Actually, my shelves have not started sagging at all yet....and I'm not sure if they will....maybe in time...who knows...but so far, so good. I have about 1/8 inch space above each box so air can flow out of the top as well as the holes on the sides.....I haven't had any trouble sliding the 32 qt sterilites in and out. I did have sagging with the rack I built for the 16 qt Sterilites at first..but I build it without using the 1/8 inch spacer and no support on the bottom...I have since completely re-assembled them so the racks slide with ease...and no sagging yet.

One reason for this (I think) may be due to the fact that I built the first rack in my unfinished basement, with a much colder temperature. Once the rack was moved into my 75-80 degree herp room, the wood probably shifted and adjusted and warped (as much as it could given I used a lot of screws). I also made the sterilite tubs fit very tightly in to the rack to begin with....b/c of fear of snake escape...but soon realized that they cannot escape with a 1/8-1/4 inch gap at the top of the container...

I like your idea about having the space between the shelves for heating. That would be ideal for a hatchling rack containing species that are difficult to get started....so that you could rule out incorrect temps as a factor for nonfeeders.

Another option would be to use thicker PVCX for the shelves. Although...no matter what material would be used...something would have to be added for structural support if using 36" wide shelves....3 feet is just too much space between the sides of the rack.



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Sincerely, Jason
www.NortheastSnakes.com
NortheastSnakes@aol.com

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