>>how do you keep the shelves even?



I started at the top and worked down. I attached the top flush with the ends of the sides, then I used a blanket box and the pegboard as a spacer when I screwed the next shelf in. The clamp(s) kept the shelf secured to the boxes, secured to the top. Then I worked my way down, clamping to each shelf above. Chris shows a good way to space the shelves with pieces of melamine, but since I didn't even have a power saw when I put it together, I couldn't make those pieces. I improvised and it worked well.





>>would it work to put the boxes in and assemble the rack upside down so there is no gaps for small snakes?



Yes, but as Chris points out it'd be better to have a small gap than no gap and the shelf be too tight. You can work with other materials to lessen the gap, but once the shelf is screwed in, you can't make it looser if too tight.





>>I did not understand what you do with the pegboard, heat tape, and that shiny metal tape.



I only used the pegboard as a spacer to create the gap above each box. I also wanted to make sure the boxes weren't too tight to cause too much friction on the heat tape because I didn't recess the heat tape into a groove in the shelf. The metal tape is simply holding the edges of the heat tape down to the melamine shelf.





>>what size boxes do this shelf system hold and how do you provide ventillation.



The blanket boxes are about 22" wide, 16" deep and 6" high. The sweater boxes are about 11" wide, 16" deep and 6" high, so you can put one blanket or two sweater boxes on each level. Because there is a small gap on top of each box, there's ventilation there and in the many, many holes I put in the top side of each box with a soldering iron. Works great for smooth, clean holes.





>>Is a bought rack the same price?



It depends on what material and who makes it. The plastic racks are typically quite a bit more and melamine is a little bit more. Check out the dealers here on Kingsnake to compare prices. If you're unsure what you're doing, afraid of tools, or clueless about wiring heat tape, you may be better off with a plastic rack. I hear good things about the ones sold by e2macpets.com. I really like my Boaphile sideways blanket box rack, but it was over $350.



Apparently the original post is not available right now, so here's another one - forums.kingsnake.com/viewarch.php?id=24936,25044&key=2003
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