# keeping it cool...



## andred82vert (Apr 8, 2008)

Sorry for this question guys, but i've searched the forum and could not find a definte answer.

I'm from Southern California and Summer is coming up soon, and i was wondering if it would be safe to put a frozen water bottle in the terrarium to keep the temp lower. I do have a fan blowing 2 1/2 feet away from the glass, and the light fixture is raised so its not touching the top part of the tank.

Is there any other way to keep my frogs from over heating without the use of air conditioning. Also, I have some air blowing inside the tank through a hose connected to a small water pump for air circulation purposes.


----------



## McBobs (Apr 26, 2007)

Try google searching "swamp coolers". I've never personally used one, but the concept behind it should really help with cooling off your viv. It has to do with the cooling properties of condensation and best of all, it keeps you from needing to put foreign objects into your viv. 

-Matt


----------



## andred82vert (Apr 8, 2008)

i checked it out....seems pretty messy and my room is so crowded, i dont think i'll have space for it. I really dont mind foreign objects in the viv as long as they'll keep the cobalts alive through the hottest parts of the year.


----------



## poimandres (Mar 28, 2009)

I'm not sure about the frozen water bottle idea as I would be worried about any potential consequences that would result if the frogs were to make contact with it. 

AC and cooling the room itself instead of the individual vivarium is by far the best solution, but I understand if you don't want to (or cant) do this. There is no need for central air or a heavy duty ac unity. If you have the funds look for one of those mini-ac units or "air coolers" (~$100) that will be enough to drop the ambient air temp in the room with the vivs by 10 or more degrees.

Also, consider where the vivariums are placed in your house. Make sure that they are away from windows (particularly those that face north and west), and if you can try moving them to a room that faces south-east to keep it cooler during noon and late afternoon.

Other things to look into:

1. Perhaps dropping the wattage of your lights by a little bit over the summer months. I use CFLs and depending on the heating/cooling needs and time of year I alternate between 13watt and 23 watt bulbs.

2. If you have a false bottom and have a way to drain and fill it, consider filling it with cool water as this will drop the ambient temp a bit.

Good luck!


----------



## Mikembo (Jan 26, 2009)

You can use a humidifier to make a simlpe "swamp cooler", I think that is what Matt (Mcbobs) is getting to........ Keep some water in the fridge and add it in the humidifier during the hottest part of the day. You can search on the board on how to pipe in a humidifier, search fogger.

-Mike-


----------



## andred82vert (Apr 8, 2008)

the tanks are away from my windows, but my room faces south-west so its the hottest part of the house. I do have some black-out curtains considerably, but probably not enough when the california temps hit 90-100 degrees. I do have a portable AC, but that's gonna raise the electricity bill, but if i REALLY need to, i'll use it. I was thinking of quartine-ing the frogs in a tub and putting it in the coolest place in the house. Is this a good idea?


----------



## poimandres (Mar 28, 2009)

andred82vert said:


> the tanks are away from my windows, but my room faces south-west so its the hottest part of the house. I do have some black-out curtains considerably, but probably not enough when the california temps hit 90-100 degrees. I do have a portable AC, but that's gonna raise the electricity bill, but if i REALLY need to, i'll use it. I was thinking of quartine-ing the frogs in a tub and putting it in the coolest place in the house. Is this a good idea?


I would not place them in temporary tubs for the summer. This will only add stress to the frogs.

If you have the AC unit, id say go that route. It may boost your electric bill a bit for 3 months, but it will likely be less then the amount you have invested in your frogs.

How many watts is your portable AC unit? California charges about 15 cents per kilowatt hour, so a unit that uses 1000 watts (pretty high for a small portable unit) would cost you about $4 per day if ran at 24 hours.


----------

