But how are they heated?



Most of your questions have been answered in previous posts. There is 11" wide heat tape running the entire height of the cage. It is sandwiched between the back panel and a pegboard for ventilation to prevent overheating. The heat tape is plugged into a thermostat which you can see in the pic. This is probably the most common and simplest method of heating.



Another method is to weave a 3" strip of heat tape along each shelf in the back. This means the heat tape is placed ON each shelf, and runs across the back side where it is right next to the back panel. The heat tape then down one side to the next shelf, across that shelf, then down to the next and so on. I need to take a picture of the heat tape in my Boaphile rack for clarification.





What prevents the snakes form getting out? Is it really ok to keep snakes in such small places all the time or are they meant for temporary housing?



As has been said before, providing a small enough gap between the shelf and tub does the trick. I felt 1/8" was too much of a gap. so I went with 1/16" gap and it does the trick just fine. Remember, snakes like small spaces as it makes them feel secure. All the snakes in my rack are healthy and feeding very well. They don't seem to show any signs of excessive stress at all. I try to make sure all their needs are met. Also, when I built the rack, I made sure there was a 2" space between the tub and the edge of the shelf. This way, if a certain species likes to be kept cooler, I can keep their tub a little farther from the heat tape in order to make the warm side a little cooler if necessary. Does that make sense?

[ Show Entire Thread ]