My Snakeroom: The Tour!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

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.



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.

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.

Hre is the view from the garter shelf.

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)

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.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

This is what I call the Garter shelf. It holds... well... cages with garters in them!

Now that you've seen the room... why not check out just a few of their homes?
Here is Nanasplit's cage... he's always in his herp hotel.

Here is the cage that the Hypo eastern female and the orange cheeky female recently moved into together. They really seem to like it, despite the fact that I missed 573992 spots on the glass.

Here are the two baby black racer's cages. Male is on the left, I found him in my hotel parking lot chasing anoles in a bush... and the female I hatched myself.

This is where the striped keelback (indonesian "garter" -not garters at all) lives. She is anxiously awaiting the day that I bring her home a boyfriend.

This is the cage that my 1.1 FL blue easterns live in. By the way... I get those plants in the craft section of walmart. Just throw them into any cage for an instantly spruced up tank.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

This is what one of my average tubs in the rack system looks like. I have 5739583 of those cardboard tubes, from catfood displays at my store. They are reaaaaallly thick, had to be cut with a saw. The substrate in any tub at any given time is either aspen chips, carefresh, or hardwood mulch. The majority of my cages are covered with hardwood at this time.

And now.... for a whole bunch of random pictures of whomever i felt like pestering tonight.
Here's Okee, (female is Dokee) my male okeetee het snow. I love how clean cut his saddles are and how he has NO patterning in the orange.

This is Wiggles, my female St. mary's coastal plains milk snake. At one year old... this snake is finally the size of a hatchling cornsnake. It was the size of a newborn garter snake when I recieved it a little under a year ago.

This is Sharptooth. This snake along with his 5 brothers and sisters, is half cornsnake, half black rat snake, and het for white-sided. This snake looks almost Identical to Behemoth, my big corn/black rat that just passed away.


Here is Marigold, the female eastern with the almost fake looking orange cheeks I found this season, lounging in her new home.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

This is Melanie, my female pyro... this is my only pet store bought snake ever. I got her at a reptile specialty place 9 or 10 months ago as a teeny weeny one.

This is Sledge, given to me last valentines day hidden in a chocolate tin by my clever boyfriend. His name is Sledge because my boyfriend's last name is Hammer, and I have already told him that no, we will not be naming a son that. He has grown in leaps and bounds since then.

here is a normal Okeetee I produced this year.

There's nanasplit... in his herp hotel... again.

Omg, where did my hidey go?!

On my observation table.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Here he is next to the female. These two are 06 and 07 SinCal x Imperial Pueblans. She is going to need another year to mature before it is time for babies.

Here she is being held by my little cousin.


Here's a cute lil baby garter... that I am surprised to say is suddenly starting to turn orange.... I swear it is oranger every day.

This is a little one I held onto because it has an amazingly nice light reduced pattern for an eastern.

This is the female Similis (true florida blue striped garter). I purchased a pair from Scott Felzer at the daytona show. They are possibly the meantest snakes in existence.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Iowa Snow Plains Garter


Nebraska Albino Female

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Anery het both Iowa and nebrask albino's

My female Jungle x Diamond.


A black racer, peeking!!

The only amel florida dekay's brown snake being worked with in captivity- at least to my and everyone else I have spoken with's knowledge.

[gregmonsta]

Nice collection!!! Very nice snakeroom indeed

[Sid]

Really nice, Shannon. I really love the wooden viv's

[Gijs & Sabine]

That looks fantastic, Shannon !!!

I aspecialy love your Nebraska albino plains ♥