I am interested in building a small snake rack system for 4 or 5 adult colubrids(gopher snakes, kingsnakes,etc.) and normally I would house them all seperately in their own terrarium. But now space is an issue and I can't have that many large terrariums with all the lighting, heating, etc. I have just recently started looking at rack systems and was considering building one myself. Boaphile and others sell nice racks but they would cost me five times as much as it would cost me to build it myself. So I had a few questions about building it myself:



1. What kind of wood should I use? I heard particle board(melamine veneer) can give off toxic fumes when heated.

2. How should I mount the heat tape? Along the back of the rack or underneath each individual bin?



Now here are my reservations: I'm a good carpenter but I know nothing about being an electrician. Installing the heat tape worries me. How safe is that stuff when installing it yourself(shorting out and fire hazard)?

Should I just break down and buy a professional PVC material rack and have the pros build it? If so, are there any affordable brands you recommend?



Thanks

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