Rat Rack Fever!

Well, I was outgrowing my current rat breeding capabilites using lab-style rodent cages, so I decided to bite the bullet and build some racks. After looking at a few designs I decided on Tim Bailey's design (Thanks Tim!!). I was going back and forth between flex tubing or PVC and was about to go with flex, but Home Depot didn't have the selection of T's and other fittings that I needed for the drip emitters that I had purchased. So... I went with PVC.

The only changes I made from Tim's design besides having to adjust for a larger size tub from Home Depot was adding a drain valve on the bottom and placing some 1/8" hardboard on the sides. I needed the hardboard because the 1" x 2" rails that I got from Home Depot were slightly rounded and I found that every time I pulled the tub in or out, they would catch on the rounded corners and slip out of their grooves falling on the tub beneath them. :mad: The hardboard cleared that problem right up, though. :)

The rats seem happy with the extra room, and it's quite a bit easier to clean and maintain than the lab cages. :sunny:

http://www.superiorserpents.com/PubPics/rack1.jpg

http://www.superiorserpents.com/PubPics/rack2.jpg

http://www.superiorserpents.com/PubPics/rack3.jpg

http://www.superiorserpents.com/PubPics/rack4.jpg

Very nice rack, good job. You're probably going to wish that you put the shut off valve on the other side of the quick connecter next to the bucket though.

Mark

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Originally Posted by MarkS

Very nice rack, good job. You're probably going to wish that you put the shut off valve on the other side of the quick connecter next to the bucket though.

Mark

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Thanks Mark! But why would I want the connector on the other side? I did leave a little PVC room between the valve and elbow in case I had to make any modifications, but hopefully I won't need to. The reason I placed the quick connector on that side was because I didn't want a huge pipe and valve attached to the bucket in case I had to move, replace, or clean the bucket.

Very nice Lawrence! You amish are quite the craftsmen.;)

They look great Lawrence! Wheels are something I wish I had put on our racks all the time, I'm sure you will appreciate them. I had a similar problem with tubs falling from the rail (had a couple instances with ~30 weanlings running around as a result :oops: ) and did a similar fix too. As for the ball valve, having them on the bucket side of the union would allow you to shut off the flow and remove the bucket if it is still full, without having to drain the entire bucket first. I'm sure the rats love the new digs! :D

-Evan

Con-RACK-u-Latinos!!!! :P They look great!!! I'm loving mine...... Don't miss filling water bottles 2x a day at all! lol

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Originally Posted by JBallPython

Very nice Lawrence! You amish are quite the craftsmen.;)

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Thanks, you should have seen the rack raising party! Puts the barn raising parties to shame. :P

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Originally Posted by Evan Jamison

As for the ball valve, having them on the bucket side of the union would allow you to shut off the flow and remove the bucket if it is still full, without having to drain the entire bucket first. I'm sure the rats love the new digs!

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Ahh... okay, I suppose that makes sense. It shouldn't be much of a problem because I put the drain valve on the bottom and I was planning on draining/cleaning the bucket periodically anyway. The wheels do help a lot, though. I wish I had put them on my first snake rack, so when I decided to build these it was something I really wanted.

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Originally Posted by Laooda

Con-RACK-u-Latinos!!!! They look great!!! I'm loving mine...... Don't miss filling water bottles 2x a day at all! lol

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Thanks Laura! :) I know what you mean about the bottles. I still check on the rats every morning before work, but now instead of refilling bottles I'm just checking on the cute pups and such. :P

Lawrence,
Those things look great. I have been in love with that design for a while now, as it seems to produce plenty of rats for me. I am glad my DIY page could help another herper become more self sufficient. Job well done. And, as others stated, I put my valve on the other side of the union, but with a drain valve on the bottom, I don't think you will have any problems with your design. When do you start work on your next one? It seems that as soon as I build one, Monica tells me she needs another. LOL.

p.s. I am glad you love the wheels. I didn't add those lifesavers until I built my fifth rack. Then Monica liked them so much, I had to retrofit wheels on my first four racks. I am debating adding wheels to all of my CB-70 racks to. Boy is that going to be a project (we are up to 10 CB-70 racks now).

Congrats,

Thanks Tim. :D Your rack page is awesome and very easy to follow. I picked up the air stapler like you suggested, and couldn't be happier. That thing saved a lot of time and effort. :)

Oh, and I had to search around for those rubber washers too, but ended up finding them labeled as 1" hose washers at Orchard Supply Hardware (it might be a west coast store).

Usually there are things that I would want to tweak or change after building something, but I can't really think of anything I would want to change in this design.

Thanks again! :sweeet: