Winter care - Tips and thoughts

[infernalis]

It's that time of year again, The north winds are blowing, the leaves are all but out of the trees, days are shorter and our snakes are behaving strangely.

So I figured we could share our thoughts on how the season changes the way we care for our reptilian friends.

Many homes have forced air heating, you know the kind that blows heated air out of those registers on the floor. The kind that makes your sofa toasty by blowing up under it.

Forced air heating is bad for snakes and wood stoves even worse.

If you burn coal, pellets, oil, wood or propane in anything other than a boiler system, you will have very dry parched air in your home all winter long.

Extra steps to keep humidity levels acceptable may be necessary.

A kettle of water sitting on the stove, set a container of water near the register where your reptiles are located. Mist your enclosures from time to time, or shedding problems may arise.

Whenever you are leaving, don't forget you have reptiles at home, Turning down the thermostat to save energy is not so much an option anymore.

A propane or kerosene heater would be a sensible back up in case of utility failure. (Remember, Ice storms bring down wires a lot)

No power can be a disaster for reptiles in the winter, so get a backup heater and be prepared. (Try showing up at your aunts with buckets of snakes asking for a place to stay while the power is out)

Any other thoughts ??.....

[Zephyr]

We lost power last winter; I think my reptiles actually enjoyed it. It lasted for about 3 days, and the temps in our house (it's older with fair but not excellent insulation) only dropped to about 74.

[Sid]

Good idea to start this thread, Wayne. I keep a kerosene heater on hand and ready to go if absolutely needed. You can never tell whether or not there could be a power outage. If I ever have to use it, I'll keep a door slightly ajar for ventilation.

I also keep stocked well ahead on food items for all the critters. Ice is not a normal probelm here in South Carolina, but you never can tell.

[Garter_Gertie]

OH MY GODS. I never ever THOUGHT about a power outage!

What do I need/need to do in case of one?

Me, the dogs and the cats can snuggle up - I can go to work...

But my sniglette babies!!!!!

[infernalis]

If you have a smaller apartment MK, they sell a small heater that screws onto a BBQ tank and it Kicks out some warmth for about $30

It's commonly found in sporting goods, used by hunters to warm up in a duck blind.

[guidofatherof5]

Be sure you well ventilate the room anytime you use a heater. Electric are safe but fuel burners are a death trap. Carbon Monoxide: Silent, odorless and colorless. No wonder it has the nickname "Silent Killer".

[infernalis]

Great point...

I use electric radiant in the reptile room.

For emergency we have this propane construction heater, I run it in the basement, and it cranks out enough that it passes through the floors and heats the upstairs just fine.

[olive oil]

We don't have central heat. While we are home we run those ceramic oil radiators. Works pretty good-one in each room,but when we are gone we turn them off for safety reasons.
So when we return home we use a propane heater until the house warms up again. We start it and turn it off outside. Is this going to hurt the snakes? Thanks for bringing this up Dekay.

[infernalis]

Down in the south there is only a very few days each year that could be a problem.

A small oil filled radiator in the room with your snakes would be a safe bet.

[olive oil]

But, what about the fumes from the propane?