Racks and Thermostats

Hello all!

I'm making plans to switch my BPs into a rack as I am looking to acquire a Butter, a Mojo, and a Pin within the next couple of years and having a rack will be much more economical. ;) I am fond of the look of RhinoRaxx but I know some people have had some issues with the Boaphile, especially lately. I myself am WELL aware of his customer service issues, but have to admit that if the quality of his racks and cages is anything like the quality of his animals, it would be worth the wait. I also like that they are pre-assembled.

I am also looking at Reptile Basics, and really like their prices and wait time a lot better, but the look of the racks ...not as much. Plus, Boaphile makes 5 shelf racks, which would accommodate the new additions I'm looking into, while I only saw a 4 shelf rack for mid-sized and a 3 shelf for larger snakes on RB.

Thoughts and opinions would be appreciated. :)

Also, would it be better to purchase a rack for adults and then insert smaller tubs for younger snakes? Or just fill the adult size tub with all kinds of goodies to make them more secure?

Final question....do you only need one thermostat per rack? What kind should I get for a 5 shelf rack? And how does probe placement work? I believe you tape the probe to the flexwatt, but how does that monitor the temps with regard to the other shelves? And how does temp differ between levels/how does the thermostat compensate for that? Or how should I?

I realize there are a lot of questions in this post. Any input would be appreciated. I'm just trying to wrap my head around setting the whole thing up. I won't actually be ordering a rack system or buying the animals until probably two years from now. I need to graduate from college and start making some money first. ;) Plus, I need the customs for my boas first. Those girls are growing like crazy! :P I'm hoping to order the customs for them at the end of the year, so that I have them by sometime next year and can start saving for the new BPs. :gj:

Again, thanks for any input! :D

Before ya go any further your gonna find that the majority of people on here are gonna tellbyea aninal plastics for racks and herpstat for thermostat. Now with that said. Any plastic rack your gonna find out there is going to be fine. Proportional or non proportional thermostats will both work. Personally i use freedom breeders and helix and have for years. Thats my preference. Bow for a single plastic rack anything from rhino raxx, vision,aninal plastics etc will work just fine

Reptile basics/ helix

Ve-200 and im buying a reptile basics w/in the next month. Right now theyre in a homeade melamine rack.

Just my 2c....I ordered a Rhinoraxx on 3/16 and just received a FedEx tracking e-mail on 4/12, scheduled to be here on 4-17. Now if it does get here on Tuesday then I got an awesome shipping time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mike41793

Ve-200 and im buying a reptile basics w/in the next month. Right now theyre in a homeade melamine rack.

---

Someone pointed out to me that the herpstats are better than the VE series. I'm getting a x2 thermostat and was going to get the VE-300x2, but was pointed towards the Herpstat and while the VE is much better looking, when comparing them head to head the Herpstat was better Check into it before deciding.

I have two Animal Plastics racks and love them both. Solid construction and quality units and the price is more than reasonable. I have a Helix on the quarantine rack and a Herpstat II on my collection; my choice and any future thermostats would be Herpstats. Helix works fine and is a quality unit but for the features, I prefer the Herpstats.

As to probe placement: yes, most recommendations would be to tape it to the Flexwatt and ensure as tight a seal so it reads accurately. On my 9 slot rack, I have a temperature variation of +/- 2 degrees F or so variation from the bottommost rack slot to the top (say 86 at the top rack and 83 on the bottom generally speaking); that's well within reason to me and my snakes do fine in that environment with the thermostat probe taped in the middle slot of the rack. Hope that helps and good luck with expanding your collection!

Been using RBI IRIS Sweaterbox racks since I made the switch from cages. I've never had a complaint about them.

I've used both Herpstat and VE proportional thermostats and both work great.

I put my baby BPs straight in to the 32 qt tubs and just use extra hides to fill in the space.

all my racks are home built, might step up to some plastic racks in the future but for now they are all work great.
VE200s here, One running 3 1/2 racks(31 28qt tubs total), and another one running my bator;)

In my experience the biggest expense of a rack is the cost of heating the space. If this is not an issue the rack brand is not really important. If the room is cooler an enclosed rack would be better and in a very cool room a well insulated heavy rack. In all fairness racks don't do well in cool spaces I would suggest on heating a humidifying the space and get an open rack that allows lots of ventilation.

T-stats I would recommend the herpstats mostly due to the safety relay. I do not believe with tubs sliding over probes that a fail safe T-stat is optional. The herpstat has settings that protect against probes being pulled off the heat source. The others on the market really need a failsafe but the herpstat's relay makes it questionable.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kitedemon

I do not believe with tubs sliding over probes that a fail safe T-stat is optional.

---

I mount my probes right behind the tub stop and fine tune the temp to get 91-93 in the tub;)

That works unless the tstat fails. I personally have a fail safe on every stat I own the relay just adds a third line of safety.

I have a fail safe too but my tubs never hit the probes an the fail kicks everyone off at 98 degrees

I'm hoping to get a Herpstat 4 when I order my customs. I just didn't quite understand how probe placement worked with one t-stat running the whole thing. But even with a Herpstat 4, would I need a fail safe?

As to the room, it's already kept in the 80s. Humidity in the tanks is a problem though, which is why I want to switch to racks. I have to spritz tanks twice a day to keep the humidity in the right range. And I'm glad to hear I can just get one size tubs for now and pack them full of extra hides and foliage. :gj:

Thanks for all the responses guys! This has already been immensely helpful. :)

With the HS4 it is a debatable about a failsafe. The repay will protect against a pulled loose probe. The HS will also shut down if a probe wire or probe breaks. The only point where a failsafe would be needed is a full catastrophic T-stat failure. It can happen not overly likely. The use of a good surge protector would add a bit more safety to the HS4 as surges can cause issues with the Triac controllers.

In the end only you can decide what is reasonable or not. Personally the new Herpstats are the only t-stats I would ever even think a fail safe was not needed. I own a herpstat 4 and I have a fail safe used with it. I don't know if that helps, I felt that the cost was worth it. My decision, you will have to do what you think is right for you and your animals.

I currently have a herpstat, a helex and a ve-300 thermostat. They all work great, and I would have no issue buying any one of them again. I don't find any one to work any better than any of the others.

I am considering a fail safe because, even if I breed, all my animals will be pets. Breeding would just be a side thing for fun. I want BELs and jigsaws, and happen to adore the morphs that make them just as much. I wouldn't want to take the risk of anything happening to them. I think the cost of a fail safe would be worth it just for peace of mind.

On a side note, how would probe placement work in a custom PVC like a Boaphile? The heat isn't directly exposed and is different for each unit. Do you need a probe for each cage? :/

No I have the mine on the middle shelf. My room is cool so there are a lot of complications. But the top generally is warmer and bottom cooler. In the past I set my t-stat at 93º the tub in the middle was 91º the top was 93º and the bottom was 89º. Currently I am not heating the room and have to use 4 zone to keep the temps correct.

After 15 years of breeding reptiles the one thing i still cant wrap mybhead around is this. Probe placement. I do not understand why some people put the probe directlly on the heat source. Please dont explain it to me cause i dont want this to get into a 4 page rant about it lol. Thats not really my intention nor do i want to start an argument. I want to know exactly what temps are in my tubs. Therefore i place all my probes where they can read tub temps. For example on my freedom breeders that use cb70 tubs there are 10 levels with 30 tubs. I use 2 helixs on each rack. I place the probes where they can read tub temps. This way no guessing. When i had plastic racks i used a sokdering iron to melt a channel in the cieling of the middle tub and hot glued the probe. Again so it could read tub temps. I just dont like the idea of probe placements on heatbsources and having to adjust or guess at tub temps. Maybe its just me. Maybe im just crazy i dunno.

I also loved the RhinoRaxx and ordered one on 3-7, according to the email he sent me on the 12th it should arrive on the 18th! I also ordered the double thermostat they provide which is the Ranco ETC. I am really looking forward to opening that box! Anyway, that is the way I went for my first rack.

Where do you get a fail safe for a thermostat?
I plan on getting a Ve-100 so one that would work for it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ZBP

Where do you get a fail safe for a thermostat?

---

Basically you double up your t-stats.
Usually you would use an on/off style (like the VE100 or Zilla1000 in my case) to back up a proportional (VE200).

The 100 would get get plugged into the wall and the 200 would get plugged into the 100 that is serving as the fail safe.
Your 200 would be set to 89-93 and your 100 would be set to 95-99ish this way IF the 200 ever spikes the 100 will shot everything down.

You can do it with any thermostats but I used the VE for an example as you are getting one.;)

OK, now that my rack should be here tomorrow I need to know what to do...got 6 15 qt tubs & 2 32 qt tubs (sideways) and need to know whether I need 1 hide, 2 hides (wont happen in small tubs), or don't need em.....plz help (gotta get it finalized).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brion99

OK, now that my rack should be here tomorrow I need to know what to do...got 6 15 qt tubs & 2 32 qt tubs (sideways) and need to know whether I need 1 hide, 2 hides (wont happen in small tubs), or don't need em.....plz help (gotta get it finalized).

---

Your question is a bit of a thread hi-jack, but, since you asked...

You already answered your own question about having 2 hides in the 15 qt tubs, but I would offer at least one. The young BPs you'll keep in the smaller tubs will appreciate the security of having a hide.

Go with two hides in the 32 qt tubs. No reason not to. If your snakes don't use them, you can always take them out later.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

Your question is a bit of a thread hi-jack, but, since you asked...

You already answered your own question about having 2 hides in the 15 qt tubs, but I would offer at least one. The young BPs you'll keep in the smaller tubs will appreciate the security of having a hide.

Go with two hides in the 32 qt tubs. No reason not to. If your snakes don't use them, you can always take them out later.

---

Didn't wanna start a new thread & this one fit the thread name...

That's what I kinda thought I'd do, just wanted to be sure. So, where should I put the hide in the small one?....in the middle?

I've purchased a rack from Chris at CSerpents and don't have any complaints. He's located in South Florida from what I remember and I know he's delivered/met up with people within his area. Great rack by the way and his customer service is literally top notch, he really cares about his customers. He takes custom orders as well so let him know the dimensions you want and he can try to accommodate.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by notmyfault

I've purchased a rack from Chris at CSerpents and don't have any complaints. He's located in South Florida from what I remember and I know he's delivered/met up with people within his area. Great rack by the way and his customer service is literally top notch, he really cares about his customers. He takes custom orders as well so let him know the dimensions you want and he can try to accommodate.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

---

Can't find him anywhere online.....would be great for me being close by.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brion99

So, where should I put the hide in the small one?....in the middle?

---

Yes, if it's a light weight hide like the ones from RBI, your snake will move it where he wants it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

Yes, if it's a light weight hide like the ones from RBI, your snake will move it where he wants it.

---

Yeah, they'll just be the 8" flower pot holders on newspaper. Thanks a lot for the help.

Any on/off tstat will back up any other T-stat the only caveat is a proportional unit (set in proportional mode) cannot be used as a back up.

http://images9.fotki.com/v114/photos...drawing-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

that was the pic I couldnt find................. LOL
What took you sooooo long kitedemon, you are getting slow in your old age :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brion99

Yeah, they'll just be the 8" flower pot holders on newspaper. Thanks a lot for the help.

---

Yeah, those don't move around so easy.

I am getting over worked in my old age... LOL 19 hours in the last 24! Too much for an old guy like me... ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brion99

Can't find him anywhere online.....would be great for me being close by.

---

First link on google was his site, maybe you were typing something in wrong...

http://www.cserpents.com/C_Serpents/HOME.html

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by snake lab

After 15 years of breeding reptiles the one thing i still cant wrap mybhead around is this. Probe placement. I do not understand why some people put the probe directlly on the heat source. Please dont explain it to me cause i dont want this to get into a 4 page rant about it lol. Thats not really my intention nor do i want to start an argument. I want to know exactly what temps are in my tubs. Therefore i place all my probes where they can read tub temps. For example on my freedom breeders that use cb70 tubs there are 10 levels with 30 tubs. I use 2 helixs on each rack. I place the probes where they can read tub temps. This way no guessing. When i had plastic racks i used a sokdering iron to melt a channel in the cieling of the middle tub and hot glued the probe. Again so it could read tub temps. I just dont like the idea of probe placements on heatbsources and having to adjust or guess at tub temps. Maybe its just me. Maybe im just crazy i dunno.

---

Your system is great I agree it is a simple elegant solution... IF you are using back heat.... IF you have regulated room temps.
Not every keeper uses back heat. Most racks should be in regulated rooms I know this better than most but again not all racks are. You have to admit your system will simply NOT work with belly heat, especially in a cooler room temps. There are likely more racks with belly heat than back heat.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

Yeah, those don't move around so easy.

---

They're the thin plastic one (shoulda clarified that).....can't believe they'd have much trouble with those. I'll try it when I get the rack, and if they are too hard to move I guess I'l be making an order from RBI.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brion99

They're the thin plastic one (shoulda clarified that).....can't believe they'd have much trouble with those.

---

Ahhh, I thought you were talking about the clay ones. I've seen people use those before.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mike41793

First link on google was his site, maybe you were typing something in wrong...

http://www.cserpents.com/C_Serpents/HOME.html

---

Thx A LOT. Dunno why I couldn't find it, but if they are really quality I can save a ton of money, especially since he comes to the local shows I can save on shipping too.