Looking to buy a snake rack

[jjmitchell]

a friend of mine turned me on to the animal plastics... She has been doing ball pythons since... cant honestly remember... she has pics of 05 offspring on her page... and I visit her house (to go shopping heheheh) on a regular basis hers all still look new....

[MarkieJ]

Anyhow, I want to get a rack for the majority of my snakes. This was inspired by the challenges of keeping a glass terrarium at the right humidity and temperature levels here in California, the heavy weight of glass cages (I do not want to move with those things), the challenge of reaching into the larger cages to clean, and this is also inspired by the desire to no longer feel cluttered with cages.

The manufacturer I keep going back to is RBI, but I know there are others I should consider. I'm leaning towards this Iris Sweaterbox Rack 32 qt from RBI with dividers, and the Iris CB-70 Rack. And I'd like to use the Ranco pre-wired thermostat that RBI carries, and get a temp gun. Just not sure which temp gun I should get. I see the $25 ones out there and then RBI sells some $50-100. I'm not sure if I want to stick with my Fluker's thermo/hygrometer, so if you have a suggestion there too, that'd be cool.

Things I desire in a snake rack:

• efficiency (heat/humidity)
• low to moderate cost
• manufacturer that'll be around for me to buy more stackable/compatible racks
• light weight but durable (probably PVC?)

While I don't have an unlimited budget, I like doing things right the first time, I tend to buy high quality, but not always is the top of the line the best (i.e. an Arai helmet is not superior to a Shoei helmet, its preference... and a Scorpion helmet is tough to beat for quality and features for the price!).

Thanks in advance for sharing! Please post photos if you can!

I went with the equivalent rack from Animal Plastics: the 375 series. Here's a quick snapshot of it:



The bungee on the top shelf is to keep a curious kitty out. I'm sure you can't go wrong with the RBI rack either. I ordered a Johnson Controls herpstat from them, and it was literally plug and play. The Ranco is likely the same. Despite being in these tubs, I still can get problem sheds from my BPs in these racks (I already have an AP CB70 rack, and a couple of melamine racks) from our dry air here in San Diego. I'll still add some water to the newspaper in their tubs when I see they're in shed.

The Animal Plastic racks come unassembled but are easy to put together if you have a hand drill. You also have to buy the tubs separately. From what I understand, the reptile basic racks come completely assembled with heat and tubs. One other downside about Animal Plastics is that it takes a minimum of a month before you get your rack. The last one I ordered took 6 weeks (the one above), and it's only a 4 shelf tub! However they are very high quality and I'm completely satisfied with them. You won't have to worry about customer service from either companies.

[ScubaDiver007]

Hey There, Thought I would share my set-up..

I did meet Jeff from Boaphiles in Tinley. Nice guy. Quality product. I also tend to pay for that extra service. Here it is...

[vjb]

ScubaDiver,
Nice setup.
I'm new to this so forgive me if this is elementary, but in your setup you have UTH's under all of your tubs (or Flexi-Watt tape)?
Does this require any special electrical work for your household system to handle this?

[CA cowgirl]

Here's another question for all ya'll. Would you buy a used rack from a random person (v. reputable breeder)? There's one listed locally that has the rubbermaid tubs and flexwatt back heat included. I figure if the price is right for the condition, and the flexwatt heats up, its good, right?

I'm usually a little nervous about buying electrical things. And while a possible mite infection can be a concern, I can sterilize the tubs and rack, then treat with PAM as a precautionary before placing critters inside, that should be enough, yes? Any other concerns?

Many thanks!

[Toronto Python Gurus]

Hey!
Sorry it took me soo long to check out your thread, been busy with the breeding season. I have some pictures of my current set-up hope you don't mind all the pictures. My room is 14 feet by 14 feet with a rat room built inside which is about 8 feet by 4-5 feet. All my racks are made of melamin wood. The hatchling racks have heat cord built into the bottom with a piece of metal on top, the wood had to be routed to keep the metal piece level with the wood. The Breeder racks have a thermal heating along the back of them hooked upto a helix. If there are any more questions feel free to ask.

Breeder Racks:


Hatchling Racks:


Yearling Racks:


Breeding Bin Heat Panel:


Yearling and Hatchling Heat:


Lighting and Fan to Circulate Hot Air:


Rat Racks:


Kitchen Fan in Rat room to Send Air Outside:


Hope that helps!

[CA cowgirl]

Pretty cool set up you have Torontonian! I look forward to one day having a reptile room similar to yours. I think my current solution is an RBI brand plastic rack. Just waiting for the job situation to get into position.

[cerastesruber]

[ScubaDiver007]

ScubaDiver,
Nice setup.
I'm new to this so forgive me if this is elementary, but in your setup you have UTH's under all of your tubs (or Flexi-Watt tape)?
Does this require any special electrical work for your household system to handle this?

Hey Sorry for just getting back to you on this question.

Its flexwatt tape under the bins. Everything is tied off to a single plug .. then plugged into a outlet / Therm.

Just got a BIG ball room rack / I have no idea where im going to put it. i will update the picture over the weekend. Its for a couple of 3500+ 5 ft girls that I own.

[Danounet]

I received my first rack ever yesterday from RBI, and I have to say it's very nice, it surpassed my expectations for the price, and Im not trying to say it was made cheap, it's very well made. It is the 32qt rack. I would post some pics, but I dont have the camera at the moment.