Rack Questions

[futurebpowner]

So I finally decided to switch to racks. I was curious are there any special requirements for ball pythons in racks? How do you maintain and monitor proper humidity? Will temps stay the same in all tubs? Is cypress mulch a good substrate for tubs? Do they need hides? And is there anything else I need to know? Sorry if this is obnoxious, but I want to make sure everything is perfect when I get a rack.

[TheSnakeGuy]

Humidity is easily managed with the right number of holes in the tubs and the right substrate. I use paper towels misted down a couple times a week. I have hides in one tub because one snake kept burrowing under the paper towels. Some people use ReptileBasics hides and some use none at all. The tub itself is now a big hide just like the animal burrows and termite mounds that are ball python's natural homes. I would stay away from cypress in a rack because it holds so much moisture that your humidity will be too high. If you were to use a substrate I would go with aspen shavings because it doesn't hold so much moisture. As for heating, as long as all of your heat sources are the same size they will receive the same power output from the thermostat. All of your tubs should generally be within a degree of each other.

[qegalpal]

I was curious are there any special requirements for ball pythons in racks? every rack needs a thermometer to regulate the heat. some thermometers can regulate more than one rack.

How do you maintain and monitor proper humidity? depends on your substrate and where the rack will be kept. you will probably have to do some tweaking to get to a good level. I've actually read somewhere that said to just keep the water bowl over the hot spot. I mist them daily.

Will temps stay the same in all tubs? if it was wired correctly, the different levels should be within a degree of each other.

Is cypress mulch a good substrate for tubs? it's one of many that people use. I use old newspapers and paper towels.

Do they need hides? yes. but some people like the black racks to keep from having to buy hides, theory being they stay dark enough to not need one.

And is there anything else I need to know? they are actually not that hard to make. I actually had one where the heat went out and I took the
entire thing apart, added new flex watt and it's up and running perfectly. Easy way out, but hey it only cost me $45, not $500 for a new one.

good luck

[kitedemon]

Racks are an exercise in balance. They rarely have the same temps on every level. They depend on a lot of conditions to come from the room that houses them. The ambient and cool side temps relate to the room typically they do not do well in rooms less than 75ºF I would recommend the room be kept to this temp or higher. With out exceptional efforts it is not reasonable to expect more than a few degrees increase in ambient air temps.

Cyprus is fine newspaper as well kraft papers coco coir aspen all work well. Paper towels are the only substrate that is know to be lethal if ingested so I would not suggest them.

Rack materials should be highly water resistant, have high ignition temps and should not burn well (at all). Always keep in mind that cleaning is quite a task in a rack. I would suggest bin covers to speed this job. The upper contact surface is hard to clean and exceptionally difficult to sanitize. I also would suggest every heat source have independent control again with cleaning in mind disconnecting a single 'layer' allows disinfection with out shock risk and with out shutting down the whole rack.

the easiest humidity solution is to humidify the room. this allows good ventilation with out sacrificing humidity. Good ventilation is important building a petri dish grows bacteria too fast and can result in severe health issues. The safest is to opt for more rather than less. I use the one hour guide with the water bowl removed and dry substrate the tub should stabilize to the room RH in less than one hour. (one air change per hour) to avoid what in building would be 'sick building syndrome' a space that does not vent properly and grows an overly abundant amount of bacteria.

[futurebpowner]

I plan on keeping the racks in my room. It would be really hard to keep my room at 75 degrees and to humidify it. How do I keep the racks ok without messing with the temps and humidity of my room? Also I was looking at only getting a 6 tub for my adults and a small 15 tubs for hatchlings.

[kitedemon]

I can tell you how I manage a rack in a room that is below 68ºF most of the time.

The rack is re designed from factory with air channels under the flex watt. The channels vent to the tub below each one. (the top has none) they add a few degrees to the air. The rack is fully insulated all sides. I run 4 inch flexwatt and 17 inch flexwatt to hold the cool end. The big issue is the temp variation top to bottom so I had to run 2 zones top 2 and bottom 3. That means a herpstats 4 to run the temps (top hot spots, bottom hot spots, Top cool end, bottom cool end) Due to the close to 100% coverage on the heater a failsafe is in place on the top hot spot as well.

The tubs are vented on the one end and two sides. One end is vent free this allows it to be turned out to the room (lower ambients) or into the back of the rack for warmer ambient temps.

The big issue is UTH don't heat air and you should have ventilation which drops the air temps. The problem of heating air is a real one and very complex. This is the big issue of a rack there is no effecient way to heat the air inside. This is why most racks are kept in rooms at or near 80ºF.

Humidity will come from substrate choice and water bowl. Same as everything else, some believe using exhalation of the snake to raise humidity by stopping most of the air flow but this is linked to high bacteria counts and can result in RI. I'd not recommend low ventilated systems. If the water bowl and substrate is not enough regular misting maybe needed.

Low ambients makes the humidity more complex as cool air carries less water than warm (RH is just how much % you are to saturated) it varies with air temp cool rooms need higher RH.

Royals (BP) need about 15.5 gm/m3 of water in the air to shed properly. @ 80ºF that is 60%RH but at 68ºF that is 89% RH it compounds the problem.

[futurebpowner]

I'm sorry this is very confusing. Is there anyway you could send me a pic? BTW which racks do you think are best to get?

[futurebpowner]

Ok so my room stays around 73 degrees naturally so I figured I could get a space heater and bump the ambient up to 80 or 77 degrees will this be OK? Also I found a guy willing to make me the rack I want for the price I want. It's made out of plywood is that good for BP's? I was also wondering how you guys keep an eye on your temps and humidity, do you put thermometers in the tubs? I live in GA where humidity is pretty good is cypress mulch too wet, and should I use aspen? I was looking at the Van Ness water bowls, which size is best for adult BP's? I know it's a lot of questions, but I want to get it right the first time. Thanks for the help

[kitedemon]

Plywood is the second best material IMO to PVCx. Mine is an AP PVCx rack and fully closed. I can't really take a picture as you cant really see the modifications with out taking it completely apart. Yes 77 would make it way easier.

[futurebpowner]

Awesome thank you! Also what about substrate and what size bowls? How do you keep an eye on your temps and humidity?