Multi unit cages

As far as ball pythons are concerned, as long as they have food, water, and warmth, they are "happy." And they happen to be even happier if they have all those and a nice enclosed dark space where nothing can prey on them.

Ok...so reading everything...and listening to my husband talk about how snake enclosures are going to take over the house....I decided to do racks.

I have a VERY large walk in closet that is way to big for the average couples needs, more like a spare bedroom... so I am turning part of that into a snake room. I do plan on getting some more snakes...my next being a couple of lessers. Sooooooooooooo...I have a couple more questions:

1. What about night and day....do I need a special light in there so that they have that effect?

2. What are your recommendations on racks that I should check out?
(I live in AZ so getting the temps up not a prob.....humidity is totally a different story)

Thanks for your help everyone!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BPelizabeth

Ok...so reading everything...and listening to my husband talk about how snake enclosures are going to take over the house....I decided to do racks.

I have a VERY large walk in closet that is way to big for the average couples needs, more like a spare bedroom... so I am turning part of that into a snake room. I do plan on getting some more snakes...my next being a couple of lessers. Sooooooooooooo...I have a couple more questions:

1. What about night and day....do I need a special light in there so that they have that effect?

2. What are your recommendations on racks that I should check out?
(I live in AZ so getting the temps up not a prob.....humidity is totally a different story)

Thanks for your help everyone!

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IMO racks are the best option for ball pythons. I would love to keep them in display cages, but most do not do well in them. You do not need special lighting for ball pythons. I use an appliance timer for florescent lighting, but you can use it for any room lighting. I normally set the timer for fourteen hours of light and ten hours of dark.

There are tons of great racks out there, but IMO home-built racks are the way to go. It is nice to buy professional xPVC racks, but it can get very expensive as your hobby grows. Melamine works great. I keep all my sub-adult / adult ball pythons in either twenty-eight quart racks or thirty-two quart racks. My hatchlings are housed in six quart racks. BTW, there are a few great DIY posts on this site about building racks.

Hope this helps.

well my hubby and I talked about building our own but I thought for my first time it might be better to buy a prof. one and then see what I like and what I want to change when we build it ourselves.

I get pretty over tech. in wanting all of the bells and whistles....just me....but I am also the person that checks on the snakes hourly to make sure the temps and humidity is right. And I spend more time on this site than you can possibly imagine. Can you say OCD.....lol

What size rack are you getting?

I recommend Animal Plastics for price and quality in a rack.
I love all of my AP racks. I have some older boaphiles, but the drawers are so fragile.
If you want to help keep in humidity, don't drill the bins. They get plenty of air from the small gap at the top of a standard adult AP rack. I also recommend painting the closet walls with a moisture-resistant paint, and getting a small humidifier for in there. It will help a ton.

wow winged....I did not even think of that. THANK YOU!!! You just saved me a "look from the hubby when I messed stuff up....lol. I was already going to drill a large hole into the shelf above to set therms on....haha...not sure how he will do with that one. Just thought I'd surprise him. I am the snake freak and he is slowly coming around to embracing the fact that we will have several! Great info!!

Animal Plastics is probably your best bet for racks if you dont plan to build your own. The economy line is great. I have one of each of theirs. Im having someone help me enclose the economy rack to look just like the regular rack and hold in the heat as well.

Mine are all in a room designated for the snakes but I still like the idea of the rack being enclosed on 3 sides instead of completely open. They have a huge window for natural light cycles. If yours will be in a closet you can just get a spare lamp, put one of those daylight bulbs in it and plug it into a small timer. Just remember to adjust the timer every so often to try to match the sunlight cycles.

I plan on getting a stacked set too but that will be mostly for the boas when they are too big for racks.

a buddy of mine from another pet forum passed me this link, ive been thinking of maybe getting some in the next year or so.
let me know what you guys think of this enclosure.
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...ages-and-tubs/

the simplest wayto figur out the rack size you need is to take the measurements of the space you are going to place them figure out how much room and the number of snakes you can and get in and out easy. I say get the tubs the size your want for the snakes. then place a piece of plywood ) or dvd cases) to use as spacers. and buils your shelves this way or do like I did. build it up as you got by placing the plyoowd on top the tubs and then screw inthe shelf rails ( piece he plywood sits on) and then pull out the playood and screw it dow nto the rails. this leaves room so your not forcing the flexwatt around as you slide the tubs in and out . ( glue the flexwwat down as your assembling to make it easier. ( liquid nail) then just work way up as you go. wit hthe tubs no need to worry about leaks,spills and such since the tubs are closed ( with lids in my case) and only have a vent holes above any possible spills.



I also consdier putting a false wall along hte outside wall ( and insulate it to prevent a cold side if building mutli tub shelf.

can send me a PM with the rough measurements and number of snakes can have an bunch of paint brush (jpg files not greatest) but enough to give you ideal on how to do rack. I can't draw to save my butt lol.. but I say outside the flxwatt and themrostats can have it up in a day with only needing a table saw,tape measure, screwgun( cordless drill) and a hammer incase you got a cut off just a little.