pro exotic burned

one of my fav places to get and look at snakes.

Just read the article... so sad I couldn't image.

I found this line in one of the artical........

"I think the animals in this facility are a total loss," Markland said

I hope that means they have animals in there places.

Makes me really sad to read something like that.. could happen to any of us...

Over 3,000 snakes lost. They do have other facilities, but the loss is tremendous. These are the same guys that own and run Ship Your Reptiles.

I ant even phomtom 3000 snakes, I had about 200 adult corns at one point. but 3000...... thats a food bill no matter how you do it.

Yea no matter how big the operation it is a pretty big amount

I've been continuing to watch this and although they have not released the cause, I can't help but wonder if flexwatt and proportional thermostats had anything to do with it. This fire was a wake up call for me. There have been several fires at breeders facilities. Even the owner of Off The Ark had his house burn down in a fire. Always looking for ways to improve, I've researched thermostats.

My research found that proportional thermostats fail in the open or full power position. On/off thermostats fail in the off position. That means using proportional thermostat alone could be a fire hazard. If that is the case, I don't want to take any chances.

To ensure maximum fire safety, I've installed on/off thermostats to backup every proportional thermostat in my ballroom. Every time I buy a new rack, I buy two thermostats, one as a primary (proportional) and one as a backup(on/off). Something to think about, if you have thermostats and flexwatt.

Ive quit useing flex watt after it shorted two time on different cages. It burned holes thought vision cages. just dont trust it any more. Iam useing rope type now. I also know that joe has had the same problem.

That is horrible, I just read an article about it. I'm with Steve, it's hard for me to imagine 3000 snakes. That has got to be one of the worst feelings ever, losing all of those animals, the time and money lost and having to start all over.

I use rheostat's in between my thermostat's and power sources. Most of my RHP's run about 30-40% when at a desired temp. Retarding the output by about 10% with a rheostat causes the thermostat to deliver a slightly higher percentage, but when it's running 100%, the rheostat is only allowing the output to hit 90%. If the thermostat fails in the ON position, it should never exceed 90% power that is set on the rheo. I have never had a rheo fail yet and they are cheap.

Since the PE incident, I have got a dry chemical, class A B & C fire extinguisher. If you are interested in a F/E, make sure you get one that covers at least these three classes.

Class A will put out wood and paper. This will be your substrates and sometimes cages.
Class B will be for any flammable liquids that may be in the room.
Class C will be for electrical fires, i.e. flexwatt

Knowing where your breakers are for your room is key. If you have a fire extinguisher, make sure it is readily available and easily accessible. You don't want to run through a fire to get to your extinguisher. I keep mine at the front door. I also keep bags by the front door in case I have to take who I can and run.