Upgrading to a rack system
I currently have individual glass fishtanks for my BPs and was thinking of upgrading to a rack system. Is this a good idea? Do the racks generally stay warm enough for them? How does basking work? Do they need it in the racks? Can I put substrate in it? I'm just really sick of trying to heat the tanks and keep them humid and with a rack I can get more BPs in the future :)
Any info would be appreciated!
Thanks!
Re: Upgrading to a rack system
I'm still at the glass terrarium stage too, but I'm on the edge of needing a rack. To answer you questions yes, with heat tape mounted under the back of the tubs or down the back wall of the rack, and a thermostat it is easily kept warm enough. A 90+ degree hot/80+ degree cool side is not at all hard to maintain. And ambient air temps generally stay up. As far as "basking" the snake will move from the warm to cool side as it desires. Since there are only a few holes drilled in the tubs for ventilation they hold humidity very well. Some use paper, paper towels, or a substrate. It all depends on your ambient humidity and what you need to do to keep it up in your rack. Just like with glass terrariums you will need to upgrade your rack size as your snakes grow. Hobbyist breeders generally have at least 2 racks. One for the breeders snakes and one for the hatchlings with at least a couple different sized tubs. Some people with racks still use hides, but many don't. It's just a plastic drawer with a water paper towels and a water bowl. Anyone else feel free to add to my knowledge. Also you can do a search on YouTube for almost anything involving reptile breeding and you'll see many people's racks of all kinds. This is just what I know, and I don't even have a rack . . . .yet.
Upgrading to a rack system
Racks will only work if you can keep the room they're in at 78-80 to maintain ambient temperatures.
Tubs are so much easier than tanks, and you can still decorate them like a tank setup if you wanted. I have my tiny girl in a larger tub with two hides and a big water dish.
You can use any substrate you'd like but I stick to paper towels.
Re: Upgrading to a rack system
So my rack came today with my VE-100 Thermostat and everything is looking good. My room can be a bit cold at times, ambient temp about 70, the heat tape is set to 92 degrees and the inside of the tubs reach around 85 degrees.
My questions is about the hysterisis, what should I set it at? 3? 0? I was a bit confused about that. And should I heat it up a bit more? make the hot side around 87?