Repti Rack Options

I guess tomorrow ill go actually price everything to build one from depot. Specifically one that will hold 15quart and 32 quart tubs either 5x32 or 10x15 maybe.. I really think even though its a great deal ill have to get another rack anyway for in between sizes.. So I'd like to skip that atleast for now ^.^ right?

I'm just thinking out loud here but the two racks I'd planned on getting, are what they are and can't be changed/ rearranged, so at least to start off I think it'd be best to save a few dollars and have a little flexibility.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/22/a5arejej.jpg
I just built this last week. Took me about 1.5 hours. Real simple. One 4x8 melamine sheet 35 bucks. Holds 4 16qt sterilizes and 5 32qt sterilite. All built in my apartment bedroom.

Personally, I am building my own rack system. I am kind of new to all of this, so I've been researching as I go along. I got my 'rack' from IKEA (geez I love that place!) it's a good depth and size for what I wanted. They also come in several sizes. I got the double-wide. I am awaiting my order of prewired heat tape from reptilebasics.com (they seem to have the best prices). At any rate, this behemoth of a rack system/storage for snake thingies cost me $140 plus tax. Then approx $40 for the heat tape setup for both the rack and the incubator I made (in pic) :) hope this helps!http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/22/uvy5a5eh.jpg

Well I went to depot today.. Got a sheet of melamine cut into appropriate sizes. Also went to my local target and bam just as suggested the purple handle sterilite 15 and 32 quart tubs! :)

http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/...psb3a0cc0a.jpg

so I think I'm actually going to go ahead and route out a few groves for the heat tape to snake through the shelves and so the tubs don't rub on the tape itself. This is the only place where things seem to get a little tricky..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RedseaReefer

Hey everyone! im fairly new into the whole reptile situation but im getting into keeping and eventual breeding of balls.
As of now i have a small 110gram Mojave male and a slightly larger maybe ~220gram female pastel and soon as weather improves ill be getting a large 900+ gram male spider. They are being kept in glass tanks with screen tops for now untill i get my head around this whole rack setup..

when i do have all three ill keep them as follows again.. untill i get my head around this whole rack situation

1.0 spider in a 35/39 Tall
0.1 pastel in a 20L
1.0 mojo in a 10g

all with ample water and UTH's sprayed daily to keep humidity up.
UTH on one end, water in the middle, 75w light w/dome on the other.
I noticed my UTH getting a little hot like 101' so i put some bedding to kindof buffer the heat. is this good or just worse? iv been reading alot about the typical beginer and using UTH like the ones from zoomed/petsmart and how a little too hot is probably better than no heat and eventual death.. so...... i guess what im asking is where to go from here? everyone is eating perfectly and shedding ok, temps stay abouts 80 amb, 90hot and ~90-100 on top of the UTH again i know 100 is too hot and 90-82 would be ideal i just dont know exactly how to help this without a thermistat/ herpstat..

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I think that before you start thinking about racks, you need to get some thermostats for your current snakes. An unregulated Uth is a disaster waiting to happen, and using a buffer of substrate does not make it safe. I would

A: Buy a few cheapie hydrofarm t-stats off amazon, use them for the time being, and then when you get your racks, use them as backups.

B: Make a worthwhile investment and buy a herpstat 4. It costs $339, but is worth every penny. With this, you could cover all three of your snakes UTH's until you get the racks, and then after you get the racks, you will have two probes left over. With those two probes, you could use one for an incubator, and the other for anything you like (*cough* boa *cough* ;) )

I would definitely go with option B and buy a high quality multi-zone thermostat for the start. I have probably squandered about $150 on cheapo tstats before I wised up and bought some herpstats. They are certainly a worthwhile investment!

On a side note,

Assuming that you want to breed bps down the road, I would not recommend a male spider for now. Single gene males without a super form are not going to be all that helpful for making combos. I would invest in some quality single or double gene female hatchlings, and then when they are about a year away from breeding, buy a few powerhouse males (2 or 3 genes) Or, if you are itching to breed, go for one multi-gene male and buy a few proven breeder normal females.

Sorry for the long post, and best of luck on whatever you choose to do! :)

Thanks bRob!! That's really some helpful info! I did actually plan on getting a stat ASAP cuz those uth are WAY too hot.. But I'm sure to hit em with the temp gun every day to double check they aren't running away.. Which they love to do.

BUT I don't think the herp 4 is up my alley just yet tbh my $500 budget was probably a little optimistic haha. I think I'll go with a single or double outlet helix or herp depending on what is available. Have one lieing around? Lol

So moving forward I now have the melamine all cut and ready to be routed, the tubs to help space the shelves, and ill order my heat tape tonight I think after I route my shelves.

What size flexwatt would you recommend for tubs this size? 3"?, 4? Probably not 11" eh? Lol

Should I make my channel a little wider than the size tape I get?

When I order the flexwatt I'd like to get it pre-wired maybe from beansfarm; but for something this size should I just get 1x 10foot strip or maybe two 5foot strips?

Ill think of more later I'm sure.. Thanks again guys for the input!!! Most appreciated

I decided to continue my rack build in the DIY thread here

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=189583

Thanks again for your advice everyone!