Purchasing a snake rack

I now have 3 ball pythons, and know I will be investing in more soon. I was just curious to see what peoples thoughts on snake racks were. I was going to just build my own but then someone mentioned animal plastics to me. I checked their site out, would that be the best deal? Says it comes with flex watt heat tape, is that already wired? Would I have to get a thermostat to monitor it? I know they dont come with the tubs but thats fine.

http://www.animalplastics.com/

Let me know what the best option is :please:

If you are handy with some wood and tools, building it yourself will be cheaper. Obviously the quality will be dependent on your craftsmanship and the quality of the materials you are using.

The animal plastics racks are very nice quality and their price reflects that. If you can afford and are willing to pay that much for a professionally made rack, then go for it.

If you wish to go the crafty route then go for it. I built my own rack over a year ago and it is still working wonderfully. They are pretty simple to build there are a few tutorials on this site and on other websites.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

If you are handy with some wood and tools, building it yourself will be cheaper. Obviously the quality will be dependent on your craftsmanship and the quality of the materials you are using.

The animal plastics racks are very nice quality and their price reflects that. If you can afford and are willing to pay that much for a professionally made rack, then go for it.

If you wish to go the crafty route then go for it. I built my own rack over a year ago and it is still working wonderfully. They are pretty simple to build there are a few tutorials on this site and on other websites.

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If I went with the animal plastics one. I would basically just assemble it myself right? How exactly does the flexwatt work? Thanks for the fast reply!!

People, myself included, recommend Animal Plastics for a reason

Its the best, hands down. Unless you want to spend crazy amounts for the ARS racks, which are TIGGGHHTTTT!

Yes it comes with heat. if you order it that way, and a lot of times you have to run it yourself, its no biggie though.

Yes you will need a thermostat

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Originally Posted by ru8fru

If I went with the animal plastics one. I would basically just assemble it myself right? How exactly does the flexwatt work? Thanks for the fast reply!!

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I have never bought an AP rack so I am not really sure on the assembly bit but it is probably fairly simple. The flexwatt is just this plastic strip that you run in the back of each shelf.

I am not sure if AP wires it for you or not.

Also, just to clarify you will need a good thermostat if you use flexwatt in a rack.

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

People, myself included, recommend Animal Plastics for a reason

Its the best, hands down. Unless you want to spend crazy amounts for the ARS racks, which are TIGGGHHTTTT!

Yes it comes with heat. if you order it that way, and a lot of times you have to run it yourself, its no biggie though.

Yes you will need a thermostat

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Awesome, thanks!!

Ok so is it basically just a long roll of tape with a plug in that goes into the thermostat? Sorry I'm really bad with this kind of thing.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I have never bought an AP rack so I am not really sure on the assembly bit but it is probably fairly simple. The flexwatt is just this plastic strip that you run in the back of each shelf.

I am not sure if AP wires it for you or not.

Also, just to clarify you will need a good thermostat if you use flexwatt in a rack.

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Ok, so how exactly would the thermostat work in the grand scheme of things? Also where would be the best spot to get a decent thermostat?

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Originally Posted by ru8fru

Ok, so how exactly would the thermostat work in the grand scheme of things? Also where would be the best spot to get a decent thermostat?

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well you stick the thermostat probe on the middlemost shelf right on the flexwatt.

Ranco and johnson control stats from reptilebasics.com are on the cheaper end and are pretty good. I have a johnson control on my rack and it is doing well.

The helix and herpstats are a little more expensive but much nicer in the long run.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

well you stick the thermostat probe on the middlemost shelf right on the flexwatt.

Ranco and johnson control stats from reptilebasics.com are on the cheaper end and are pretty good. I have a johnson control on my rack and it is doing well.

The helix and herpstats are a little more expensive but much nicer in the long run.

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Ok but then does the thermostat control the temperature of the flexxwatt? Any other major things id need to know?

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Originally Posted by ru8fru

Ok but then does the thermostat control the temperature of the flexxwatt? Any other major things id need to know?

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yes it controls the temp of the flexwatt.

It might be worth it to invest in a temp gun as well to check temps. Having a thermometer in ever tub is not very practical.

Exactly

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Originally Posted by ru8fru

Awesome, thanks!!

Ok so is it basically just a long roll of tape with a plug in that goes into the thermostat? Sorry I'm really bad with this kind of thing.

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Go to repti-racks.com. I have 3 4x2s and a 6 tub subadult rack and i love everything about all of the enclosures. They are very well made and the customer service is great. And they're prices are almost impossible to beat!

I think im going to go with the animal plastic snake rack. But I was looking at the thermostats at reptilebasics.com

From those thermostats, whats the best one for the price?

Id also be snagging a couple hide boxes from that site, if I snapped some shots of my snakes would you know which boxes would fit best?

If you have weights it would be easy to decide on the hide size. Just remember that bp's like to be snug. And for the thermostat question i would go with a basic herpstat. I have a herpstat II which i LOVE. Its amazing. Deffinetly go with a herpstat though. You can also check out spyderrobotics.com to look at the different models to see what fits your needs best.

As far as weights go. Two of them are right around 300g's and my female is 600 g's. Thanks for the help. I just need a basic thermostat for the heat tape for my rack, nothing super fancy. What would you say would be the most cost sufficient. :snake:

anyone got any idea on the best cost efficient thermostat for just running regular flexx watt on a snake rack would be? I have figured out that the proportional thermostat is the kind I need :)

Oh and here are some pics of my snakes , the high white is my female, low white is my male. I also have a female normal around the same size as him.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ture023-13.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ture019-18.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ture005-42.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ture028-11.jpg