What about the summer heat?

babysweet · 03-29-05, 06:17 PM

I've been wondering what the effect is of the summer heat, especially here in Canada. Our temperatures can vary severely in 24 hours, and knowing the recommended range for cresties (65-80) I was wondering what the most efficient way to keep them at this temperature is throughout the summer months.

We're considering getting an air conditioner for the time being, and setting it to 72-73 degrees. Eventually, we will have a "reptile room" kept at about 77 degrees, but our house won't be ours until the fall.

What's the easiest way to keep a steady temperature? Also, for those of you who keep the geckos in the living/family room, how do you cope with the temperature fluxuations?

Come time to incubate eggs (probably a year from now) our plan is to keep the hovabator in the basement to avoid overheating. However, our house will also have central air. Do you keep the C/A on and install a space heater in the reptile room? Or play with the vent until you can find a regulated temperature and hope the room remains at that temp?

I'm quite concerned about this, and in Canada it's not uncommon to find one room at 70 and one room at 85, even with C/A, due to the temperature fluxuations and the fact that the thermostat is in ONE room.

Keeping them in the living room by the thermostat is not a possibility, as one of the things we're looking forward to is not having to worry about the reptiles and the cats becoming a problem together (our ball python baby escaped once, and we're lucky she survived the attack).

Any recommendations?

CDN-Cresties · 03-29-05, 07:36 PM

I wouldn't worry to much unless your temps exceed 80 degrees. If you feel like that is a possibility, you could move them into the basement. My cresties do fine in my room but that one summer with the black out, I had a concern so I moved them into the basement.

I keep track of my temps with a digi thermometer that I bought at wal-mart. It lets me know the min and max temp of the day.

When you finally get some eggs, I wouldn't bother with a hovabator. Just some good old fashion plastic containers can do the trick perfectly. The temps can fluxuate between 70-82 degrees. I keep my incubating containers on my bookshelf in my room.

Hope this helps a bit.

babysweet · 03-29-05, 07:54 PM

That's definitely the plan once our house is ready... I should have been more specific, I apologize. Right now we're on the 12th floor of an apartment building, and the temp of the room is the temp of the apartment.

I'm sure we won't have to worry about eggs until after the fall (our cresties are 3-4 months old, and they're all still unsexed, so it might even be next year before we're breeding) but our concern is the cresties right now. As it is, during the day our temps reach 80 degrees, and it's only march/april.

I was just wondering if maybe there was something I hadnt' thought of. Incidentally, what thermometer did you buy at Walmart? I've been looking for one, seeing as how the walmart brands are $20-40 and the reptile ones are $60-70.

Thanks!

peterm15 · 03-29-05, 09:22 PM

wow its already reachin 80..

mine will be in my basement which means my summer max will be 70..

labomb · 03-30-05, 06:28 AM

I have central air and I just keep the vent shut in the reptile room in the summer and it is fine, the rest of the house my hubby freezes us out of. the room is the warmest in the house in winter so it works well in upper 70's. I don't get as concerned as I was a year ago, it seems if I am comfy, they are comfy, we like the same temps.