ball python rack

[darrien421]

Hello. I am thinking about getting a rack system for my ball pythons. I have a normal male. Pastel male. And a bumblee female. I have them in glass aquariums now but im addicted to getting ball pythons. i want more snakes to breed so i need a rack system. The problem is they are a little expensive. Im going to a reptile exo on december 20th and probobly going to pick up 2 more ball pythons. Maybe if the price is right and not to bad i will get the racks there but. I was going to buy the tubs at walmart and just stack them with the heat lamp directed towords the tubs. Has anyone done this before? This will only be temporary untill i can afford to get everything i need for a rack system. What are everyones thoughts?

[Eric Alan]

What are everyones thoughts?

It's incredibly unlikely that you're going to get consistent temperatures using a single heat lamp with multiple tubs. My recommendation is to not buy more snakes than you can provide proper husbandry for and house properly. This means buy your equipment first (rack, heat tape, thermostat, etc), then buy your snakes - not the other way around.

[KMG]

If you can not afford the rack then you can not afford the snakes. You failed to mention anything about getting a tstat which is the most important thing you need to buy. Having a rack you are essentially putting all your eggs in one basket so to speak. Not having a proper tstat on a rack places every snake in danger. A good tstat is going to be $100+ so you need to figure that into the price of the rack system.

Your best bet for keeping stacked tubs at a good temp is placing them in a small room that you heat with a small heater.

Im with Eric and say get the housing taken care of before you start adding snakes.

[darrien421]

I already have a tstat i just do not have the rack. And its not that i dont have the money for one. I do i just dont want to blow 300$ right now. I was trying to find a cheaper way around it for now. All i was asking was how it wouod work out with stacking the tubs on top of another with heating them... I do not want to put a heating mat under them because it is plastic..

[KMG]

I already have a tstat i just do not have the rack. And its not that i dont have the money for one. I do i just dont want to blow 300$ right now. I was trying to find a cheaper way around it for now. All i was asking was how it wouod work out with stacking the tubs on top of another with heating them... I do not want to put a heating mat under them because it is plastic..

I get the first half but not the second. You do realize that most racks use flexwatt to heat the plastic tubs? That's why the tstat is so important. Using a uth with a plastic tub is fine with a good tstat.

As for the heat lamps and stacked tubs. I have used a lamp to heat one tub but never a stack of tubs. I think your best bet would be as I said and heat the area the stack is in. Maybe a small closet with a small heater.

[darrien421]

Yeah i understand that but i didint want to use the heat tape i would like the rack that has the heat wire that juat clips onto the bottom of the tubs so u can put as much or as little wire as youd like. Im just going to try to find 1 at the reptile expo next weekend