my rack system. It is made by boamaster, and it is a solidly built rack that holds heat wonderfully. The small containers in the top are perfect for all of the small snakes I own, including the babies! The bottom left 10 tubs are all housing my big fat '08 ball pythons, and the bottom left 10 tubs are housing a variety of mostly juvenile or adult colubrids. Two of them are still empty. (empty cage syndrome kicks in)
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752007.jpg
This is just a random shelf that is in the corner. I paid 7 dollars for it at a warehouse sale... some little kid had drawn math problems all over it. I spray painted it black and put it to use. It holds little odds and ends, like my baby black racers, the albino dekay's, and the top shelf has an empty emergency quarantine cage. There are also other various little empties just waiting to be filled in there. The cage on top holds the 1.2 patternless Oregon red-spotted garters and the 1.1 Valley garters I picked up at daytona.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752009.jpg
I am asked fairly often... how do I manage it? what does a room with 100 snakes in it look like? does it smell? do I ever get tired? -No, and no. Many do not realize that 100 snakes is actually not a whole lot, especially when you are working with babies... they add up very quickly! There are a lot of people who have far more than I do. It does not really cost me a whole lot to feed, because I buy all of my feeders in bulk, either via rodentpro, or via my favorite supplier at the Hamburg show. Even on cleaning days, I thouroughly enjoy working in my snakeroom... so much that sometimes I forget that I have a life other than it. It's kind of like this... "oh yea, i have a boyfriend too! I should probably get going to his house before midnight...."
They key to maintaining a larger collection of snakes... is to do a little something different each day. I work 9-4:30, 5 days a week. After I get home, it's straight into the snake room. I don't even eat until I finish. One day, I feed the pinky eaters, the next day, feed the baby BP's. The next day, feed all the garters, and the day after that, feed whatever adult snakes are due for a meal that day. Spot clean as you go, the baby garters eat every other day no matter what, and friday and saturday are the two days that I don't do much at all other than admire my collection. Sunday is the day that I take to really check for poop's, make sure water bowls are clean and full, and change out the cages that need it. Play doctor and dentist by inspecting their bodies and their mouths regularly... and it really is a routine that never has a dull moment.
So sit back and enjoy the ride.... you will get to see the room, along with many of it's resident's! Please do not ask for peanuts during the presentation... I am all out. Ra, my 6 foot king rat snake... is upstairs in my bedroom, and I did not get the chance to photograph his tank.
Welcome! This is the view once you step in through the main door of the snakeroom. There is another door in the far left corner, that leads out to right in front of the front door, and the stairs.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752003.jpg
This is the view from the other door. My wall cages were designed by me and my father and were built by him and a carpenter friend. The outsides are decorative oak, and the insides are countertop, very durable, unscratchable, and easy to clean. The fronts are made of glass and are mounted on hinges that swing downward. The bottom cages are heated via 100 watt or 75 watt bulbs, snake depending. The cages directly above those, have much lower wattage bulbs, that are purely for lighting, because the 100 watt bulbs below these cages acts as belly heat for them. The middle cage's lights are centered in the middle, so that what little heat they do produce is split evenly as belly heat for the two smaller cages above it. This is the reason that the top cages are not lit up. The cages normally have a bunch of plants all over the place, but due to a recent and very annoying small outbreak of mites, they have all been removed until I am sure they are gone.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752005.jpg
Here is a shot of the lighting compartments. I have actually incubated several clutches in these compartments with great success. When a 60 watt bulb is burning inside of one, it maintains a temp of about 80 degrees.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752017.jpg
Hre is the view from the garter shelf.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752006.jpg
This is my rack system. It is made by boamaster, and it is a solidly built rack that holds heat wonderfully. The small containers in the top are perfect for all of the small snakes I own, including the babies! The bottom left 10 tubs are all housing my big fat '08 ball pythons, and the bottom left 10 tubs are housing a variety of mostly juvenile or adult colubrids. Two of them are still empty. (empty cage syndrome kicks in)
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752007.jpg
This is just a random shelf that is in the corner. I paid 7 dollars for it at a warehouse sale... some little kid had drawn math problems all over it. I spray painted it black and put it to use. It holds little odds and ends, like my baby black racers, the albino dekay's, and the top shelf has an empty emergency quarantine cage. There are also other various little empties just waiting to be filled in there. The cage on top holds the 1.2 patternless Oregon red-spotted garters and the 1.1 Valley garters I picked up at daytona.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakeroom%20Tour/3752009.jpg