Thoughts on Tanks vs Racks?

In a couple of weeks, my total Ball Pythons will be seven. So now I've reached a point where I'm wondering if I should do regular tanks, stackable tanks, or racks. I really do like to be able to see my babies, but I also know the costs of all the separated tanks is pricey. =] So I was just wondering what your thoughts were on housing systems. Thanks!

With that many animals you really should take a hard look at this:

For the Boys

http://www.reptilebasics.com/iris-sw...y-or-back-heat

For the Girls

http://www.reptilebasics.com/iris-cb-70-rack

I understand you want to see your babies, but to be honest, your babies are better off not seeing you, or any thing else outside of a tank....

Once set up properly, racks are ridonkulously easy to maintain and keep up. And in the long run, easier is better for your animals.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slim

With that many animals you really should take a hard look at this:

For the Boys

http://www.reptilebasics.com/iris-sw...y-or-back-heat

For the Girls

http://www.reptilebasics.com/iris-cb-70-rack

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Just out of curiosity, why the sweater box model for the boys and cb70 for the girls? I just got my cb70 and plan to keep only male snakes. Is the larger size on the cb70 better for potentially larger/breeding females?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mehitabel74

Just out of curiosity, why the sweater box model for the boys and cb70 for the girls? I just got my cb70 and plan to keep only male snakes. Is the larger size on the cb70 better for potentially larger/breeding females?

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Partly habit on my part. I've only ever kept males (a collector, not a breeder) and I have no issues keeping a BP up to 1800 ish grams in an Iris sweaterbox. Not a lot of males get much bigger than that unless you over feed them. (yes, I know there are exceptions out there). Some of the bigger girls, however, would probably need the little more space found in a CB-70.

I don't think there's anything wrong with keeping males in a CB-70, and to be honest, might do so myself in the future. It's just too bad the sweaterbox racks and the CB-70 racks don't stack together.

Nothing beats racks for housing multiple bp's...efficient use of space, easy to heat, easy to maintain humidity, easy to clean, provide privacy, easy to move around, stack, add on to, they look good, they're very secure (I've never had an escapee from a rack), make feeding time simple and time efficient...

Racks are the most space efficient and will provide your snakes with security.
If you are really intent on display, I would look into XPVC cages like Animal Plastics brands.
Tanks are pretty bad and not really suited for snakes. It's difficult to maintain heat and humidity simultaneously in a tank without modifications or significant effort.

I'd like to just thank everyone for all of the replies. =) do we know if there ate tubs for racks that maybe allow for a little more sight than the completely opaque ones? Most of the racks I've seen for sale have been completely opaque.

And to the user who mentioned boaphile plastic's stackable tanks, those are also something I'm looking into. I may do a mix and keep some in stacked and some in racks...I haven't made up my mind! But I do want to make the most informed decision I can, so I really appreciate any and all input.

Any of the XPVC display cages would work really well for you! The Animal Plastics T8 is a very common 4 x 2 x 1 that people use for ball pythons. They are stackable and you can purchase a divider so that you can house two snakes in the same unit. :)


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I am very, very pleased with the Reptile Basics rack that I got today. I ordered it on a Sunday night and it came today. I took it out of the box, plugged the heat tape into the thermostat and taped down the probe, turned on the thermostat, and that was it. Couldn't have been easier.

Depending on how many more you intend to get, there may also be a significant difference in the space taken up, with racks using far less space. That's actually one of the things I love about racks with BPs. Gives them the privacy they like, I can keep more in less space, and anytime I want I can pull one out to admire and interact with it.

The Iris tubs that fit my RBI rack are clear, no opaque. They let plenty of light in, and I can see when anyone is active just by looking at the front of the tub.