Best Snake Rack to Purchase?

Firstly, I'm so sorry for another snake rack thread. There are millions, I know, but I couldn't find the answers to my questions.

I'm looking to buy racks to house a large variety of species. I'm current horrible when it comes to tub sizes, but I need hatchling racks, 32 quart racks, 41 quart racks, and something to maybe house bigger species of snakes, like carpet pythons (do they exist)? Also, something that can house leopard geckos, which I'm thinking 32 quarts or more for colonies.


Anyways, I want the best priced rack available with shipping, heat tape, and the price of tubs. I just need something that is nice for the animals and isn't bad quality.

So if someone could just give me some good details, that would be great, because I keep seeing post on, "Well, I have the _____ rack and it works for me." without any price or is it actually the best.

I really appreciate you taking your time and reading this. Any advice is happily taken.

Take a look at Reptile Basics and read their descriptions and prices.

Also, take a look at Freedom Breeder site

Or even Animal Plastics

Or Boa Master

And finally some have talked about RhinoRaxx from Boaphile

all of those site should help a little because they will give a description and a price. All I have is ball pythons and I use the Reptile Basics Iris rack and love it.

Hope this helps a little.

Freedom Breeder is by far the best, but also most expensive.
I would say Reptile Basics and Animal Plastics are great for the money and very economical.

I was originally looking at Rhinoraxx, but then I saw that it would take forever to get here (is that true?).

What is the difference between freedom breeders and the other racks?

Thanks!

Check out Chris from C serpents (he is on facebook). Ive dealt with rich and the other guys in the past and Chris is by far the man.

There is not really any rack that is suitable to house a wide variety of species. Carpets Royals gecko all have differing requirements. racks are about averages. They are all basically the same and the same temps and same conditions this method is best suites to the same species. Perhaps a different rack for each species and perhaps you could find a ambient that worked for all you have so they could be in the same controlled room. But in the same rack it is more compromise than correct. To maintain correct conditions for each you would need different shape 'drawers' for each. separate temperature zones for each and humidity conditions too. At this point it would be easier and better, and cheaper to have separate enclosures, each one could be tailored to the requirements of each species.

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Originally Posted by ReptileJenna

I was originally looking at Rhinoraxx, but then I saw that it would take forever to get here (is that true?).

What is the difference between freedom breeders and the other racks?

Thanks!

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FB are metal frame racks. The others are PVC shelves.

I really like Animal Plastics. Good product, good customer service and not too expensive.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

There is not really any rack that is suitable to house a wide variety of species. Carpets Royals gecko all have differing requirements. racks are about averages. They are all basically the same and the same temps and same conditions this method is best suites to the same species. Perhaps a different rack for each species and perhaps you could find a ambient that worked for all you have so they could be in the same controlled room. But in the same rack it is more compromise than correct. To maintain correct conditions for each you would need different shape 'drawers' for each. separate temperature zones for each and humidity conditions too. At this point it would be easier and better, and cheaper to have separate enclosures, each one could be tailored to the requirements of each species.

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Oh, I know :) I'm just saying I need to buy a lot of different racks without trying to use too many words, ha ha.

Thanks

+1 about C Serpents. Great dude to deal with.


And just so you know, they do list prices on their pages, so you can go check em there.

I just realized I didn't read very carefully (guilty of skimming) my mistake I see you intended multiple racks. Sorry for that. I personally have an animal plastics rack. I like it well enough. I have an out of the box option as well. I do a lot of custom adapting with my company and if you are needing to ship a rack and live in any sort of city at all you may find going to a plastic fab. shop you maybe able to get it made cheaper than buying with shipping costs. I know the local shop by me believes I am a crazy for keeping snakes but they think they could beat the price on a rack if you include the shipping. (bare rack no tubs no wiring. they believe about 15-20% less than the price on a rack with tubs and wiring so roughly the same give or take.)

I used to lean more towards AP for their economy racks, but because of this thread I sat down and crunched the numbers.

In my calculations, I find that the only money you save in the AP economy 6/12 racks is in the lack of full side and back panels. It's something around 60-70 USD because of that, when compared to RhinoRaXX 6/12 racks.

Like I said, I was leaning towards AP economy. But you have to assemble it and it doesn't come with tubs. The RhinoRaXX come fully assembled and with tubs. Specifically for me I can get the number of sterilize 1753 and 1755 I need instead of spending more money after a rack purchase.

On their site, they claim it's only a $2 USD difference in shipping assembled versus not assembled. I don't know how true that is or could be, but in my opinion if it flies for them why couldn't it fly for AP and they ship out fully assembled for the same $42 USD?

Anyway, im more partial to the rhinos on paper now. Can't wait till I buy my rack lol.


Browsing on Tapatalk from my iPhone :)

ARSCaging has racks similar to Freedom Breeders and they also sell adapters for various size tubs. I have not seen them listed in this thread yet, but they are top of the line racks and I like them a lot. In addition, being on the east coast, the shipping charges to get them here are not as high as Freedom Breeders (located on the West Coast).

I would go with all of the aforementioned!

I have a 6 tub sub adult rack from Repti-Racks... I don't like the tubs it uses... They are weak and bow at the bottom from the weight of the snake, causing scraping that has damaged them. Also, they "weld" the rack frame together with melted plastic, I have to keep a gecko in one of the top tubs because of how weak the corner is there, a sub-adult ball could easily break the "welding" trying to escape. I got what I paid for, they are inexpensive racks. The selling point is that they don't use flexwatt heat tape, or heat cable, but instead use Ultratherm heat pads, 6" wide. I love that, not only because I am a HUGE fan of Ultratherm and have 4 other mats of theirs, but also because it's 6" instead of 3" or 4" as is standard with flexwatt, and with living up north, that extra heat goes a long way. They also look pretty nice and are shipped fully assembled. No tubs included, though.

After this initial rack purchase, though, I will go with home-made. :gj:

http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/y...om92/008-2.jpg

Thanks for all the information on racks.

Anyways, I was wondering if Freedom Breeder is as good as everyone says or is it just a brand name? My main concern is that the tubs are so... open. I feel that would be too exposing for the pythons if they did not have a hide. Any information on this?

I'd rather just go for the economical open racks from other brands if the freedom brand does the same thing.

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Originally Posted by kdreptiles

I would go with all of the aforementioned!

I have a 6 tub sub adult rack from Repti-Racks... I don't like the tubs it uses... They are weak and bow at the bottom from the weight of the snake, causing scraping that has damaged them. Also, they "weld" the rack frame together with melted plastic, I have to keep a gecko in one of the top tubs because of how weak the corner is there, a sub-adult ball could easily break the "welding" trying to escape. I got what I paid for, they are inexpensive racks. The selling point is that they don't use flexwatt heat tape, or heat cable, but instead use Ultratherm heat pads, 6" wide. I love that, not only because I am a HUGE fan of Ultratherm and have 4 other mats of theirs, but also because it's 6" instead of 3" or 4" as is standard with flexwatt, and with living up north, that extra heat goes a long way. They also look pretty nice and are shipped fully assembled. No tubs included, though.

After this initial rack purchase, though, I will go with home-made. :gj:

http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/y...om92/008-2.jpg

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By the way, thanks for the picture and information. I'll stay clear of repti-racks, since the last thing i need is bowing at the bottom.

Also, I've heard vision racks and rhinoraxx are badly made? Like snakes will escape and they are horrible to use?

The racks are great but IMO they are better in a room that has a controlled ambient temp.

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Originally Posted by ReptileJenna

Thanks for all the information on racks.

Anyways, I was wondering if Freedom Breeder is as good as everyone says or is it just a brand name? My main concern is that the tubs are so... open. I feel that would be too exposing for the pythons if they did not have a hide. Any information on this?

I'd rather just go for the economical open racks from other brands if the freedom brand does the same thing.

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ARS and Freedom Breeder are made of materials that will last the life of the snake. They are made out of powder coated steel. The heating elements are covered with metal. With other brands, you are buying something that will work for several years, but will eventually sag, bow and warp. I have found that if you spend the money up front and buy quality it is worth it in the long run. Say you buy a PVC rack and it last ten years. If you ball pythons live to be 30, you will buy three racks over the life of the snake. If that is the case, then the ARS or FB racks are economical as well.

As far as being open. Most people who use them control the temperature and humidity in the room. I used PVC type racks for a few years and when I switched over to ARS, my snakes started breeding at higher rates. That may just by my experience, but I've talked to others who have told me the same thing.

Of course, you could do like I did. I bought Herp Enclosures - which I think are the best PVC racks out there and I still have some of them, but he went out of business. Then I bought Animal Plastics and sold them off. Then I bought Reptile Basics and sold them off. Then I ended up buying ARS. Since then, I've expanded my ARS system. If I would have bought ARS to begin with, I could have saved some money.

I don't run a rack in a temp regulated room. I would NOT recommend this method just turn up the heat and be done with it 100 times easier. Racks simply do better in regulated rooms.

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Originally Posted by Don

ARS and Freedom Breeder are made of materials that will last the life of the snake. They are made out of powder coated steel. The heating elements are covered with metal. With other brands, you are buying something that will work for several years, but will eventually sag, bow and warp. I have found that if you spend the money up front and buy quality it is worth it in the long run. Say you buy a PVC rack and it last ten years. If you ball pythons live to be 30, you will buy three racks over the life of the snake. If that is the case, then the ARS or FB racks are economical as well.

As far as being open. Most people who use them control the temperature and humidity in the room. I used PVC type racks for a few years and when I switched over to ARS, my snakes started breeding at higher rates. That may just by my experience, but I've talked to others who have told me the same thing.

Of course, you could do like I did. I bought Herp Enclosures - which I think are the best PVC racks out there and I still have some of them, but he went out of business. Then I bought Animal Plastics and sold them off. Then I bought Reptile Basics and sold them off. Then I ended up buying ARS. Since then, I've expanded my ARS system. If I would have bought ARS to begin with, I could have saved some money.

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Just what I needed. Thanks.

Okay, so I'm planning on getting Freedom Breeder. However, my wallet wanted me to ask if you think I could get away with buying a leopard gecko or hatchling rack from one of the cheaper options, ha ha ;)

Thanks!

i have racks from 2 companys ...the 1st one i got was from ReptlieBasics and the tubs rub/startle the snakes everytime i open them, the fit of the tubs make it impossible to close the tubs one handed and almost always spill the water when closing also.....So this being said i decided to try Chris over at CSerpents.....the racks he builds are made with 1/2in material which are a bit thicker than his competitors,i gotta say....i love his product,smooth sliding,perfect amout of clearance in the tops so you dont have to melt air holes in your tubs,several of his racks use Vision tubs which im a fan of.So my vote is for the C-Serpents rack....they got here quick,Chris has been available for consults by text whenever i needed him and they are just plain made well.:gj:

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Originally Posted by BillyChainsaw

i have racks from 2 companys ...the 1st one i got was from ReptlieBasics and the tubs rub/startle the snakes everytime i open them, the fit of the tubs make it impossible to close the tubs one handed and almost always spill the water when closing also.....So this being said i decided to try Chris over at CSerpents.....the racks he builds are made with 1/2in material which are a bit thicker than his competitors,i gotta say....i love his product,smooth sliding,perfect amout of clearance in the tops so you dont have to melt air holes in your tubs,several of his racks use Vision tubs which im a fan of.So my vote is for the C-Serpents rack....they got here quick,Chris has been available for consults by text whenever i needed him and they are just plain made well.:gj:

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this doesnt mean i think Rich over at R/B makes a bad rack by any means either,plenty of folks have said their tubs slide easily in his racks .....maybe i just got one that was slightly off ...idk,R/B does offer alot of other cool gear at his site as well.....hides,thermostats,crockbowls,ect just about everything you can think of.

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Originally Posted by ReptileJenna

I was originally looking at Rhinoraxx, but then I saw that it would take forever to get here (is that true?).!

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My rhinoraxx "ball room" rack came in exactly the lead time specified, pretty much to the day 5 weeks after I placed my order.

I don't know if that counts as "forever" or not.

I've been extremely happy with it, and it was the right rack for my needs at the right price. I like the dual strips of flexwatt, which helps in the cooler months, and that it has four slots. Those are not necessarily features on every rack from every manufacturer with 3 foot long tubs for terrestrial species.

There are lots of good products out there.

Make sure you figure out what kind of rack you need, your needs will differ based on your inside environment. I live in an apartment in Minnesota. It gets hot in the summer, cold in the winter, heating is expensive and cooling (also expensive) the living room via an in-window air conditioner does nothing for the basement. An open-frame rack would be ineffective for any kind of climate control for my scaly friends.

However, with a climate-controlled room, open frame racks are awesome. This is THE way to do it if you have, for example, a warehouse (or even a modest collection that fits in a small room that cna be fitted with custom climate controls) of ball pythons.