Rack question

I made my first rack and had an eight of an inch gap between the tubs. Now I can only find a spacer that is a fourth of an inch. Would that be too much for baby balls? And would it keep humidity enough?

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Originally Posted by mattj8501

I made my first rack and had an eight of an inch gap between the tubs. Now I can only find a spacer that is a fourth of an inch. Would that be too much for baby balls? And would it keep humidity enough?

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You need to explain yourself better so people can understand just what you are asking. I see the "eight " means "eighth",but why would you be worried about a gap between the tubs? In my hatchling rack,the tubs sit side by side on each level,but the space between the tubs makes no difference whatsoever. Are you talking about a gap between the tub and the top of the rack slot?

Only venting at the top is very very poor ventilation. Think about grocery store freezers with open tops if there was good ventilation they would not work at all. They do work it is a demonstration of how poor just top vents are. Using the snakes exhalation as humidity is not a good idea at all. Water vapor comes from the water bowl and moisture in the substrate. With dry substrate and water bowl removed the tub should drop to the rh of the room in an hour or less. Otherwise you risk making a petridish and growing massive amounts of bacteria.

The top gap needs only be enough to allow free movement of the tub hole in the sides provide ventilation. I use a pair of CDs as spacer


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I can tell you know that 1/4" will probably be too much of a gap. I had an adult male in a tub with a 1/4" gap and he was constantly rubbing his chin in the gap. He couldn't escape, but he did end up with a bump on his chin :(

Shoot for 1/8". using a CD or two is a good idea.



Kitedemon, how do you feel about freedom breeder and ARS tubs that only vent on the top? My freedom breeder is doing fine without any holes in the tub, but only because the entire top is mesh.

Do the tubs fit in the rack if you put the lids on them? My husband made another rack over the weekend and left a bit too much space between the shelves, as the last one he made is a bit of a snug fit. With the tops on the tubs fit perfectly. We just made sure to add enough ventilation holes to compensate for the lack of air exchange at the top of the tub.

In order to close the gap you could easily add a couple layers of poster board under the tub. Just cut them long enough so they reach from the front of the shelf almost to the heat source in the back. You could also try a piece of cardboard. It would lift the tub off of the heat source a tiny bit so you might have to increase the temp a couple degrees.

I am not using solely the top for ventilation. I was just asking if it would be too much space to manage humidity properly. I am talking about between the top of the tub and the shelf. I got them all down to about 1/8" except for one shelf but I can go back and fix that. Forgot about the cd trick.