fire safe homemade rack??

oh ok i didn't know if/where you could buy melamine wood by itself. well that's definitely something to consider then even tho im not that great at actually building :) i think if my original idea will work tho i will go with that cuz i can get the bookshelf pre built for about $20 and adjust the shelves to whatever size i need them to fit the tubs. thanks tho :D

No problem! Glad we could help. :)

There's a great walk through tutorial on this forum along with many others (this is the one that I found to be easiest to follow): http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Built-My-Rack!

Let us know how it goes and be sure to post pics of your new rack (whichever way you decide to go) once it gets done!! I know I would love to see a tutorial on fire proofing a pre-made rack. ;)

One thing to consider with the flame retardant is that while it may be considered non-toxic on contact in normal conditions (normal use for this product), they probably did not forsee their product being constantly heated on a snake rack. The constant heat may (or may not) release toxic vapors from the retardant.

Many chemicals have low vapor points and may be relatively nontoxic as solids but are much more dangerous as vapors. While it may be safe, I would definitely not use this flame retardant on a heated rack. A PVC rack is the way to go if you are concerned about fire. The cost difference really isn't that much if you are using quality materials in a DIY project.

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Originally Posted by Jabberwocky Dragons

One thing to consider with the flame retardant is that while it may be considered non-toxic on contact in normal conditions (normal use for this product), they probably did not forsee their product being constantly heated on a snake rack. The constant heat may (or may not) release toxic vapors from the retardant.

Many chemicals have low vapor points and may be relatively nontoxic as solids but are much more dangerous as vapors. While it may be safe, I would definitely not use this flame retardant on a heated rack. A PVC rack is the way to go if you are concerned about fire. The cost difference really isn't that much if you are using quality materials in a DIY project.

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I am going to contact the company, tell them exactly what i plan to do and ask LOTS OF QUESTIONS about the actual chemicals used including this question. thanks again for all of your input, i'll keep you guys updated on what they say and what my plans will be from there. :)

If you were using a quality thermostat then I wouldnt worry about the flame retardent stuff. Why expose your snakes to it an risk getting them sick if you dont have to? I mean yea theres a small, small chance your setup could malfunction but if you invest in a quality t-stat I wouldnt worry about it...

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Originally Posted by brittani72

lol i would if i had that kind of money but i'd prefer to use what money i do have on the snakes, not the setup. i am trying to do this for purely financial reasons. :)

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Wrong attitude. Husbandry first ,snake second. Particle board sucks for racks and humidity. Your overthinking trying to make a fire proof rack. Unless you buy a freedom breeder or another metal rack but your tubs will still melt therefore killing your snakes. My best advise is bot to have a fire. Make sure your setup is perfect, your electrical is right and put a snoke detector over the rack. We can learn alot from the pro exotics fire. From what i heard the thought was that the racks were back to back and cause an issue there. Dont know if this is the cause but thats what i heard. Fires are always in the back of my mind but i am very proactive. Im always checkin connections and making sure all heat tape is clear of anything that can spark a fire even though the tape itself doesnt get hot enough to start a fire. Arcing at the connections is where alot of fires start. I have 4 smoke detectors in each snake room so i can know if i have any smoke. I also have fire extinguishers in both rooms as well just in case. It may sound overkill but its worth it to me.

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Originally Posted by snake lab

Wrong attitude. Husbandry first ,snake second. Particle board sucks for racks and humidity. Your overthinking trying to make a fire proof rack. Unless you buy a freedom breeder or another metal rack but your tubs will still melt therefore killing your snakes. My best advise is bot to have a fire. Make sure your setup is perfect, your electrical is right and put a snoke detector over the rack. We can learn alot from the pro exotics fire. From what i heard the thought was that the racks were back to back and cause an issue there. Dont know if this is the cause but thats what i heard. Fires are always in the back of my mind but i am very proactive. Im always checkin connections and making sure all heat tape is clear of anything that can spark a fire even though the tape itself doesnt get hot enough to start a fire. Arcing at the connections is where alot of fires start. I have 4 smoke detectors in each snake room so i can know if i have any smoke. I also have fire extinguishers in both rooms as well just in case. It may sound overkill but its worth it to me.

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WHAT?!?! no offense but can you post this again and use spell check? I didn't understand half of it. And what do you mean particle board sucks for racks and humidity?? What specifically sucks about particle board?? First of all, I was under the impression that it has not been done a lot (if ever) before so how would you know that information? Also just out of curiosity, how/why would the material of the rack itself affect humidity? I was planning on relying on substrate, water dish size, and a regular old humidifier near the rack to control humidity. (And monitoring this with a digital hygrometer). And most importantly HOW exactly are my tubs going to melt if I don't buy a freedom breeder rack?! I agree with having my setup perfect and the electrical done correctly but that is a given with any rack right? The smoke detector (and probably fire extinguisher) is also a given. ALSO I'm sorry I'm "overthinking" trying to make a fire proof rack but... well actually no I'm not sorry, I want to make damn sure it's fire proof which is why I want to use the fire retardant in the first place. At this point I am much more concerned with the potential chemicals the product MAY release around my snakes which is why I wrote the head of the company today and am awaiting a full response to all of my questions BEFORE proceeding with my plans.

P.s. your note about husbandry first, snakes later...DUH! If of course you mean acquiring and perfecting the husbandry aspect first before acquiring snakes. BUT if by any chance were suggesting that I need to spend more money on my one rack than any/all snakes that may eventually reside in the rack I'd have to politely disagree.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

If you were using a quality thermostat then I wouldnt worry about the flame retardent stuff. Why expose your snakes to it an risk getting them sick if you dont have to? I mean yea theres a small, small chance your setup could malfunction but if you invest in a quality t-stat I wouldnt worry about it...

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Thanks but I don't plan on taking any risks on the chemical aspect. Their website says that it is toxic free but I am still double checking with the head of the company about the toxicity of their product when used as I plan on using it. I will be 100% sure there is no risk to my snakes before using it. I would definitely not use the particle board without the fire retardant, even with a high quality thermostat. I know it's a very small risk of it malfunctioning but I wouldn't be able to sleep at night thinking about that risk. :) (Of course I can't sleep at night anyway which is why I'm on here at 1am) :/

I'm fairly new here, as are you. I wouldn't go around insulting people. I mean, maybe they were just in a hurry and didn't care about their spelling? You are not the grammar police and you shouldn't criticize people based on spelling. If you couldn't understand what he was saying then I feel bad for you. It was not that hard to figure out. He was just trying to give you advice. If you took it the wrong way, well then that just too bad. =(

I would take every precaution to make sure there would not be a fire, but IMO using fire retardant may not be the best choice around the snakes (or any other pet for that matter). I would just go for buying melamine and building your own rack. Like I said before, my dad said it can only really catch fire if it's set a blaze. He's been working with wood since he was 16.

Hope you can figure out what to do.

Honestly, I don't think anything is 100% fireproof when it comes to electrical and heating elements. All you can do is be alert and vigilant. Make sure to maintain and monitor your rack system. Even though the rack itself could be 'fireproof', doesn't mean your tubs aren't susceptible to melting. A good thermostat will prevent burning a snake and tub melting.

Although I have heard that pvc board is fire retardant...