I’m not sure the smell in the same room is a big factor except for rare cases (such as certain specific snakes that have been mentioned). I, like many people, raise prey in the herp room; there’s also proximity of reptile species that have a pretty clear predator/prey relationship (mountain kings and coleonyx geckos, for me) that seems generally to be a non-issue so long as there’s no line of sight contact.
One thing to consider with dogs and cats having access to a room with herps is that dogs and cats could give themself access to secure herp enclosures by knocking the enclosures over and/or breaking into them.
Also, consider what will happen when a herp gets loose, and how many closed and latched doors it would be good to have between it and something that could hurt/kill it or be hurt/killed by it. Redundancies help.
This is the exact reason I didn’t use overhead heat options like CHEs or lamps until they were in their own room and away from the cats. The fire risk alone is a terrifying thought if one got knocked off the lid
My recent new addition for that room is a draft guard to block off the space under the door too. Mostly in case of rodent escapes though. Lol
My reptile vet said once that keeping rodents in the same room with snakes is kinda like working at McDonalds. You smell the burgers and fries all day and by the time it’s time to eat you’re out of the mood for McDonalds burgers and fries……
Yeah, I was a bit concerned about this, so I actually used foil tape to tape the DHP dome to the screen so the cats can’t knock it over. I’ve also secured all external thermostat probes with extra tape so the cats can’t pull them loose.
I use big, heavy PVC caging, so there’s no risk of them knocking over or getting into the enclosures themselves, but making sure they can’t knock or pull anything else out of place is important. I also opted to get glass doors for my largest enclosure that sits on the ground, because I figured glass was less likely to get scratched by cat claws than the acrylic doors on my other cages.
I have never had a problem getting my BPs to eat thankfully. We’ve had rodents off and on within 25ft of them for years. It just was a matter of which rodent or how many. Sometimes 1 pet rat or the chinchilla. Sometimes a breeding group.
There’s actually a small group of button quail right now as well…
My only problem is my older Retic male definitely want those fries. Lol.
That sounds to me like low budget anthopomorphizing, and inaccurate and unhelpful because of it. One wonders what the evidence for such a claim was. Certainly not wild snakes that hang around human habitations for the constant supply of prey that run along those same tracks (ever see mouse sweat/dirt tracks along the base of a wall?) every day. Certainly not captive snakes that eat the exact same thing, from the exact same source, with the exact same scent, presented in the exact same way every Sunday evening like clockwork for 20 years unless they’re shedding. And can this be generalized to other species? Imagine all those poor horses, standing in all that grass, grass stains on their lips, not wanting grass because of it. All the fish in the water that smells just like minnows or leeches or whatever they’re so sick of eating. Mosquitos that just can’t even imagine another blood meal (well, this would be kind of cool).
Generalizing from omnivores that eat to shut their brain up (McDonalds is more a drug than food ) to relative prey specialists that eat to get calories seems unreasonable enough that I hope that comment was just intended as a joke.
Yeah that comment seemed a little strange to me but that’s just what she said when I asked her if it would hurt to keep a pet rodent I had at the time in the same room as my snakes.
All my boas and retics do not consider my dogs as a food source. I have owned dogs my entire life. Dog hair is everywhere in my home and on me sometimes. One of my dogs lived in my snake room. Until my son moved out.
Now I do let all my dogs smell my snakes. I control the head of the snake when they do this. My pitbull smells my babies boas all the time.
My old retic Tigger that was 16 feet long would crawl right over my dogs and not even look at the dogs.
Now I do own a few boas that are aggressive, and I don’t let them near the dogs.
All my dogs love their rop chew toys but have never attempted to do this to my snakes. They are always curious and gentle with them. They have even licked my snakes.
Here are some pictures of my dogs with my boas and retics.
Thanks Tom! I was so hoping you would see this thread. Thank you for reposting these pictures here. I was thinking about the pictures will reading through the thread.
Holly had trouble walking on my laminated flooring, so the socks helped her. She passed away last year, and she was 15 years old. She was one of the best dogs I have ever owned. She is buried in my yard right near where I will be buried someday.
Oh my goodness Tom I surely didn’t know that! I know ALL too well what it is like to lose a precious pet that you love dearly! Holly’s spirit is running jumping and playing at Rainbow Bridge as we speak. . God bless you Tom
I have left instructions that when I die the ashes of my cremated body be combined with the preserved ashes of all my beloved dogs that have passed before me.
I absolutely love those pictures Tom, some of my favorites. I never had an issue with my boas and dogs either, I just dont have pictures from back then. Even my vocal Argentine boas.
