rack lighting ?'s

[drew5337]

So for those of you who use a rack and tub caging system, how is it lit, and how important is adequate lighting? I'm building a shelf style rack that will be belly heated with flexwatt, and the long side of the tub facing out. Will enough natural light get in that way, or do I need to configure some other method of lighting? The shelfs will hold five 28qt sterlite tubs for some juveniles that I have/am getting. Thanks!

[jkobylka]

If your using the rack for ball pythons, then lighting is not really a concern, except for if you want to see your snakes well without opening the drawers. Generally speaking though, your bps will appreciate having a nice dark tub. Whatever light that comes in (especially if the tub is in the rack lengthwise) will be plenty.

Justin

[CntrlF8]

If your using the rack for ball pythons, then lighting is not really a concern, except for if you want to see your snakes well without opening the drawers. Generally speaking though, your bps will appreciate having a nice dark tub. Whatever light that comes in (especially if the tub is in the rack lengthwise) will be plenty.

Justin

exactly.. If you DO light your rack somehow (which is entirely possible to do, btw...) you'll want to make sure you're providing adequate hides, since they won't want to be out in the "daylight" all the time.

Just to give you some ideas... Boaphile Plastics recently started offering lighting in their racks. They do this by routing a channel in the shelf above each tub, and installing flexible tube lights like you'd see at a club or skating rink. If I were building a rack and wanted to install lighting, I'd just tack it in the back-top corner of each shelf, and adjust my shelf depth accordingly. Then you'd have each shelf back-lit, and you'd always be able to see what's going on in the tubs.

[drew5337]

Awesome, thanks for the tips. I figured with them being nocturnal and hiding alot anyway that the lighting wasn't that big of a deal. I started out with the typical 10gal aquarium, but I'll be glad to get my girls into something more suited to their needs.

[Sparky1]

Just remember if you you want to add something like the rope lighting that to is a heat source!

[CntrlF8]

it's an LED light source, though, so the heat output is nearly negligible...

[LadyOhh]

Lighted only when I am in the room with ambient overhead light from my room

[MarkS]

I don't worry about lighting at all, my herp room has a north facing window that is always uncovered, but the light supplied by that is negligible. I do have strong fluorescents in the room that are on when I'm in there working, but the timing on that is pretty sporadic since I'm in there whenever I have a spare minute. It's never seemed to bother any of my snakes, whether they're balls or burms or corns.

Mark