First Ball Python PVC or Rack system?

Hey there! So I am going to be getting my first ball python soon and I have been studying on them for a very long time. That being said, I love to get a lot of different opinions as well. So my question is this- For my first ball, should I spend more money and get the PVC cage and dress it up so it looks great, or should I save a little money with a rack system? Both options sound great! I really want to have a great visual showing of the snake which is why I like the PVC idea, but at the same time I would like to grow my collection if I do enjoy keeping my first python, so it would help to have an accessible place to put them. I have more areas I could put a rack than a PVC, but I do want to see the python as well. I would love any opinions on which I should get! Just trying to figure it out so I can start planning soon haha (: Thanks!

Are you planning on breeding or just acquiring multiple snakes?

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If you plan on expanding in the near future I would definitely go with a rack system . They hold heat and humidity well and from my experience are ideal for ball pythons . I went with a rack when I began because I knew it wouldn't be long before I was adding to my collection . I don't regret it at all . Good luck with whatever you decide .


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I plan to breed, but I am not sure yet on how long it will be until I get another snake. I would hope within the next year or so after my first. It all depends on what I see and if I can't leave a show without one haha! (:

Thank you for the advice! I think I am leaning more toward a rack system, but I do like the Animal Plastics cages to see the snake, but as you said if I do plan to grow the collection, then I should probably stick with a rack.

If you have a few showstoppers or just snakes you love and have money to spend, getting APs isn't a terrible plan. That being said they are super expensive compared to a rack system. Even the thermostat is more expensive because you need more than a 1 prong herpstat for more than one snake. If you plan on breeding or want to save money for sure go with rack. I found a 3 adult snake rack for 300 with heat which is about price of one ap cage with heat and locks on the doors

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Originally Posted by Robbie82

Thank you for the advice! I think I am leaning more toward a rack system, but I do like the Animal Plastics cages to see the snake, but as you said if I do plan to grow the collection, then I should probably stick with a rack.

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What I plan on doing when I get a little more money is buying an ap for my very first bp because of the sentimental value he is to me and getting racks for the rest. Maybe you can do that too? Start of with racks then upgrade when you feel like it.

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Originally Posted by Soord

If you have a few showstoppers or just snakes you love and have money to spend, getting APs isn't a terrible plan. That being said they are super expensive compared to a rack system. Even the thermostat is more expensive because you need more than a 1 prong herpstat for more than one snake. If you plan on breeding or want to save money for sure go with rack. I found a 3 adult snake rack for 300 with heat which is about price of one ap cage with heat and locks on the doors

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Okay that helps. I didn't know about the difference in thermostats so that would make things a lot more expensive later on. I was thinking if I did eventually want a cage I could get the rack first and then once the snake grew a little larger and I had others to fill in the rack, I could just put my favorite one in a cage. Just an idea, but saving on the thermostat and space by getting a rack sounds like a more practical option right now. Been studying things over for years now and I can finally get one so I want to have the best set up I can so I can start the hobby (: I have also heard once you get one, it is hard not to get another haha!

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Originally Posted by Soord

What I plan on doing when I get a little more money is buying an ap for my very first bp because of the sentimental value he is to me and getting racks for the rest. Maybe you can do that too? Start of with racks then upgrade when you feel like it.

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We had the same idea! lol

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Originally Posted by Robbie82

Okay that helps. I didn't know about the difference in thermostats so that would make things a lot more expensive later on. I was thinking if I did eventually want a cage I could get the rack first and then once the snake grew a little larger and I had others to fill in the rack, I could just put my favorite one in a cage. Just an idea, but saving on the thermostat and space by getting a rack sounds like a more practical option right now. Been studying things over for years now and I can finally get one so I want to have the best set up I can so I can start the hobby (: I have also heard once you get one, it is hard not to get another haha!

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We had the same idea! lol

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Haha great minds think alike. And I'll explain. So many racks are wired up with tape at the back or side so you need just one probe to put in the middle and it should work for the all the heat in the rack (with a little variance between top and bottom) if you get all AP cages you will need a probe for each ones heat system since they are separate. Ive been shopping for a rack and many people recommend going with a herpstat 2 in case of expanding your cage, and it would work well for if you got your ap cage and didn't expand the racks yet. It is extra money though so a 1 works fine for starting out. Also a cheaper thermo works alright but if you can shell out some money for a good one right off the bat it makes you and the snake a happy camper.

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Originally Posted by Soord

Haha great minds think alike. And I'll explain. So many racks are wired up with tape at the back or side so you need just one probe to put in the middle and it should work for the all the heat in the rack (with a little variance between top and bottom) if you get all AP cages you will need a probe for each ones heat system since they are separate. Ive been shopping for a rack and many people recommend going with a herpstat 2 in case of expanding your cage, and it would work well for if you got your ap cage and didn't expand the racks yet. It is extra money though so a 1 works fine for starting out. Also a cheaper thermo works alright but if you can shell out some money for a good one right off the bat it makes you and the snake a happy camper.

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I have read a lot of people saying that so I will put aside some money for a good thermo. My main concern is the snakes well being and thanks for clearing that up! I honestly don't mind racks at all, I actually like them, just like the visual aspect of the cages. I have wanted one since I was a kid and now I can actually get one haha. Just took genetics last semester as well so I am all about making some great looking morphs! (: What do you have in your collection?

It also somewhat annoys me that it takes so long to ship the racks or cages, but I completely understand why. I just want one so I can start soon! lol Just my impatience setting in

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Originally Posted by Robbie82

I have read a lot of people saying that so I will put aside some money for a good thermo. My main concern is the snakes well being and thanks for clearing that up! I honestly don't mind racks at all, I actually like them, just like the visual aspect of the cages. I have wanted one since I was a kid and now I can actually get one haha. Just took genetics last semester as well so I am all about making some great looking morphs! (: What do you have in your collection?

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Haha in order to keep this about racks feel free to message me if you want to ask about my snakes/plans for the future.

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If you plan on purchasing young bps you will be waiting awhile to breed, at least 3 years is what I hear. If you plan on getting 2 snakes and using a rack for breeding then you can just but those 2 snakes in cages and buy racks in a couple years. But if you buy a rack and fill it in a couple years your just going to have to buy another rack for the babies you hatch. You could buy a rack and only fill it with one or 2 snakes and then save the rest for breeding when it comes but it will be empty for awhile and if your ok with that then go for it. If you buy a baby ball python and buy a baby rack then you will have to buy a new rack once your snakes get bigger bc the baby rack will no longer be big enough for the 2 snakes you have. No matter what you will have to buy something else unless you get a rack that can take different sized tubs but then your let's says 10 tub rack will end up being an 8 tub rack once the 2 snakes grow and then you breed those 2 and you fill the rest of the rack and unless you sell some the babies will grow and then your last 8 slots turn into 4 slots and you have to buy another rack for the other 4 snakes. Lol point is you will need to buy more racks or cages no matter what you decide unless you decide to spend the cash and get a big rack that will be enough for the different sized ball pythons or multiple racks that you can move them to once there older.

By the end of June I will have 4 Bps and each will be in PVC cages. I will upgrade my smaller vision cages to animal plastics cages once they grow. One of the snakes I already have is already in a vision cage that will last his life and I'll have a ap t10 in a couple days and an ivory to put it in and when I upgrade my killer bee amd toffino enchi im buying to a bigger cage they will go in T8s and be stacked right on top of the T10. When I pick up some more snakes and I'm ready to breed I will buy a few racks but right now I want to enjoy these fine creatures lol! So you could get animal plastic cages and stack them to save space and just buy a rack when your ready to breed.

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Originally Posted by chrid16371

If you plan on purchasing young bps you will be waiting awhile to breed, at least 3 years is what I hear. If you plan on getting 2 snakes and using a rack for breeding then you can just but those 2 snakes in cages and buy racks in a couple years. But if you buy a rack and fill it in a couple years your just going to have to buy another rack for the babies you hatch. You could buy a rack and only fill it with one or 2 snakes and then save the rest for breeding when it comes but it will be empty for awhile and if your ok with that then go for it. If you buy a baby ball python and buy a baby rack then you will have to buy a new rack once your snakes get bigger bc the baby rack will no longer be big enough for the 2 snakes you have. No matter what you will have to buy something else unless you get a rack that can take different sized tubs but then your let's says 10 tub rack will end up being an 8 tub rack once the 2 snakes grow and then you breed those 2 and you fill the rest of the rack and unless you sell some the babies will grow and then your last 8 slots turn into 4 slots and you have to buy another rack for the other 4 snakes. Lol point is you will need to buy more racks or cages no matter what you decide unless you decide to spend the cash and get a big rack that will be enough for the different sized ball pythons or multiple racks that you can move them to once there older.

By the end of June I will have 4 Bps and each will be in PVC cages. I will upgrade my smaller vision cages to animal plastics cages once they grow. One of the snakes I already have is already in a vision cage that will last his life and I'll have a ap t10 in a couple days and an ivory to put it in and when I upgrade my killer bee amd toffino enchi im buying to a bigger cage they will go in T8s and be stacked right on top of the T10. When I pick up some more snakes and I'm ready to breed I will buy a few racks but right now I want to enjoy these fine creatures lol! So you could get animal plastic cages and stack them to save space and just buy a rack when your ready to breed.

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Thanks! This is a good idea as well. And it sounds like an amazing collection you have now, I'm jealous! lol. But yea right now I am a senior in college so money is a little tight so I will probably go the best cheapest route for the balls until I can save up a little for the AP stackable cages. My dream is to breed and maybe even make morphs that haven't been created yet so I am hoping I will be needing a lot of racks in the future lol, but for right now I may just get one and upgrade to the PVC when the time comes because like you, I need to "enjoy these fine creatures!" haha. Thanks again and good luck with your collection.

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Originally Posted by Robbie82

Thanks! This is a good idea as well. And it sounds like an amazing collection you have now, I'm jealous! lol. But yea right now I am a senior in college so money is a little tight so I will probably go the best cheapest route for the balls until I can save up a little for the AP stackable cages. My dream is to breed and maybe even make morphs that haven't been created yet so I am hoping I will be needing a lot of racks in the future lol, but for right now I may just get one and upgrade to the PVC when the time comes because like you, I need to "enjoy these fine creatures!" haha. Thanks again and good luck with your collection.

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I have only been keeping bps since the end of January and I'm already looking for more to add to my collection lol I will be building my own racks out of PVC by the end of summer. I've already built a leopard gecko rack that takes tubs from hatchling to adult since I breed them. I think with my bp rack I will be using a router quite a bit or will be welding and making ones the style of ars or freedom breeders. That's something you can always do, you could build a rack or cage if you or someone you know is handy. An ap T8 really isn't that much and if you get young ball pythons you can get a divider and house one on each side of it and after awhile when they grow big you can buy another T8 without a divider and take the divider out of the one and then they each have there own big cage. A T8 with divider will house 2 bps for awhile. But there's nothing wrong with a rack! Look around on fauna classifieds and Craigslist, you may come across some good deals on ap cages or vision or other PVC cages or racks. I have bought about $2000 retail price of stuff off classifieds forums and sites and it only cost me $800 for all the stuff I bought, I have stuff I don't even need but have when I do.

I actually started with glass critter cages with screen lids (40 gallon, 20 gallon, 10 gallon, and 5 gallon). Then when I upgraded to an ARS rack system I used the critter cages to raise rodents! I actually prefer my snakes in tubs and my mice and rats in aquariums, they both seem more comfortable in that setup.

Something else to keep in mind when deciding racks or cages... racks will need a warmer ambient room temperature than a cage will. A Cage with a properly sized RHP will keep temps where they need to be in a room that is 68-70F with no problem. If you put a rack with only heat tape in a 68 degree room, it's not going to be warm enough, so you'll need to think about that. That was my biggest oversight when going to a rack.

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Originally Posted by chrid16371

I have only been keeping bps since the end of January and I'm already looking for more to add to my collection lol I will be building my own racks out of PVC by the end of summer. I've already built a leopard gecko rack that takes tubs from hatchling to adult since I breed them. I think with my bp rack I will be using a router quite a bit or will be welding and making ones the style of ars or freedom breeders. That's something you can always do, you could build a rack or cage if you or someone you know is handy. An ap T8 really isn't that much and if you get young ball pythons you can get a divider and house one on each side of it and after awhile when they grow big you can buy another T8 without a divider and take the divider out of the one and then they each have there own big cage. A T8 with divider will house 2 bps for awhile. But there's nothing wrong with a rack! Look around on fauna classifieds and Craigslist, you may come across some good deals on ap cages or vision or other PVC cages or racks. I have bought about $2000 retail price of stuff off classifieds forums and sites and it only cost me $800 for all the stuff I bought, I have stuff I don't even need but have when I do.

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I am looking pretty much everyday for deals on those sites haha! But it is good to hear people are doing the same. I may get into building my own but I want to make sure I would make it right lol. I will look into that cage though! The thought of dividers might be useful and I would eventually love to build my own and breed a lot of reptiles but right now have to start off small. I used to have crested geckos, love them! Do you have a picture of your racks/cages you could post?

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Originally Posted by LittleTreeGuy

Something else to keep in mind when deciding racks or cages... racks will need a warmer ambient room temperature than a cage will. A Cage with a properly sized RHP will keep temps where they need to be in a room that is 68-70F with no problem. If you put a rack with only heat tape in a 68 degree room, it's not going to be warm enough, so you'll need to think about that. That was my biggest oversight when going to a rack.

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My house is normally around 73-75 degrees so do you think I am in an alright temp zone for a rack? Preferably the economy rack from ap? I know they are not closed all of the way around the tubs so they don't retain heat as well as the enclosed ones.

I would get a rack for ball pythons they really are not the most active centerpiece snake. I thought that i would want to look at my snakes when i was deciding to get a rack or not but i find they mostly stay in their hides and and i can still see them in the rack if i really want to watch them.

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Originally Posted by Robbie82

My house is normally around 73-75 degrees so do you think I am in an alright temp zone for a rack? Preferably the economy rack from ap? I know they are not closed all of the way around the tubs so they don't retain heat as well as the enclosed ones.

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You may be okay.. depending on what size heat tape you go with. You may need a small space heater though... It's hard to say for certain.