Ball Python Rack Questions / Help

[Lexiethekitten]

I'm looking to make a rack that can hold 6-10 ball pythons. But, of course before starting... I do happen to have a few questions about building it, what materials I'd need, etc.

What material is best? I heard that melamine is best to prevent warping, it's durable, and it's safer in general. However, would the whole rack need to be melamine or only the shelves?

How do you go about the process of setting up the heat tape? This part has kept me away from making my own rack, I'm worried I'd mess up and cause harm to my ball pythons, myself, or my home.
Do I need to have a divider between the shelves and tubs?

Do I need to keep the lids on the tubs? Or will my BPs be safe without the lids? Does it really matter?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

There are excellent DIY in our DIY section

Melamine will not prevent warping quite the contrary, after a few years your rack will do just that, it's heavy not durable it will contract and expend, crack and is not safe.

The best material is expended PVC, will not warp, is durable, will not crack and is fire retardant, additionally it is lighter but sturdy.

[bcr229]

I am in the process of replacing all of my home-built melamine racks with PVC.

Back heat is easiest to install, no worries about the tubs sliding over the heat tape and destroying it.