1: Disposable Gloves
The first item on my list of reptile room necessities is probably the one that is the most indicative to me. In my many years of reptile keeping, I have found that I have a severe allergy to not only aspen and pine beddings – but also to mice and rats. It is assumed that this is derivative of the beddings they are most commonly kept on. For my own comfort I have found that regularly wearing disposable gloves while working with my snakes has made things easily bearable. I use the “extra strong” type – but just about any will work. I have also found that being able to remove and replace on the fly is an easy way to manage cross contamination between different groups of animals – specifically animals in quarantine.
2: Service Cart
The number one item that I use the most is my plastic service cart. It has rolling and locking casters on the model I have. This is just the most amazing work station I can imagine. The model that I have is big enough to hold an 18 X 18 X 24 gecko terrarium and move around to do a full clean on it. I use this for everything from working with baby snakes that are being stubborn feeders (Clamp light can come in for some secret sauce) to full break downs on rack systems. Get one that can hold a decent amount of weight and will hold up to being tossed around. I’ve even used mine to cart snakes around my house for picture taking outside or moving to the brumation closet. Having a mobile operations base is just endlessly valuable. Be sure to keep it clean and sanitize often. Also I would suggest getting the biggest one you can fit into your reptile room and still have room to work around.
3: Temp Gun
I’m sure this is a staple in most reptile rooms – but it just can not be overlooked. Being able to check temperatures on the fly is just vital to consistency in your room. I am a strong proponent of keeping records of temperatures and light cycles. The more knowledge you have of your room – the stronger you will be as a keeper and breeder.
4: Bath & Body Works Wallflower
Do you know how bad Pituophis stink? It’s bad. Why would anybody want a room full of these things? I needed to find a way to overcome the smell – and even though I clean every day – some poop is bound to happen while I’m at work or god forbid sleeping. My reptile room is just about in the middle of my house – if it smells bad – the whole house smells bad. I absolutely hate bad smells – and luckily my wife is the same way. I have found that, for my size room, the Bath & Body Works wallflowers work amazingly. Its killer the amount of pleasant smells you will get out of these simple items. Your olfactory receptors will thank you. Your significant other will thank you. Your house guests will thank you. Nothing will ever beat proper cleaning – you need to keep up with that for your hygiene as well as your animals. You cannot replace that. But if you want to keep the “pet shop” smell to a minimum – I would try one or two of these. Shout out to Oahu-Coconut sunset and Beach Day – these smell great.
5: Amazon Echo
In almost every single situation I need my jams! Being able to put on music and podcasts without using your hands is just the best. Mental clarity while working is pivotal to keeping up motivation. A lot of keepers that make the move to “breeders” or are to the size of having a whole reptile room, are going to be spending a lot of time with their animals. Burnout is real – almost everyone that gets invested in this hobby will feel it. Keeping your motivation up and constantly having fun keep you moving forward. It will always promote positivity.
Another great use for these is for setting timers – maybe you have a snake that has laid a beautiful clutch for you and you want to do some 10-15 min soaks to help promote good passage of anything left in the egg chamber (this might not be the scientific term of this) – well you can just say “Alexa set me a 10 minute timer” hands free and you won’t forget about it. Want weather updates for pairing animals? Want to know what the current humidity is in Bora Bora? Want to know if “egg chamber” is the technical term for snake insides? Just ask Alexa. I use the echo dot in my room and it is more than loud enough (in fact it can be too loud) – for $35.00 to $40.00 you just can beat it. Shout out to playing songs like “Slayer – Reign in blood” While working with ornery Texas rats, or throwing on some relaxing “Modest Mouse – Float on” while working with your Eublepharidae. Make your own playlists and have some damn fun.
funny how a lot of people use almost all of the exact same things in their rooms.