Looking to purchase a rack

Could I get some advice as to racks that work for you? I live in a condo and am going to convert part of my walk in closet into a space to keep my guys (I'm planning on picking up a few here soon). Thanks for your advice.

Since you don't have a dedicated snake room, with controlled temps, I would recommend Reptile Basics racks. Their racks are enclosed and hold the heat very well. I have 4 of their 32qt racks and am very happy with them :)

RBI all the way!

http://www.reptilebasics.com/Iris-Sw...t-p-16197.html

I'm thinking this is going to be the rack system I use. I'm thinking I'm going to pay the xtra 20 bucks for belly heat and actually use a Honeywell line voltage thermostat to control the temperature using a 10k resistor for temperature control. Anyone have objections to this. Also since my pinny is only about 300g I'm thinking that I'll have to divide one of the tubs in half (on second thought she's in a 20gallon now so she'll probably be ok). I'd appreciate some more advice as to setup for tubs since I've never considered using racks until yesterday. My boy monty's been in a 20 gal. as long as I've had him is it going to stress him out going to a 30qt. tub? I'm thinking I don't need uth's but I'll still stay with aspen as my substrate, and mist everyday. Now what do I need to do about lighting? I was thinking of leaving the light on in the closet during the day and using ceramic heaters @ night to keep ambient temperatures up. You can see I have tons of questions and am looking foward to hearing your answers, thanks again.

Chris

I bumped this so I could get some feedback I'm hoping to place my order tommorrow I just wanted some feedback.

I have 4 of those racks and they are great! I have belly heat on all of them and have been very happy with the constancy of the heat and the humidity~ I doubt very much that you'll need to spray :)

I use paper substrate and have only a small water bowl in each of the tubs and the humidity stays great (55%). This is phenomenal given that the humidity in my area is about 28% right now!!!!

As for your using a thingmajig to control the stat-- wow! I didn't even recognize the description as being in a language that I speak!! Lol!!!!

I was wondering the same too! One question tho! Will a 32qt tub be big enough for full grown BPs???

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Originally Posted by adamsmasher

http://www.reptilebasics.com/Iris-Sw...t-p-16197.html

I'm thinking this is going to be the rack system I use. I'm thinking I'm going to pay the xtra 20 bucks for belly heat and actually use a Honeywell line voltage thermostat to control the temperature using a 10k resistor for temperature control. Anyone have objections to this. Also since my pinny is only about 300g I'm thinking that I'll have to divide one of the tubs in half (on second thought she's in a 20gallon now so she'll probably be ok). I'd appreciate some more advice as to setup for tubs since I've never considered using racks until yesterday. My boy monty's been in a 20 gal. as long as I've had him is it going to stress him out going to a 30qt. tub? I'm thinking I don't need uth's but I'll still stay with aspen as my substrate, and mist everyday. Now what do I need to do about lighting? I was thinking of leaving the light on in the closet during the day and using ceramic heaters @ night to keep ambient temperatures up. You can see I have tons of questions and am looking foward to hearing your answers, thanks again.

Chris

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i highly doubt that thermostat is as reliable as something really designed for this purpose

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Originally Posted by nixer

i highly doubt that thermostat is as reliable as something really designed for this purpose

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Actually, that's basically what the thermostats we use are. You'd be surprised how many things you can make when you start getting into electrical engineering. ;) The only thing I can tell you is after you put it together, I would suggest running it for at least a few weeks with close monitoring to make sure everything is working out right.

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Originally Posted by m00kfu

Actually, that's basically what the thermostats we use are. You'd be surprised how many things you can make when you start getting into electrical engineering. ;) The only thing I can tell you is after you put it together, I would suggest running it for at least a few weeks with close monitoring to make sure everything is working out right.

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not if he has to add a 10k resistor to it its not!
last time i checked i didnt have to add anything to any of the commonly used ones

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nixer

not if he has to add a 10k resistor to it its not!
last time i checked i didnt have to add anything to any of the commonly used ones

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Right, because someone else already did. ;) I assume the op has some knowledge about this stuff based on the questions he asked. I would NOT suggest it for someone who doesn't have any experience working/designing electrical components.

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Originally Posted by Whoa1984

I was wondering the same too! One question tho! Will a 32qt tub be big enough for full grown BPs???

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I don't feel that the 32qt is large enough for my mature females (1800g and up) and my larger males.

actually I'm an hvac technician so temp controls is something I know a little about. a line voltage thermostat is a thermostat that basically breaks the hot leg of the 120v circuit supplying power to the heat tape, the resistor is a non mechanical part that rarely fails. Its a 10k resistor because @ 77*F it generates 10k ohms of resistance and changes based on temperature, thus giving me a way to double check my temps, etc. Plus they're a whole heck of alot cheaper than these fancy schmancy controls most are using and probably more reliable, plus I could go psycho and wire 2 in series to have a backup.

ok back to the real topic @ hand: If 32 quart tubs aren't adequate then I guess the Iris isn't the right rack for me? Heres what I'm looking for in a rack if it helps. I need a rack that can be added onto (stackable) that initally only has 4 drawers or so that is reliable @ holding humidity and allow thermalregulation. Something that can be easily moved would be a plus. Thanks for all your suggestions.

How big are your snakes? Are they males or females? How fast do they seem to be growing?

Most of my snakes are still in the 32qt racks. Females, when mature, will need a larger space (like RBI's 41qt 3-drawer). One of my males needs a larger space cause he is BIG!!!! The other three males are doing fine in the 32qt.

Seriously, were I you, I'd get the 32qt with some dividers. Remove the dividers when the snakes are old enough and then get a bigger rack for the snakes who outgrow the 32qt (which won't be for over a year, at least!)

well I have one male and one female, but will be purchasing at least one additional male as soon as I get my rack sit. sorted out. My guys grow pretty quick. I got monty about a year ago and he was <200g and he's now close to 1000g. He's got a voracious appetite. My little girl seems to be doing even better (part of that is because when I first got monty I didn't know I was underfeeding him) I feed her a large mouse every 5 days shes about 275 grams. I'm just concerned how they'll adjust to the tubs but from what everyone elses experience has been I'd say I have nothing to worry about. Thanks. Also I'd like to get some opinions about this rack...

http://www.jasons-jungle.com/racks.html

Seems a little bit better than the RBI ones. Tell me what you think. Thanks

chris

Isn't it possible to either

1) Put a younger ball python in a 41qt or
2) Put a small tub with a lid inside a 41qt, so that when the snake outgrows that tub he can immediately go into the 41qt?

This way you don't have to buy several racks for the same snakes...

reptile basics are nice for your current situation, I personaly built all of my own racks so I am not very familiar with different companies except for what I hear other members claim

Quote:

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Originally Posted by adamsmasher

Could I get some advice as to racks that work for you? I live in a condo and am going to convert part of my walk in closet into a space to keep my guys (I'm planning on picking up a few here soon). Thanks for your advice.

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RBI!!!!! I have a 2X3 and a CB70 rack and love them both!

Look in my sig there is the link. That is how much I believe in Rich. He is great he has great customer service.

He makes great racks....:O

http://www.drrobertrey.com/