Snake room design

I'm in the process of buying a little farm in Pennsylvania. In the basement of the house is a room that is currently cinder block walls, concrete floor, and open ceiling joist. The dimensions of the room are 30'L x 14'W. I plan to make this room my man cave/snake room. How would you finish this room to make it a snake room? Leave the block walls, stud it out and dry wall, indoor/outdoor carpet, laminate flooring, down lights, 4' fluorescent fixtures, etc.... I'm also open to ideas for making the room escape proof or setting it up for hatchling production.

I plan to keep all my corns, 2 kings, and 2 Papuan carpets in this room all on ambient. I'm thinking an oil filled heater or 2 controlled by a herpstat. Since it is below grade and gets limited light from the small windows the lights will also be on a timer. Unfortunately since all 4 walls are block and it's below grade installing a utility sink might not be possible.

This is how I currently have most of my corns and kings on display and will be doing similar.

Congrats and good luck on buying the Farm. Ambient temp would be ideal being a snake room. And scape proof is a very smart idea.
Keep us posted.

If you are going to use ambient room temps it is almost a must that you frame in the walls with studs, and insulate the walls and ceiling well. If you intend to brumate your snakes, you could leave one section isolated with the block walls, almost like a walk-in closet. I used a similar set up with the corns in storage containers for brumation with belly heat tape set to 55 degrees in case the little room got too cold. I don't brumate now, but some breeders insist upon it to get their snakes cycling quicker.

If you use drywall on the walls and ceiling, the snakes can't really escape. If you have a door leading down to this basement room there are rubber door seals that can be added to the bottom of the door so that the snakes can't get under it.

I had a utility sink which drained into a covered sump pit, and a sump pump forced the water outside through pvc pipe. I had a lot of snakes and reptiles, so bringing all their containers upstairs wasn't a great option.

I worked like a madman to get my snake room all set up the way I wanted it, but it took me years to finish the rest of the house. LOL.

I'd probably frame out the wall and hang dry wall. If I do brumate I have other places I can put storage containers. Any suggestions for the flooring?

twolunger, anything you would not do or advise against? or lessons learned the hard way and had to change the setup?

Ceramic or porcelain tile flooring is the best. Waterproof and damage resistant. There are also vinyl plank tiles available that are supposedly waterproof, and easy to apply, but more costly per foot. I have used solarium type flooring, and it worked well in the basement, however, it was 12 feet wide, so had one seam. Usually not a problem. I've seen wood plank flooring that snaps together and looks great, but although it is said to be water resistant, it can buckle if water enters the seams. A quick wipe up of spilled water isn't usually a problem.

I'm in the process of tearing the carpeting out of my snake room, and the local Home Depot has ceramic tile for 79 cents per foot. I'll buy some today.

I did have to run a dehumidifier when I had snakes and other reptiles in my Michigan basement.

I was worried about power failures too. In my area snowstorms or ice storms sometimes caused power outages that last for days. The snake room dropped to 38-40 degrees. I went to rent a generator and ceramic heater, but everyone else had the same idea. You may want to have an alternate source of heat available, or locate a used generator.

This sounds like an outstanding project! Keep us posted and share your work progress.

I do have a generator for backup power if needed. There is also a fire place in the room and a port on the other side of the wall for a wood stove. The fire place is going to have the damper closed at all times unless in use. I'll probably build a tight fitting or locking screen for it so the little noodles can't get in there if they escape their tanks. The door to the room also needs a lot of work but that will probably come when I frame it out.

I recently did the home inspection and snagged a few crappy cell pics while there. The last one is a little guy I found inside the room so clearly needs sealed off better.

That's going to be an awesome snake room. When I did mine I painted the walls with Dri-Lock before adding the studs. As you know, moisture can get out of control pretty fast, causing mold and mildew. I also sealed the floor with concrete paint before laying down the solarium.

So since I'm going to be building this I'm also considering adding cctv cameras in case of theft (doubtful since I don't have neighbors) or an escaped snake I can replay the footage and track it down. I may also start researching a sprinkler system to protect them in case of a fire.

I do not have such a room, but my brother has one though. Honestly, I wouldn't say I like his room. I think it is too bright for the snakes. Though the design is pretty nice, my living room looks worse than his snake room, and I am not kidding. If I would design a snake room, I would definitely go for an ambient temp and for a scape proof, as I also consider it an excellent idea. I would also put a great rug on the floor, and I even know which one. I have got a new from rugsdoneright.com recently. It is one of the most unique rugs that I have ever seen, but I do not have where to put it to fit perfectly in a snake room.