Advantages Of Tubs/Racks

[artgecko]

Not trying to make anyone mad I'm just trying to weigh the pros and cons of racks and tubs as opposed to tanks. The most attractive thing about tubs to me Is that they are much cheaper than a tank of similar size. And from what I've heard they told humidity better, no mesh for it to escape. I don't have a need for a rack as I've only got 3 snakes and I don't see the point on spending money on one unless I get more. And they don't really display too well, I like to watch them so that factors into this as well.

I've used all four types of housing.. glass tanks, pvc cages, stand-alone tubs, and racks (closed-sided pvc racks).

I would say that for BPs, the advantages you get are the following:

1. Easier to hold humidity and heat (especially the closed-sided racks, not the "economy line" open sided ones)

2. Cheaper to house snakes in appropriately sized housing... (the CB70 rack I have has tubs equivalent to a 40gl breeder footprint, but I can house 3 with less cost than equipping 3 glass tanks or 3 pvc cages)

3. Easier/ Cheaper to heat - one strip of heat tape hooked up to 1 t-stat probe and channel will work for all 3 snakes, vs. needing 1 probe / channel per glass enclosure or pvc cage

4. Lighter / Easier to clean- This is a big one for me. I'm a short person...5'1" and moving a 40gl breeder to do a complete clean is a huge ordeal for me. It is much easier (and safer) for me to take out tubs and clean..This means they get cleaned more often and cleaned more thuroughly, since I can easily fill and soak them and dump the water than in a glass tank. This is also true of pvc cages, you can scrub / clean them, but can't really fill and soak them.

5. More space-saving- This becomes a bigger deal as you get more snakes, but racks do take up less room allowing you to keep more snakes without having tanks / cages everywhere


The main disadvantages IMO are:
1. Lack of visibility
2. Lack of space for more active species--- Note that I would not keep boas, carpets, or other active / climbing species in a rack past small juvie size.
3. Tub size constraints- You can get a pvc cage made up to just about any size you want, with racks, the size / footprint is determined by the size of the tubs you can get. You can find larger tubs (i.e. vision tubs) but these can be hard to find and expensive. So, finding a rack with an odd footprint (if you want one) can be more difficult. This is not a huge issue with BPs, if you go with the standard rack sizing (CB70 for adults, etc.). But if you are keeping, say, blood pythons and want a larger / taller tub, then you will have to look for a manufacturer to work with that can get the tubs you want and custom build one.