3 Rack Mini System for $7 (not including heat)

My house has limited space considerations, which means sometimes things need to be strategically placed in a practical sense.

I was walking through home depot and I found something sorta neat (and I am sure others have seen this too), but I thought I would throw it up anyway.

They were selling small 3 level plastic storage racks, and I thought, hmmm, those would be ideal for either baby balls or perhaps sand boas or whatever.

There were 3 concerns for my little experiment; 1) heating, 2) locking the little tubs in place (because they were free moving), and 3) there are some very small slits on the sides, which would be out of the question for small colubrids, but perhaps ok for balls and/or other baby snakes that come with more girth straight off.

1) Heating can be very simple by perhaps adding heat tape or using a heating pad, which can slide in underneath the tubs with ease.

2) Locking the tubs was simple, I just drilled a hole all the way into each layer and tub and put a properly sized rod in place. The neat thing is there is a lip on each level that allows for this.

3) The small slits in the sides may or may not be an issue for larger varieties of babies, I will have to see.

In the end, if this pans out, they are cheap as hell ($7), well made, and can fit just about anywhere.

Anyway, here are some pics so you can see what I mean:

http://serpentcharmer.com/racks/3_rack_1.jpg

http://serpentcharmer.com/racks/3_rack_2.jpg

http://serpentcharmer.com/racks/3_rack_3.jpg

BrandonsBalls

Not a good system because the snakes not in the top tub can access the heat for the tub above it.

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Originally Posted by ThyTempest

Not a good system because the snakes not in the top tub can access the heat for the tub above it.

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If you look carefully the tub sits on an actual shelf that heat tape could be affixed to

I've made one of these sort of "racks" before. It is in use now as a quarantine.
It has 8 levels and the problem I find with them is they do not hold humidity well.
I am constantly having to mist to keep it up.
-Steven

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Originally Posted by Royal Morphz

If you look carefully the tub sits on an actual shelf that heat tape could be affixed to

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Yes, but those shelves have two gaping holes in them, which a curious snake could go up and touch the heat sitting over them.

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Originally Posted by ThyTempest

Yes, but those shelves have two gaping holes in them, which a curious snake could go up and touch the heat sitting over them.

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oh yes i see that now its got a seleton shelf rather than a solid one i do apologize for my error

Problem solved use back heat.....

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Originally Posted by hoax

Problem solved use back heat.....

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Very clever....if the room is temp controlled, which I doubt it is, with no offense to the OP. I dont have temp controlled rooms specifically for herps, and I think a lot of people that do the DIY/cheap buy kind of stuff like this (me included), dont have the resources to pull off back heat yet.

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Originally Posted by ThyTempest

Very clever....if the room is temp controlled, which I doubt it is, with no offense to the OP. I dont have temp controlled rooms specifically for herps, and I think a lot of people that do the DIY/cheap buy kind of stuff like this (me included), dont have the resources to pull off back heat yet.

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I guess you have a point. I try and do things on the cheep. But I do have a temp controlled room. I just find it easier to control the room temperature and then all I have to worry about the warm end....

I am so glad that i live in fl and don't have to worry about all the issues with humidity and freezing weather

Heres why they do not work, when you open a tub, it leaves the snake in the tub under free to go behind it, and if your not carefull you can smash your snake, or spend unneeded time getting them out.

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Originally Posted by ThyTempest

Yes, but those shelves have two gaping holes in them, which a curious snake could go up and touch the heat sitting over them.

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Back heat could be used quite efficiently.

I wouldnt touch those racks with the very obvious slits in the sides though.... Not worth risking a loose animal. They can fit through some pretty small spaces, and or get badly injured trying.

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Originally Posted by ThyTempest

Very clever....if the room is temp controlled, which I doubt it is, with no offense to the OP. I dont have temp controlled rooms specifically for herps, and I think a lot of people that do the DIY/cheap buy kind of stuff like this (me included), dont have the resources to pull off back heat yet.

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I dont have temp controlled rooms either ( at least, not enough for what youre thinking... we have one thermostat for upstairs, i dont count it as Room temp control, really.) , its about 60 in my room right now, 65? Racks are all kept at perfect temps, using back heat.

Tried this years ago. Problem I had was snakes getting through the cracks you are talking about and getting lodged between tub and rack itself. None ever escaped but it is very hard to get them out when this happens. The container store has an under bed drawer that works a lot better. A little more expensive but still not even close to the cost of other rack systems. I am breeding in them this year.

you guys think this would work for boas

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

Heres why they do not work, when you open a tub, it leaves the snake in the tub under free to go behind it, and if your not carefull you can smash your snake, or spend unneeded time getting them out.

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:gj: Totally agree it’s an accident waiting to happen.

Like I said on the last page, I use one currently and have not had any issues with snakes escaping. As long as you modify a flat shelf piece over the "skeleton shelf" and affix the heat tape to that surface you have no fear of the animals escaping and also no way for the snake to come into contact with heating elements.
But as previously stated, humidity does not hold well in them.
This is my personal, first hand experience.
-Steven

I tried some way back when, and the smaller snakes would squeeze out the gaps, the larger ones would force openings to try to squeeze out. I ended up taking the drawers out and putting the plastic drawers in a built rack instead. The skeleton frame was tossed out at a cat one day.

I think it would work fine if you fabricate some kind of lid for each drawer. That would prevent the occupants from escaping, contacting the heat source, wedging into the small cracks, etc.

Wish I still lived in FL :(

IF it has more of a shelf system instead of a skeleton system do you think it would work? Similar to those plastic file cabinets that you see all the time at Big Lots or Walmart? Perhappes if someone has an idea with those plastic drawer things they can post a picture and we can critique it's flaws or find a way to fix it? I personally think it has great possibilities if it's the right kind of shelf system.

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Originally Posted by FatBoy

Tried this years ago. Problem I had was snakes getting through the cracks you are talking about and getting lodged between tub and rack itself. None ever escaped but it is very hard to get them out when this happens. The container store has an under bed drawer that works a lot better. A little more expensive but still not even close to the cost of other rack systems. I am breeding in them this year.

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X2.

I tried these out (and/or other similar style "racks") for different species of terrestrial geckos. They constantly would escape and would be behind or next to their cages, but still inside the frame of the rack. When I opened the drawer to look for them, they would crawl through the hole underneath where the tub is when it is closed, and hide underneath their cage. If they were on the bottom, they could climb out from underneath the rack by going to the back end, where there was an opening.

Also, others would climb out of the back of their cage while the tub above was opened.

I found all of the geckos, but it definitely wasn't worth the inexpensive price... Way too much hassle since it was so easy for the geckos to escape.

What about something like this?
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=9875056
minus the color, unless that's your thing. It was just easier to see than the white.

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Originally Posted by Dragnbaron

What about something like this?
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=9875056
minus the color, unless that's your thing. It was just easier to see than the white.

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I had the same problems with those. They can crawl over the top of the tub and then stay between the frame and the outside of the tub. There is a big hole in the framing under the tub. When you pull the tub out, they can then crawl and be underneath the entire cage. There's a hole in the back of the frame (on the bottom) where they can then crawl through and escape completely.

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Originally Posted by FatBoy

Tried this years ago. Problem I had was snakes getting through the cracks you are talking about and getting lodged between tub and rack itself. None ever escaped but it is very hard to get them out when this happens. The container store has an under bed drawer that works a lot better. A little more expensive but still not even close to the cost of other rack systems. I am breeding in them this year.

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Can you post pic's of what you picked up at the container store?:gj:

LOL, If I had just stopped trying to be cheap in the beginning and just bought my real racks to start with I would have spent 1/2 as much!

I tried every store bought tub rack system out there, and none of them worked for one reason or another. Easily spent enough screwing with that stuff to cover the cost of my first real (RBI) rack.

Keep experimenting. When you get tired of the frustration, RBI.

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Originally Posted by Emilio

Can you post pic's of what you picked up at the container store?:gj:

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https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/7/2/8/9/cs.jpg
Here is a stack of 7 beside a Vision CB70. I now have that stack 12 high.

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Originally Posted by LGL

I had the same problems with those. They can crawl over the top of the tub and then stay between the frame and the outside of the tub. There is a big hole in the framing under the tub. When you pull the tub out, they can then crawl and be underneath the entire cage. There's a hole in the back of the frame (on the bottom) where they can then crawl through and escape completely.

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Well, there are no holes in the bottom of the one i posted. It's really close to the same as the under bed ones, but there is a LITTLE space behind the bin, but it is more like a shelf from when i saw it.

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Originally Posted by Dragnbaron

Well, there are no holes in the bottom of the one i posted. It's really close to the same as the under bed ones, but there is a LITTLE space behind the bin, but it is more like a shelf from when i saw it.

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From what I'm seeing at the link you posted, it looks to me like it is the model with the hole in the frame. If you look through the front of the cage at what would be the ground, notice how the dark frame is only an inch or two toward the center of the tub. It is lighter in the middle. With the tubs I have, and what I'm seeing with that picture, is that the light area is an opening in the frame that is about as large as the bottom of the tub itself.

You can see it better in the enlarged version of the picture: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/detai...d=false&type=0

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Originally Posted by LGL

From what I'm seeing at the link you posted, it looks to me like it is the model with the hole in the frame. If you look through the front of the cage at what would be the ground, notice how the dark frame is only an inch or two toward the center of the tub. It is lighter in the middle. With the tubs I have, and what I'm seeing with that picture, is that the light area is an opening in the frame that is about as large as the bottom of the tub itself.

You can see it better in the enlarged version of the picture: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/detai...d=false&type=0

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Ahh, you know, you're right! I saw one that didn't have that hole in it at the store. Hmm, you have a wicked good eye! Kudos

Rubbermaid makes a "tub" type thing, its bassically perfect.
they are about, 6-8 bucks each though, but when you need more room you can just run down to your nearest walmart and pick it up lol

each level you add is self contained, bassically like the one you have but the drawer slides into a solid plastic sleve....

kind of hard to explain...


but if i find a pic ill post it...

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Originally Posted by ThyTempest

Very clever....if the room is temp controlled, which I doubt it is, with no offense to the OP. I dont have temp controlled rooms specifically for herps, and I think a lot of people that do the DIY/cheap buy kind of stuff like this (me included), dont have the resources to pull off back heat yet.

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Doesn't matter, because if you have the temps set right, shouldn't hurt the snake anyway.