my rack/shelf idea...

[mommanessy247]

i would someday love to own 3 ball pythons-1 black pewter, 1 piebald & 1 mojave or cinny. i want to house them in 3 36" reptile cages from npicages.com & i wanna build a shelving unit out of red mahogany stained red oak boards.
i want the cages so i can properly display these beautiful animals & their habitats. wait they'll be hiding 90% of the time...lol didnt think of that one. oh well. i dont want a tub rack cuz you cant see into their tubs very well.
the cages i want at least have front opening doors where i can do everything from the front, not over the top of them.
& i dont need a tub rack cuz im only gonna have 3 snakes.
this is what my fiancees face looked like when i told him my plans...
this was me... "dont tell me no"

[stratus_020202]

Lol. Good luck stopping at 3

[mommanessy247]

i know but i picked my top 3 favorite morphs & will be sticking to those.
i will also have 3 birds, a fish tank & possibly 2 turtle tanks to take care of as well so i wont have time for more then 3 snakes, i hope.

[stratus_020202]

Lol. You would be suprised. They are super easy to take care of. Well, for the most part. I have 10, and I think they are a piece of cake as long as nothing goes wrong. Lol. We feed on Wed nights though. That way they all usually bathroom on the weekend, and I'm not up late on the week night cleaning cages

I think you're plans sound really good though I find it easier to feed from the top rather than from the side, but you might find the other easier. Guess it also depends on if you're feeding live/frozen. Frozen shouldn't really make a difference.

I bought clear tubs from Walmart and can easily see my babies. Lol. At night that is. Hopefully you get it set up soon so we can all see what it looks like

[mommanessy247]

after doing math all day, i've finally figured out the cost of making the shelf unit for 3 snakes.
the unit will cost me around $1,100 to make. not too bad.

[mommanessy247]

if i get anymore then 3 snakes then i'd be tempted to breed them & i definitely dont wanna go there. i dont want to become a hoarder/collector...that & my fiancee wont allow it. he's only allowing me to have 1 snake cuz he knows im gonna do what i wanna do regardless of how he feels.
a little selfish i know, but i get mad when he tells me what i do/ do not need. i will argue endlessly for my cause & fight tooth and nail for something i really want & he knows that.
if he stands his ground & says no more then 1 snake, then i will still build the unit but make it to fit 1 terrarium & a rat cage which will cost me a bit less to build then my original 3 shelf unit. you know what, i'm gonna do the math to figure out how much a 2 shelf unit will run me...im curious now, lol.

[mommanessy247]

ok so a 2 shelf unit for 1 snake cage & a rat cage with 2 cabinet doors on the bottom will run me about $1,250 considering i will have to order custom cabinet doors & a custom mantel for the project. hmmm but i still want 3 snakes...i could keep the 3 snake cages on the shelves & the rat cage on top but that would mean no custom built mantle...[sigh] not getting the mantel would knock off $327...but getting it adds beauty to the prodject. grr i guess i'll have to sleep on it & think about it more tomorrow.

[mommanessy247]

ok, so i had a good night's sleep & woke up to another idea.
if i build a 3 shelf unit with a mantel then i will build a seperate stand/cabinet for the rat cage. (the cabinets will be for storage of supplies)
if my fiancee stands his ground and does not allow me to have more then 1 snake, then i will build a 2 shelf unit with cabinets at the bottom, again for storage.
the purpose of building a seperate stand for the rat cage is so that i can still have the mantel i want to go ontop of the 3 shelf unit.
i will also have a mantel ontop of the 2 shelf unit.
that way, they'll all look like nice furniture, not just a plain 'ol unattractive rack.
the rat cage stand/cabinet will only cost $350 to make.
so rundown of the prices again:
3 shelf unit w/mantel- $1,100
2 shelf unit w/cabinets & mantel- $1,250
stand/cabinet for rat cage- $350
not bad...not bad at all.

[mommanessy247]

ok lets see if this works...
heres a paint program illustration of my future rack/shelf unit.

[mommanessy247]

yay it worked! there it is for all to see. the only thing i couldn't draw up was the mantel i want to go ontop of the the shelf. i wanted a nice piece of furniture that i could build to hold 3 36" cages from npicages.com. i realized last night that i could put the rat cage on top of it but i wanted the mantel too much to do that, so i drew up the plans for a seperate stand/cabinet for the rat's cage.
i'll defintely post pics when i get 'em done. it'll be awhile though cuz i'll have to save up the cash for those projects ontop of saving up for the snakes themselves & buying their supplies.