Good starter rack

I did the whole tank, uth and rheostat before and it sucked so I want to do it right this time. Rack, tubs, flex watt and good t stat.

I plan on starting with a baby 2010 female and buying a male in 2012 to breed with her hopefully in 2013. I'd like to have the option of having different sized tubs in the rack so I can put her in a 6 or 15qt tub at first then a 32 qt when she is big enough and the same with the male.

I am hoping to find a rack that has the flexability of using different sized tubs. I only plan on having 2 adults for a while but I'd like to have enough shelves so when the eggs hatch they can go in the same rack as the parents and have their own 6qt tubs.

I hope this makes sense, I want to do it this way and if it works out good then I can buy another rack that is the same and get another breeding pair of BP'S. If it doesn't work out then I will have 2 adult BP's and only breed them and not get another pair.

I would think I need something that can hold 2 15qt tubs per shelf or 1 32qt per shelf and have 6 shelves total. Top two would hold 1 32qt tub each and the bottom 4 would hold 2 15qt tubs each so I would have room for 8 hatchlings.

I don't know who makes good racks, I would like to keep the price down but I don't want a open rack like the animal plastics economy rack. Something black plastic that looks nice and doesn't stand out like a sore thumb. A closed rack should hold the heat better anyway.

Our room temp on avg is 74 year round so I am below the low side temp/ambient temp, so a closed rack is a must really. I plan on spending the money and getting a johnson or herpstat thermostat this time so I don't have to worry about temps all the time.

Thanks in advance everyone

i have no clue wat racks u could try to buy but i do know that if u want something like wat u r talking about ur best bet is to make it ur self i built myself a rack that right now is holding either 2 12qt tubs per level or 1 28qt tub per level and eventually i will need a bigger rack but this works for now im sure u can buy the 2 different sized tubs u want and then build ur rack around those i would try to make sure the tubs will work together (height width depth) my sterilite 12qt is as long as the 28qt is wide and two of the 12qt tubs side by side are the same length as the 28qt and they are also all the same height so u dont have to worry about getting some that are taller some shorter
i hope this helps :)

I would rather have a plastic one that is light, that I can move and will look nice

This rack is 32 qt and Rich also sells dividers that will divide the bins into 16qt
http://www.reptilebasics.com/iris-sw...back-heat.html

That rack is $304 with the dividers, sheesh

You can build one easily out of melamine for cheap. I would put them in two thirty-two quart tubs. They could stay in there their entire lives. Whatever thermostat you chose, go with one with a night drop.

I want to use the smaller 6qt or 15 qt tubs so when they are little they are in a tight space and hopefully do good feeding. I dont want to slap a couple month old snake in a 32qt tub, it will probably freak out. Melamine is heavy as heck, granted the rack doesn't have to be big.

How much do you think it would cost in materials to build the rack? I can use the neighbors table saw to cut the wood.

In the DIY Section, there are multiple threads on building your own rack.

Yeah honestly it seems to me as if you want to get a really good quality rack, but don't want to spend the money on it. I'll tell you right now $300 for a rack with tubs and heat is a good deal, even building a rack with melamine, your going to spend at least $80 in materials, if not more.

I personally had a friend build me a rack out of 2 sheets of melamine and it cost me $200 plus gas to build it and drive there to pick it up. I can fit one 28 qt tub or 2 12 qt tubs side by side and i have 8 levels. So realistically i could house 8 adults, or 16 babies in this rack, so its perfect for me.

If you build your own, it's going to take a fair amount of time to get it looking professional, i would say at least a couple hours if not a few days just cutting out all the pieces and doing triple measurements.

Just save yourself time and effort, buy a pre made plug and play rack from Reptile Basics and take the hit, you'll thank me later. My melamine rack is EXTREMELY heavy and takes 2 people to move anywhere, plus its white, i would prefer black. So just save yourself time and money and buy a well built rack with everything pre installed.

I'm pretty sure 80% of the people on this forum would tell you to do the same, the LAST place you want to cheap out is housing and temp control. Without these 2 things, keeping any animal is going to be tough or a lot of work. Spending a good amount of money now, will help you from worrying about humidity and temps all the time and having to replace your rack because it was poorly made or put together too quickly.

Look for a plastic company, build it your self. (look for sheets of ABS or PVC.)

The place that I go to can precut everthing for you, all you have to do is drill pilot holes.

make cuts along the sides where the heat tape (flexwatt) will go.

Use screws to hold it together.

You can build a 500$ rack for around 80-100$. + gas.

what about the animal plastic racks?