Home-made Melamine Racks/Professional Racks

Hello!

I am entertaining the idea of either building or buying a rack system since I am planning on grabbing a few more ball pythons in the relatively near future (hopefully one more in the very near future :p). I'm currently only planning on having around 4-6 snakes within the next couple of years to start breeding. I would like to build or buy a rack that can house 4-6 juveniles into adulthood and then have a separate rack for hatchlings/juveniles. Can anyone recommend any brand or specific models? Is there a downside to building my own melamine racks? I will have some extra time during the summer and was thinking of building a couple of "nightstand like" racks for the snakes to grow into and then a "tall dresser like" rack for the hatchlines/juveniles. I am trying to keep everything as compact as possible since I will be moving into an apartment in less than half a year and am still in college (so apartments are what I'll be in for the next three years). Does anyone have any tips/tricks or threads concerning building melamine racks to last? Another benefit to keeping them small was to counter the weight imposed by the melamine. I am mainly worried about them bowing over time and was hoping to find out of a simple solution to this issue. If anyone has any blueprints or designs online that would be greatly appreciated as well. If not I will have fun designing it myself :).

So in essence...thoughts/feedback to what I am planning for either building my own racks or buying some? Your help is much appreciated. Thanks!

I say build your own. its pretty easy and a ton of people on here have done it in many different ways. Here is the one I did well the post about it and i think it was the best choice i made. I made it in such a way that i can easily add and work on the rack as needed as well. Plus that design i can use the 41qt for breeding/big girls and use 28qt tubs everywhere else. I can also add a shelf whenever I want for more space.

But bowing is an issue i know I will face. If you set it for a deeper shelf you can use a few more screws and not have to worry about that.


Would help if i included the link....
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt......-setup-pics

Concerning back heat vs. belly heat which would you recommend for ease and effectiveness?

Also which tubs are recommended between Sterilite, Rubbermaid, etc. so that I don't have to worry about the dimensions changing?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HerpsForDerps

Concerning back heat vs. belly heat which would you recommend for ease and effectiveness?

Also which tubs are recommended between Sterilite, Rubbermaid, etc. so that I don't have to worry about the dimensions changing?

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I have the Sterilite but you can use any tubs. Just make sure you build based on the tub you have and as far as when you build i recomend putting a cardbord between the tub and next shelf each step of the way so you have an easy sliding tub.

and as you see in mind i have back heat, but i also have Belly heat. and IMO belly heat is better if you have to choose one over the other.

Check out this on ideas on "how-to" http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-(DUW-Big-Time) Also take a look at the DIY forum for more info/ideas.

Thank you very much! Lol had no idea there was a DIY forum...man I really need to peruse this site some more.

you will find this site has a ton of info on it. From entry level to 20+year vets and covers a wide range of topics far beyond just Ball Pythons as well. And the best part is the info is first hand experience.

I am loving this website. If I hadn't stumbled across it I most likely would have been taking care of my snake according to Petco/Petsmart...and as we all know that would definitely not be a good thing.

I just built a rack with 4 tubs recently and used 41 qt tubs. I did belly heat with one continuous 11" flex watt that weaves back and forth up each shelf. I cut all the pieces on a cnc router to leave cutouts for the flexwatt to go from one shelf to the next. you could use a hand router or hand sander since flex watt is so thin. I have one cheap rheostat lamp control and a hydo farm thermostat just in case to make sure they don't get too hot. The rheostat control is cheap- 12$ so the thermostat is a safety back up I guess. Works great so far. I also painted the exposed edges and sealed hidden ones to help the mdf from warping. I'll try and get pics up soon. The ambient air holds around 80 and hotspot at 90. just a little input for ya

I have a homemade rack and it works great! My boyfriend built it to look like a cabinet to blend in with my current furniture.

I recommend going with IRIS brand tubs. IRIS never changes their tub styles. Ever. So it makes it easy to replace tubs in the future. Rubbermaid and Sterilite tend to change their tub designs often so unless you buy a bunch of spare tubs now, getting replacements in the future will be difficult.

If possible, it would be a good idea to consider building your rack out of PVC material. It's lighter than Melamine, but strong and will last. And since it's plastic, it's already water resistant. (Great for humidity) Simple Man did a nice PVC rack tutorial here in the DIY section.

I also like to use a CD as a spacer guide between the tubs and rack shelf when building a rack.

And here is my tub to weight ratio list for you to use as a guide.
Tub sizes:
6 qt - for hatchlings
16 qt - 500 or less grams
28/32 qt - 2000 or less grams
41 qt - 2000 + gram adults

Depending on how warm and stable your room temperature is, belly heat is usually safer.
I used back heat for some time. And it worked great. It kept a nice temperature gradient and had my temps perfect. But my room never ran above 70-75. Since back heat affects ambient temp and air temp, the flexwatt ran at 115-120 degrees just to maintain the perfect temps. I was uncomfortable with the high temperature it was putting out, so I changed to belly heat. Flexwatt shouldn't run above 100. It starts becoming potentially dangerous after that point. With belly heat and the same exact room temperature, my flexwatt now runs in the high 90s to maintain the same exact tub temps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by satomi325

Simple Man did a nice PVC rack tutorial here in the DIY section.

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http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...lete-with-pics!

It doesn't really fit with your 'dresser/nightstand' image, but Simple Man's design minimizes the materials used. It's very economical.

I use homemade racks for my bp's and they work for me. They are cost effective and I don't pay for shipping. but if you are going to keep it small scale like under 10 snakes you may want to check out animalplastics.com I have one of their economy racks for my geckos. what I like is I can run either 15qt or 28qt in the same rack. it holds either 12 15qts for hatchlings or 6 28qts for breeding trios or any combination of the two sizes. I used it for my hatchling rack until I started getting more that 1 clutch a year. I really like them but I can build 3 41qt 5 high racks and buy t-stats & tubs for the same $$$$
Go with iris tubs they cost a little more but they have flat bottoms. easier to clean and beter contact with your flexwatt so less energy to achieve perfect temps also much heavier duty. but if you are tring to save $$$ my second choice is the sterlite over rubbermaid because they run longer and lower on the dimensions gives the critters more room to sprawl out vs the rubbermaid which tend to be taller.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaduhn1

I just built a rack with 4 tubs recently and used 41 qt tubs. I did belly heat with one continuous 11" flex watt that weaves back and forth up each shelf. I cut all the pieces on a cnc router to leave cutouts for the flexwatt to go from one shelf to the next. you could use a hand router or hand sander since flex watt is so thin. I have one cheap rheostat lamp control and a hydo farm thermostat just in case to make sure they don't get too hot. The rheostat control is cheap- 12$ so the thermostat is a safety back up I guess. Works great so far. I also painted the exposed edges and sealed hidden ones to help the mdf from warping. I'll try and get pics up soon. The ambient air holds around 80 and hotspot at 90. just a little input for ya

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Thank you very much for the advice!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by satomi325

I have a homemade rack and it works great! My boyfriend built it to look like a cabinet to blend in with my current furniture.

I recommend going with IRIS brand tubs. IRIS never changes their tub styles. Ever. So it makes it easy to replace tubs in the future. Rubbermaid and Sterilite tend to change their tub designs often so unless you buy a bunch of spare tubs now, getting replacements in the future will be difficult.

If possible, it would be a good idea to consider building your rack out of PVC material. It's lighter than Melamine, but strong and will last. And since it's plastic, it's already water resistant. (Great for humidity) Simple Man did a nice PVC rack tutorial here in the DIY section.

I also like to use a CD as a spacer guide between the tubs and rack shelf when building a rack.

And here is my tub to weight ratio list for you to use as a guide.
Tub sizes:
6 qt - for hatchlings
16 qt - 500 or less grams
28/32 qt - 2000 or less grams
41 qt - 2000 + gram adults

Depending on how warm and stable your room temperature is, belly heat is usually safer.
I used back heat for some time. And it worked great. It kept a nice temperature gradient and had my temps perfect. But my room never ran above 70-75. Since back heat affects ambient temp and air temp, the flexwatt ran at 115-120 degrees just to maintain the perfect temps. I was uncomfortable with the high temperature it was putting out, so I changed to belly heat. Flexwatt shouldn't run above 100. It starts becoming potentially dangerous after that point. With belly heat and the same exact room temperature, my flexwatt now runs in the high 90s to maintain the same exact tub temps.

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Thanks for all of the great input! I will keep it all in mind. I believe I am going to be using 32qt tubs. Which size/wattage flexwatt tape would you recommend? And when building the rack should I wait to have the tubs in front of me? Or could I rely on dimensions given on the IRIS website?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by H.o.F.R

I use homemade racks for my bp's and they work for me. They are cost effective and I don't pay for shipping. but if you are going to keep it small scale like under 10 snakes you may want to check out animalplastics.com I have one of their economy racks for my geckos. what I like is I can run either 15qt or 28qt in the same rack. it holds either 12 15qts for hatchlings or 6 28qts for breeding trios or any combination of the two sizes. I used it for my hatchling rack until I started getting more that 1 clutch a year. I really like them but I can build 3 41qt 5 high racks and buy t-stats & tubs for the same $$$$
Go with iris tubs they cost a little more but they have flat bottoms. easier to clean and beter contact with your flexwatt so less energy to achieve perfect temps also much heavier duty. but if you are tring to save $$$ my second choice is the sterlite over rubbermaid because they run longer and lower on the dimensions gives the critters more room to sprawl out vs the rubbermaid which tend to be taller.

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I am most definitely going to go with IRIS tubs. When sliding the tub can abrasion become an issue with the heat tape?

I am hoping to have it hold four tubs of the 28 qt. size. Then in a year and a half or so when my females get too large I will make one for the 41 qt. tubs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HerpsForDerps

Hello!

I am trying to keep everything as compact as possible since I will be moving into an apartment in less than half a year and am still in college (so apartments are what I'll be in for the next three years).

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Buy one. The cost isn't going to be much greater and you're going to have a BAD TIME trying to move melamine. The screws rip out if it shifts, it's heavy as all hell, and if you take an edge to the knee or shin or knuckle your day is going downhill. Re-assembly of melamine is shotty at best from what I've read, so forget about breaking it down to something compact (like fitting in your car to move, being discreet about owning a bunch of snakes, etc.) I just bought this, and while I haven't gotten it in the mail yet I'm already extremely pleased with the decision. I can't wait to smash and rid myself of 100 lbs of shotty fake wood.

I got one of these from Animal Plastics and have read nothing but good things. I got the 6 shelf, which cost 225 shipped to my doorstep pre-drilled and ready to rock. When I eventually have hatchlings or juveniles, I can move my adults to a larger rack and re-use this one with 15 qt bins for babies.

The 6 shelf also happens to be a 'Quick Ship' item, if you're impatient like I am.
http://www.apcages.com/Sterilite/EP_1.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrLang

Buy one. The cost isn't going to be much greater and you're going to have a BAD TIME trying to move melamine. The screws rip out if it shifts, it's heavy as all hell, and if you take an edge to the knee or shin or knuckle your day is going downhill. Re-assembly of melamine is shotty at best from what I've read, so forget about breaking it down to something compact (like fitting in your car to move, being discreet about owning a bunch of snakes, etc.) I just bought this, and while I haven't gotten it in the mail yet I'm already extremely pleased with the decision. I can't wait to smash and rid myself of 100 lbs of shotty fake wood.

I got one of these from Animal Plastics and have read nothing but good things. I got the 6 shelf, which cost 225 shipped to my doorstep pre-drilled and ready to rock. When I eventually have hatchlings or juveniles, I can move my adults to a larger rack and re-use this one with 15 qt bins for babies.

The 6 shelf also happens to be a 'Quick Ship' item, if you're impatient like I am.
http://www.apcages.com/Sterilite/EP_1.jpg

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$225 is really reasonable actually. Which model is that? Luckily I don't have to hide having snakes because my complex is animal friendly and snakes dont count towards any kind of limit :p. Does that model have only 15 quarts? It looks to have two sizes. Would that be 6 and 15 or 15 and 28?