Rat rack build question

So finally after years of waiting I am finally going to be able to start getting back into ball pythons. I have my own place and slowly getting my savings account built up so I am starting to get the essentials needed since I really don't want to be using my makeshift rack anymore. One of the major ways I am going to cut my costs is by breeding my own rats. I will be buying the construction supplies within the next couple weeks for my rat rack, but I am stuck on how I should go about watering them. I know people have automatic watering systems and swear by them, but I am not sure what I would even need to build such a system and searches on here and other sites aren't really getting me pictures or answers I want. I have also heard horror stories of drinking valves getting stuck and flooding the tubs. I live on the second story and I don't really need a flood ruining my floors, let alone leaking through to my elderly neighbor below me.

So my question is this, should I just stick to water bottles? I mean it's only going to be a 6 tub rack and I don't really think it's going to be to awful hard for me to fill the water bottles when they need to be since I will only be keeping a modest collection of snakes for now.


Any pics of your watering systems or links to some helpful threads/plans would be great.

Opinions would also be great as to if I should just stick to water bottles or would the automated watering system work a lot better?


Lastly, I can only find 1/2" hardware cloth and I have heard people having issues with this mainly with food getting stuck in it. Will I be okay or should I try finding some 1/3" some wheres?

Any opinions would be awesome.


Thanks,
Kevin

Those of us who use automatic systems can't be bothered with the hassle of changing water bottles every day or two, especially when there are several dozen (or more) tubs. If you don't mind the extra work then knock yourself out.

I haven't had any problems with the 1/2" cloth.

The 1/2 inch cloth works fine for me. I did water bottles for the first few months when I started breeding rats. I don't have a sink near my snake and rat room, so I was taking the bottles, putting them all in a bucket and carrying them up to the kitchen to refill. Doing that every single day when I got home from work got to be too much. I got my watering system from Reptile Basics and it's SOOOO much easier and more efficient to fill the 3 gallon bucket once every 3 or 4 days than it was refilling 6-10 water bottles every day.

Reptile Basics has everything you need for the system. (You can find most of what you need at local hardware stores as well, but I found it easier to order everything at once from RBI)

Reservoir with quick connect - http://www.reptilebasics.com/3-gallon-resevoir
Drinking valves - http://www.reptilebasics.com/rodent-...rinking-valve/ (one per tub obviously)
Water tubing - http://www.reptilebasics.com/flexible-water-tubing (as much as you think you need)
T-valves - http://www.reptilebasics.com/3-16-t-fitting (one for each tub)
Drain valve - http://www.reptilebasics.com/quick-connect-drain-valve

I can try to get pics of the setup on my rack tonight if you want...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Inknsteel

The 1/2 inch cloth works fine for me. I did water bottles for the first few months when I started breeding rats. I don't have a sink near my snake and rat room, so I was taking the bottles, putting them all in a bucket and carrying them up to the kitchen to refill. Doing that every single day when I got home from work got to be too much. I got my watering system from Reptile Basics and it's SOOOO much easier and more efficient to fill the 3 gallon bucket once every 3 or 4 days than it was refilling 6-10 water bottles every day.

Reptile Basics has everything you need for the system. (You can find most of what you need at local hardware stores as well, but I found it easier to order everything at once from RBI)

Reservoir with quick connect - http://www.reptilebasics.com/3-gallon-resevoir
Drinking valves - http://www.reptilebasics.com/rodent-...rinking-valve/ (one per tub obviously)
Water tubing - http://www.reptilebasics.com/flexible-water-tubing (as much as you think you need)
T-valves - http://www.reptilebasics.com/3-16-t-fitting (one for each tub)
Drain valve - http://www.reptilebasics.com/quick-connect-drain-valve

I can try to get pics of the setup on my rack tonight if you want...

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I mean my sink is only like 10 feet away so its not really a hassle. But I do work nights and sleep most of the day so I'm thinking I may go automated in case I forget to fill them. I would much appreciate pics!

I just use water bottles the bigger 32oz ones. but my kitchen sink is 30 feet from the rats. so it's no big hassle to fill them every other day. i do it in kind of a routine. i fill a big pitcher with water then i check each tub and fill bottles as i go. check for who had new babies dead babies. give evryone a scratch on the head etc. then move on to the snakes open every tub check for messes. top up the snakes water and so on. so in my mind the water filling helps me keep a closer eye on things. because i need to check on them on a more regular basis.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dillan2020

I just use water bottles the bigger 32oz ones. but my kitchen sink is 30 feet from the rats. so it's no big hassle to fill them every other day. i do it in kind of a routine. i fill a big pitcher with water then i check each tub and fill bottles as i go. check for who had new babies dead babies. give evryone a scratch on the head etc. then move on to the snakes open every tub check for messes. top up the snakes water and so on. so in my mind the water filling helps me keep a closer eye on things. because i need to check on them on a more regular basis.

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I do the pitcher method each night when I check on the snakes after work. It just got to the point where I was spending so much time and energy on the rats that I didn't have as much as I'd like to devote to the snakes. The watering system eliminates that extra nightly work and now I'm back to enjoying my collections.

Kevin - I'll take pics when I get home and I'll post them tonight.

I use 1/2 inch hardware cloth and water bottles for my 6 tub rack and spend about 10-15 min an evening in maintenance with the snakes and rats. My sink in close to the rats as well so I just did not want to mess with the automatic watering :)

I'm kinda leading towards a automated system now not because I'm lazy, but just because I do plan to build a birthing rack too and it looks like it will be cheaper than buying 12 or more water bottles. Thanks for the input guys

Also, what is the quick connect drain valve for? Sorry for the stupid question. How many would I need?

The quick connect drain valve is installed at the bottom. It comes in handy when you fill the system because you can bleed the air out of the lines through the drain valve. Also if you need to drain the lines for any reason, you can just disconnect the top end from the reservoir and open the drain at the bottom... You should only need one.