Fully Enclosed Snake Racks?

so far because it is this time of year. i seem to be doing ok keeping my temperatures alright for my first BP. however, i am concerned about the coming months and when things get cold. I do not have a room that i can just keep hot all the time nor do i have any desire to do so for my whole house. i do not have a closet i can use either. my setup now is a 15 QT tub with two heating mats for hot and cold side with thermostats. i know this will not be good enough when my house is in the 60s. and at some point he is gonna need to upgrade to a 28 qt which will be a little harder to get my temps right from what i am reading because it is bigger.

I plan to get more snakes (i only want about 5 total) but only if i can keep them healthy and safe. I want to use a rack system. i like how efficient they are and still give the animal the security it needs and i can slowly add to my collection with appropriate tubs sizes and upgrade as needed and fit the tubs on to the shelves. I do not think a normal snake rack will be able to provide the heat that is needed in a house that cold or even colder to keep the animals safe with just belly heat alone. (i live in Louisiana and do not run the heater often). do they make a fully enclosed snake rack (obviously with breathing holes) or is there a DIY that is of similar nature that someone can point me in the right direction to?

basically what i am envisioning is a snake rack like you normally see with the belly heat with the hot side but the behind the hot side is a separate compartment that has a heating element or some sorts (oil heater, a panel, idk something that's safe) and a door on the front. its like a regular snake rack but is a little longer to accommodate the heating element and has a door to keep in the heat.

does something like this exist? or am i stupid? I'm concerned I'm gonna need to give my snake away because his well being might be in jeopardy come the colder months. sorry not trying to be dramatic i just don't want him to die and it is my fault.

Thanks everyone!

When you get creative with "DIY", there's no limits. Not sure of the actual dimensions you'd need ultimately to fit your "rack system", but from where I sit, I'd look into furniture, specifically a large "wardrobe" made of wood (great insulation) that you could modify. I've modified furniture in the past to suit my snakes, & so have many others. There's newly-built (I'd avoid anything made of particle-board stuff) or used furniture (check ads & thrift stores), or even un-finished (solid wood) furniture you can buy & finish to your own preferences.

If you do any staining (etc) though, you need to let it off-gas for a long time for safety (so get started long before you need it!)-your snakes should never be breathing any fumes from such products, & you'd want to use low or no-VOC products anyway- they're healthier for you too. We have members here that have serious skills that will hopefully chime in with their suggestions, & you might find a local handyman/furniture guy that needs the work to build it for you, to your exact specs.

One large cabinet that I converted years ago, I did most of the work myself (I have some experience finishing furniture, & the "open" cabinet was bought unfinished- I added a back, sides ventilated with perforated metal, a recessed light in the lift-up top, heat tape connected to a thermostat, etc.) but I contracted out making the front doors with glass windows- & he used super long 'piano hinges' to attach the doors to the cabinet- they were perfect, beautiful & functional. I still have the cabinet- it began as a large multi-purpose media or book case, & after it served as a custom snake home for some years, I gave it another make-over, & now it's a very serviceable china hutch. Solid wood furniture is worth the initial investment, IMO- it can become whatever you need, though if you are inclined to move in the near future, consider that large heavy wardrobe cabinets may be all but impossible to move- so consider your lifestyle & the permanence issue for where you currently live, including whether you're renting or owning.

BTW, it's a whole lot easier & faster to modify a furniture cabinet for ONE snake than it is for a rack system. Since you only have one snake for now, why not modify something for him for this fall/winter, then see how it goes before you proceed to plan for expansion? Especially since you voiced concern about being able to keep him healthy. Don't get ahead of yourself- it's very easy to do. ;)

Thank you for reaching out. I agree I may be getting ahead of myself thinking about more snakes but if the cost was close to the same and I could set up for more snakes spending the close to the amount of money then I figured why not?

I look more into the wardrobe idea. I was wanting to see if there was anything that someone had made that was close to what I was describing. It just seems easier if someone else did it and tested it first obviously. Plus my creativity skills aren't always that great. But I love seeing others ideas. I'm surprised not a lot of people that have experience have chimed in yet. Perhaps they will.

Thanks

If you DIY your own rack just install two strips of heat tape: one in the back that you will set up to create a hot spot of 90-92*f, and one up front that heats the floor to 80-82*F. You can also use wider heat tape.

In the warmer months you could just turn off the cool side heat tape.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcr229

If you DIY your own rack just install two strips of heat tape: one in the back that you will set up to create a hot spot of 90-92*f, and one up front that heats the floor to 80-82*F. You can also use wider heat tape.

In the warmer months you could just turn off the cool side heat tape.

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Does this really work? I mean I'm having some issues now with ambient temps at night if I put my central AC to low. Needless to say wife is complaining :laughing::laughing:

Forgot to mention I'm using 2 UTH one at 90 other at 80

What's your house ambient temp?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcr229

What's your house ambient temp?

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summer time 68-73 degrees F

winter 58-66 F

sorry late reply been busy

If your house gets that cold then you should either put everything into a proper well-insulated reptile enclosure with an RHP to increase the ambient temp, and belly heat to create a basking spot, or you will be using an enclosed rack with front/rear belly heat plus a wide strip of back heat to increase the ambient air temp inside the rack.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...snake_rack.png