# Keeping enclosure cool



## Hokurai (May 25, 2011)

Alright, I've been noticing an issue of keeping the enclosure cool enough. It seems to be getting over 90 degrees in there when there isn't a fan on (fan burned out sometime today and I put another one in just now). How can I keep the enclosure cooler as my house is kept at a constant 80 degrees? I just put in a thermometer today because my order finally got here.


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## Tensleep (May 25, 2011)

Keep your substrate moist (not wet) and deep enough for your animal to burrow and provide a shaded hiding spot. 80-90 degrees in the day (with basking area 100-110 degrees) is necessary reptiles as they need that temp to thrive and digest. Is it 80 degrees in the evening? When lights are off and evening temperatures in most locations are cooler your animal will thrive. Use a thermostat to check evening temps. Your animal should have access to temps below 80 at least in the evening. By the way, where do you live that your house is 80 degrees in the day? "Ouch" for you, but your animal probably loves it!


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## james.w (May 25, 2011)

I may have this same problem once outside temps get into the 100's. I recently moved my reptiles to the garage, and am not sure how much cooler the garage will be from the outside. I was thinking about getting a portable A/C for the garage to keep temps under control.


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## Hokurai (May 25, 2011)

Oh, it feels cold inside in the summer. I live in the Sonoran Desert in southern california right on the arizona border. (Closer to Phoenix, AZ than anywhere else) It can get well over 120 degrees in the summer ambient temp. The temperature of the cement is way higher. Maybe 150-160. xD I tried walking on it barefoot one time. Did not work out. I just got the fan on and lights testing to see how hard it is to get the humidity up to where it needs to be as I got everything today. I was using a low power heat lamp without UVB since thursday and just guessing at the humidity because the stuff had been in the mail. Everything should be set up good now. The cool side is reading 80 degrees right now so it should be cooler at night.

Alright, the temp gauge was reading ~78 with the lights on and I just turned them off. I'll see where they go. But the humidity is only about 50% so I need mist more and have the fan on a lower setting.


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## Tensleep (May 25, 2011)

Your animal will tell you by it's behavior. If during the day it seeks the cooler side of the enclosure, then you probably have to find a way to lower the overall temp of the enclosure. Provide a large enough enclosure and regulate your bulb wattage and nighttime temps should provide enough cooling. After all, these animals thrive in a natural environment that is hot in the day and seek relief by burrowing. Deep moist substrate should be provided (or air conditioning may be required in extreme circumstances).


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 25, 2011)

james.w said:


> I may have this same problem once outside temps get into the 100's. I recently moved my reptiles to the garage, and am not sure how much cooler the garage will be from the outside. I was thinking about getting a portable A/C for the garage to keep temps under control.




_Don't do it,.. its not worth it,.. even if the garage is insulated,.. things happen. That's how I lost mine last year. Some friends of mine were keeping my Reps while I moved and settled in. One of their garages was made into a Reptile room, insulated with a thermostat but it failed one day. We just about lost everything we had in there. 

I don't know how long you have been in Vegas but we have nights when we're lucky if the temps drop below 85* before 1am. 
That's something I'll never do here again._


Bubblz Calhoun said:


> james.w said:
> 
> 
> > I may have this same problem once outside temps get into the 100's. I recently moved my reptiles to the garage, and am not sure how much cooler the garage will be from the outside. I was thinking about getting a portable A/C for the garage to keep temps under control.
> ...



_What happened to the edit button?_


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## Rhetoric (May 25, 2011)

Yeah I've got no idea about the edit button, I think its a bummer...
I thought of getting a portable A/C unit for the garage for the summer... Until I read bubblz response. I'm not sure what I'll do to keep the temps down, I might just leave their heat lights off and put a basking bulb somewhere in the house for them to hang out under after eating...? It doesn't really get that hot here (OR) theres like a week or two in August where the temps get upper 90's. I would hate for my guys to over-heat in the garage. Maybe I'll work on flipping their light cycles so the lights come on at the hottest part of the day?


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## Hokurai (May 25, 2011)

Eh, the tegu is new so he's been hiding most of the time and the last 2 days, I've been at school all day. Another week and I'll be out of school so I can really start working on getting him used to me and taming him. He's in his adult enclosure already so it's plenty big. 8'x4'x4'


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## james.w (May 25, 2011)

Bubblz. What were you using to cool the garage?


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 26, 2011)

_It was the house unit,.. they just extended a vent into the room._


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## Tensleep (May 26, 2011)

Just curious, have you measured the daytime temp of the concrete slab in your garage? I have been thinking of what I would do or consider if I was in your situation (living in Las Vegas or similar climate) and had to keep my tegu in the garage. Individual garage temps can vary widely depending on things like how much insulation is in the attic space above, is there shade from trees outside, type and reflectivity of roofing material. My experience has a been that most garages are like saunas in the summer mostly due to the fact that there is virtually no ventilation unless the garage door is left open or if the garage is air conditioned (few people have air conditioned garages and few are willing to leave the door open). My thought is this; If I was forced to keep my enclosure in the garage where temps are high, I would take a temp reading of the concrete slab. If the slab is cool (and usually they are from being in contact with the ground below) I might try cutting out a portion of the bottom of the enclosure and replacing it with a piece of aluminum, copper or other conductive material. Or remove the bottom of the cage entirely, seal the concrete to make it easy to clean and allow the cool slab to provide the relief from the heat. I know it may sound silly, but it would probably work.


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## james.w (May 26, 2011)

Tensleep, I will have to check the temp. That is a very good idea to use the concrete as the "bottom" of the enclosure.

Bubblz, what malfunctioned that caused the problem??

I was at Home Depot earlier and looked at both portable A/C units and swamp coolers. Any advice on which might work better and more efficiently??


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 26, 2011)

_It depends on where you stay,.. a lot of the newer houses that are being built have the Epoxy, Rhino or what ever company they use garage floors. If they use cement at all it's covered with something else. For easier clean up and what ever,.. but even with that it still gets pretty hot in there. My sister has it on her garage floors and depending on the weather Gucci still has to be brought into the house. 

Most of us have probably walked pass a house with the garage door cracked open a little at the bottom. With a dogs nose sticking out and or barking,.. if you get up close enough you might even hear a fan going. On certain days you can't even do that here.

In the summer time news broadcasters warn you to bring your pets inside. Which includes the garage unless it's insulated and air conditioned. They tell people if you see a pet sitting outside or left in a garage (or any where else) to call AC. Which they do and people are cited and charged for it.

Living here we just have to take extra precautions with ourselves as well as our pets not matter what we're doing. There's more to consider than if we lived in a cooler climate.__James either one would work as long as they don't fail for what ever reason. If they do hopefully there's someone home to catch it in time. 

It wasn't the unit itself that went out but the thermostat that controls it. Don't know if the batteries died, something fried or what but they just had to replace the thermostat and not the unit outside. 

So the thermostat goes out,.. the unit shuts off and they're left in the room with the heat and their lights on. _


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## Tensleep (May 26, 2011)

Bubblz, when you say that your sister has hers on the garage floor, are you referring to a reptile enclosure? If so, most enclosures have wood bottoms which are poor conductors and will not transfer the concrete slab temp into the cage. Also, epoxy and other traffic coatings used to cover concrete should not restrict the ground temp from transferring through the coating. Just placing an enclosure with a wood bottom on the garage floor would not work. What I am saying is that the bottom must be removed entirely. Again, all that would be required is to take an actual temp measurement of the concrete surface to know if it would work. Like I said before, this is just an untested idea since I do not live in your area and have no first hand experience with your environment. Thanks for the input


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 26, 2011)

_She has the Epoxy,.. covering on her floor, Rhino or what ever company she used. I don't know about the temps I've never measured but can do this summer, my floor is cement. Temps are warming up around here already.

I know what you mean about removing the bottom of the cage or using aluminum or something.__Your welcome  not a problem_


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