Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am building a hatchling rack and I have all of the melamine and screws. I just need to cut the sides to the right height. It is only going to be like 2 feet tall. I am not sure what boxes I am going to use (I know wrong order but I have 5 sheets froma closet that are the same size) but it is only about 24 wide and 14 deep. I see these perfect 4 quarts at meijers but they only have like 6 of them and I need 13 (12 for the rack and one extra) I am hoping for 3 on each shelf and 4 shelves high. My last problem is heating it. I don't want to use flexwatt if I have to because I am not good with wiring. And I don't know what else. I have reflectix though. Thanks a bunch Josh Feel free to suggest on anything except shelf size.
-----
thanks Josh

0.0.2 sandfish skinks,
0.0.1 texas long nose luckily eating mice
0.0.1 vine snake
1.1.0 turtles
0.1.0 greek tortoise
1.0.0 ball python
1.0.0 corn snake (out roaming the house but I don't know where)
1.1.0 childrens python (one needs a vet please close to 48301 or 48302 any suggestions?)
1.0.0 het for albino san diego gopher snake
0.0.1 rosehair tarantula
0.1. black and white kenyan sand boa
mice colony almost able to keep up with snakes.
and what ever lizards my vine snake hasn't eaten yet

Most of my questions I have answered myself. Right now my main q's are is it o.k to use a circular saw to cut the melamine even if it has a low tooth count. My main question is about heating. I have an idea a human heat pad with reflectix on the back. Without auto shut off, and with a rheo/thermo stat Where would I find one though? How does that sound?
-----
thanks Josh

0.0.2 sandfish skinks,
0.0.1 texas long nose luckily eating mice
0.0.1 vine snake
1.1.0 turtles
0.1.0 greek tortoise
1.0.0 ball python
1.0.0 corn snake (out roaming the house but I don't know where)
1.1.0 childrens python (one needs a vet please close to 48301 or 48302 any suggestions?)
1.0.0 het for albino san diego gopher snake
0.0.1 rosehair tarantula
0.1. black and white kenyan sand boa
mice colony almost able to keep up with snakes.
and what ever lizards my vine snake hasn't eaten yet

You should make a test cut with the current CS blade you have. It will probably be okay for a small number of cuts. Score and mask the cut line on the exit side to keep chipping to a minimum.

To avoid wiring, consider using any of the many heat cables on the market. Or something like Ultratherm heat pads.

Don't use a human heating pad. Read my post from a few days ago about a pet store that used to use them and had a fire.

Just a few suggestions:
Get your boxes FIRST!
Get enough boxes to do a complete change out or at least enough to change out half of them. In your case, 24 or at least 18.
Flexwatt is easy to wire but heat cable is a good option. You could also consider a larger heat pad, mount it to the back panel and add reflectix or rigid insulation to the back so the heat is not lost out the back.
Hatchling racks need to have a tight fit. Not so tight that you spill water bowls but you want to prevent hatchlings from getting out. Measure your shelves with several different boxes. They are not all the exact same height, sometimes one is slightly warped, etc.
Another option is to build a rack that uses boxes with the lids. A bit more forgiving on the fit. Added security, less cost to heat and maintain at the right temp, etc.

I was wondering about the human heat pads and how people say they are not to be constantly on(although some people do). Well What if I put a timer on it and turned it off during the middle of the day for 30 minutes or maybe an hour? Also I was wondering since I can't find three boxes that will fit in on a shelf maybe go to a 12 quart and fit two per shelf. I know you should buy the boxes first except you see I had five shelves lying around and I was going to buy it so why not use the stuff lying around?
Thanks for the replies Josh
-----
thanks Josh

0.0.2 sandfish skinks,
0.0.1 texas long nose luckily eating mice
0.0.1 vine snake
1.1.0 turtles
0.1.0 greek tortoise
1.0.0 ball python
1.0.0 corn snake (out roaming the house but I don't know where)
1.1.0 childrens python (one needs a vet please close to 48301 or 48302 any suggestions?)
1.0.0 het for albino san diego gopher snake
0.0.1 rosehair tarantula
0.1. black and white kenyan sand boa
mice colony almost able to keep up with snakes.
and what ever lizards my vine snake hasn't eaten yet