Questions about Racks/Tubs

[paroxysm]

hey, all. in a few months i will most likely be getting a rack.
i have a few questions, though.

1) i see pictures of racks and it looks like there is no circulation. is it okay to drill air holes into the tubs?

2) are hides necessary for racks? i heard you don't need them, but i want to provide what's best for them.

3) heat tape makes more sense to me than using radiant heat panels. what is the advantage?

4) say you have a rack with three levels and two tubs each level. if all six snakes require the same temperatures, is it safe to plug all of the heat into a power expander, and then plug that into, say, a herpstat 1? or is it better to get a herpstat 6 and connect each one individually?

thanks for any replies!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

1) i see pictures of racks and it looks like there is no circulation. is it okay to drill air holes into the tubs?

Depending on the rack some have airflow on the top (ARS, Freedom Breeders), for other there is usually a 1/4 inch gap between the tub and the shelf however I prefer having more airflow and all my tubs have holes. Drilling can crack the plastic I recommend using a soldering iron it will be much faster too.

2) are hides necessary for racks? i heard you don't need them, but i want to provide what's best for them.

Depends on the snake I recommend to provide a hide see if the snake uses it or not and if it does not simply remove it. Usually younger snakes are the one who tend to need a hide in racks.

3) heat tape makes more sense to me than using radiant heat panels. what is the advantage?

Radient heat panel would not work in a rack it goes on the top and you could not slide the tub out, there is also too little room for that.

4) say you have a rack with three levels and two tubs each level. if all six snakes require the same temperatures, is it safe to plug all of the heat into a power expander, and then plug that into, say, a herpstat 1? or is it better to get a herpstat 6 and connect each one individually?

Cheap power-strip can be a fire hazard they can overheat and melt, if you do so you need to spend the money, but I recommend to have your heat plugged directly in your T-Stat.

Does not mean you have to have and Herpstat 6, all you have to do is wire your heat tape properly. My racks are 10 high and there is only one strip of heat tape running through the entire rack not 10.

[moonlightgdess]

hey, all. in a few months i will most likely be getting a rack.
i have a few questions, though.

1) i see pictures of racks and it looks like there is no circulation. is it okay to drill air holes into the tubs?

2) are hides necessary for racks? i heard you don't need them, but i want to provide what's best for them.

3) heat tape makes more sense to me than using radiant heat panels. what is the advantage?

4) say you have a rack with three levels and two tubs each level. if all six snakes require the same temperatures, is it safe to plug all of the heat into a power expander, and then plug that into, say, a herpstat 1? or is it better to get a herpstat 6 and connect each one individually?

thanks for any replies!

1. I use Animal Plastics racks (love them) and I drilled holes into all my tubs. The humidity was too high otherwise.
2. I don't use hides in mine, my snakes were never really interested in them. The tubs in my racks are only about 6" high and the hides I have took up a good chunk of the tub, so I left them out.
3. I don't know too much about radiant heat panels, I use flexwatt belly heat and it works great.
4. What Deborah said, it's much easier and safer to weave a long strip of flexwatt through the rack and plug that directly into a herpstat. I have 6 levels on my rack and the tape weaves back and forth throughout, plugs directly into my VE-100, then that plugs into the wall. I'm a big fan of "the less wiring, the better".

[paroxysm]

thanks so much for your replies!
will def be drilling some holes in my tubs when i get them
however i still don't understand how you have the same heat tape for all the different levels. do you have a picture of your wiring/set-up?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

thanks so much for your replies!
will def be drilling some holes in my tubs when i get them
however i still don't understand how you have the same heat tape for all the different levels. do you have a picture of your wiring/set-up?

My racks are C-serpent racks and look like this in the back http://cserpents.com/C_Serpents_Hot_Box/V-70.html as you can see the tape goes like in the picture in a S shape running from the top to the bottom.

[paroxysm]

oh i get it now... thanks deborah for your input! very helpful

[Oxylepy]

Just to throw this out there: You cannot undrill/melt holes. Work your way up to what works best for your air flow and you will save yourself the ugly prospect of covering them up.

I have a reptile basics sweaterbox rack, each tub has 4 holes in it. During winter months these holes point in to increase humidity. During summer months they point out to decrease humidity. Works great for where I live, and there aren't too many or too few holes.