Since it's quite warm here in Los Angeles (sorry, don't know where the rest of you are at), I went to the local Smart & Final store (they carry catering supplies) and purchased dinner boxes like the ones you would find at take-out places. The largest is 10" x 8" x 3". I just punched some holes in them using a hole puncher and I've got an instant rack! I include 2 8-oz short food containers inside. One to hold water and the second is turned upside down with a hole cut out and used as a hide. Quite surprisingly, it holds heat and with the 'waterbowl' inside, there's instant humidity. One package which costs all of $16 contains 20 dinner boxes and they're made by LumiStar.



If hatchlings can be sold at shows or shipped in deli cups, I don't see why they can't be maintained, even briefly in these dinner boxes. I went a bit further and used 3 x 5 labels so that I can write a description of each (male/female, color & markings) as well as the dates that they've fed and what they ate. This worked for me with last year's batch and it's a nice presentation when you're selling off the hatchlings you don't need for your colony.



I'm also looking at the Sterilite boxes, I just have to find the room and figure out how to heat them in winter. My friend and I built 2 melamine cages of our own from scratch. We took a look at what they had on Showcasecages.com and made our own version for half the price. I'm currently designing a plain cabinet to house my computer and peripherals and then have a double cage on top of that (my monitor, speakers and printer will be above that. Pretty much making most of my furniture into useable furniture/cages. My Ikea bookshelves that were converted into cabinets are next. I'm thinking about using only the bottom halves as cabinet space where the top portions will be turned into cages. I know Sterilite boxes are more practical but I want to be able to see all of my snakes in a 'display' situation. My headboard is currently a 60 gal aquarium housing my Discus and plant collection. If I can find someone who'll take good care of them, I may sell it and make a new headboard with stacked cages just to house my snakes (stacking's the only way to go when you live in a small apartment).
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Paul aka "PuppyChulo"

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