New With Rack Questions

I eventually wandered in here from KS, and this place seems to suite me better. I'm Mike from NJ, btw.

Without boring you with my life story, suffice it to say that I've recently made the conscious decision to indulge in my passion for ball pythons. I got my first ball about 6 months ago. She's a chubby normal female courtesy of Joe Compel Reptiles. At the White Plains expo this past Sunday, I purchased my first male...a small juvenile male. See where this is heading yet?

One snake was a thrill, two was a pleasure, three, four, ten? WHo knows where I'll end up. I do know that I'm going to be adding to the stable slowly from here on out. Rather than have all the snakes scattered throughout my house in glass aquariums, I think it'll be wise to invest in a rack.

I've been doing research to determine what rack would best suite me as far as price and durability. RBI seems to have a rock solid package at a great price, so I've pretty much made up my mind. I'm curious to see what people think about their 4x32qt rack with belly heat? I plan on purchasing their divider kit to split at least 1 tub in half for juveniles, saving the full tubs for subadults. I will be purchasing a Ranco thermo as well.

Anyone care to offer their opinions on this particular model rack? Good and bad would all help!

Thanks guys

Mike

I will be buying one or two soon. I currently have a Herp Enclosures rack from his Elite line with the tub dividers, which is a little bit higher quality PVC (compressed, rather than expanded) but you do pay a little more.

I've heard nothing but excellent reviews on the Reptile Basics' rack, and Rich is a great guy to work with too!

Oh, and welcome to the site. Looks like you registered a year ago, so we're glad you've decided to make yourself comfy here!

Welcome to BPNet, Mike. We have the 8 tub 15 qt rack from Reptile Basics and we couldn't be more pleased. Easy as pie to maintain heat and humidity in, the tubs slide easily, the pins in front of each tub are a nice touch and I love that he uses Iris tubs (my personal favorite tub manufacturer). A perfect small tub rack setup for the younger ball pythons. We'll definitely be looking to buy more racks from Rich down the road.

I have two racks from rbi and they are the bomb. Also whenever you have a ? or problem, Rich will always answer emails or phone calls, he's awesome.

Thanks for the replies! I actually did register about a year ago while I was researching but never got around to posting. Looks like that's changed!

I guess my major concern is the size of the rack. Are the 32qt tubs large enough to house most snakes? I realize that maybe very large females might present a problem, but I'll deal with that when it comes ya know?

When eggs start coming, I'm assuming a shoebox rack is the way to go?

Generally, my understanding is that for anything less than about 4 feet a 32qt tub is sufficient. For females larger than that you may need to move up to the longer tubs.

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Originally Posted by Tainted Glory

Thanks for the replies! I actually did register about a year ago while I was researching but never got around to posting. Looks like that's changed!

I guess my major concern is the size of the rack. Are the 32qt tubs large enough to house most snakes? I realize that maybe very large females might present a problem, but I'll deal with that when it comes ya know?

When eggs start coming, I'm assuming a shoebox rack is the way to go?

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32qt tubs are good for all but the largest of Ball Pythons. I use and love the RBI racks! Rich is a great guy and has awesome customer service. I use the shoebox, sweaterbox and cb70s from him.

EDIT: By the way, Welcome!

Here are some of the RBI racks I have...

http://www.glassreptiles.com/pictures/2007/rbiracks.jpg

Okay who cares about the racks! Where'd you get that amazingly red bucket Jamie?????? Enquiring minds must know! :P

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Originally Posted by Tainted Glory

I eventually wandered in here from KS, and this place seems to suite me better. I'm Mike from NJ, btw.

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Me too .... and welcome!!!!

Don't have any RBI racks, but have heard great things about them. Rich is nice to deal with and those 32 qt dividers are awesome. I think you would be pleased with the quality and service you get.

Neil

I own 3 different kinds of racks, Freedom breeder, Animal Plastics and Vision. The Vision can used many different way. Here is a post I made on them a while back http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=45148

I am very happy with mine. I will probably get another one next year as the collection and hatchlings keep growing. How many racks can go from CB-70's to 32 quart to juvy tubs to hatchling tubs all in the same rack?

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Okay who cares about the racks! Where'd you get that amazingly red bucket Jamie?????? Enquiring minds must know! :P

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First off, its Orange... :)

Its a Home Depot bucket. I use it when I am cleaning to empty the water bowls into. Helps me clean more quickly.

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Originally Posted by jglass38

First off, its Orange... :)

Its a Home Depot bucket. I use it when I am cleaning to empty the water bowls into. Helps me clean more quickly.

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Well dang either my computer's colors are off or my eyesight's going...looks red to me! :D

Well now I'm excited. All this positive feedback! First order of business is to build up some breeding stock. Hopefully towards the end of summer I'll have enough motivation and need to finally order one.

Let's talk thermostats. I'm leaning toward a single Ranco unit for $75 from RBI.

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Originally Posted by Tainted Glory

Well now I'm excited. All this positive feedback! First order of business is to build up some breeding stock. Hopefully towards the end of summer I'll have enough motivation and need to finally order one.

Let's talk thermostats. I'm leaning toward a single Ranco unit for $75 from RBI.

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In my opinion, if you plan on doing it right, spend some extra and get a proportional thermostat. Rich doesn't sell Herpstats. You can get a Helix for like 60 bucks more or a Herpstat directly from www.spyderrobotics.com for like $110.

Thanks for the info. Looks like a proportioned thermostat is the way to go. Anything else I need to know? Seems like everything but the most minute of details has been sorted out.