Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I had this thought that may not work at all, but maybe someone could shed some insight.

Most racks have a back for stability. Most racks also traditionally use heat tape along the back of the shelf or on the back itself.

I was thinking about building a rack where the heat tape ran along the front lip of each shelf. I tend to have problems with not enough heat escaping from the back, so it has to move forward and the entire shelf gets warm without a large enough gradient for my liking. If you moved the heat forward, do you think that the heat would disapate faster, and the back of the cage, which is against a cool wall would stay cooler? Or do you think that this would backfire and the heat would spread to the back of the shelf, where it still can't escape thus getting everything to hot?

All of this could also be helped by a backless rack, which is another definite possibility.

Also, I feel like heat and light should go together. In the wild a snake would have to go towards the light to warm up. The dark back of a drawer being the warmest just doesn't seem natural... oh... now I'm going too far...

I would think that heat at the front would tend to heat the whole tub. If you're not getting a gradient, ventilation holes in the tubs would help.
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Thanks,

Dave "Rainbows-R-Us"

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lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

My tubs have plenty of ventilation holes. Even so, there is only a 10 degree gradient (based on surface temps with a temp gun) I'm sure actual air temps are even closer. For my next rack I am going to go with longer tubs and a backless design.

I tend to have problems with not enough heat escaping from the back, so it has to move forward and the entire shelf gets warm without a large enough gradient for my liking.

There might be other solutions to this problem.

First explain to us your rack setup. Size of boxes, whether they slide in length or width wise, etc.

Also, what is the rack made of and how tall is it?

And what size heat tape are you using?

I can think of a few things that might be contribuying as much to your problem than heat not being able to escape from the back.

Among them:

1) Having a thermal mass source too close to the heat tape. A large water bowl, for example. This can also occur when bulky snakes are kept in relatively short boxes. Happens a lot with ball pythons, for example.

2) Using too wide of heat tape for your needs.

3) Having a rack that is made from a relatively conductive material. Wide heat tape on 1/4" PVCX racks can often mean reduced thermal gradiants.

4) Having a room temperature equal to the cooler requirements of the species you keep.

What I described above is not necessarily bad. In fact having a lot of thermal mass and having a rack in a warm room is generally a good idea. But combine that with too wide of heat tape and possibly a conductive rack and you may have some trouble.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

The rack that I am talking about is made by rosies & rack systems. It is a nice rack but it just doesnt have a good temp gradient.

It is made of 3/4in melamine, the heat tape is hiden but it apears to be one inch pipe tape under a piece of aluminum. The cambro polycarb boxes which are slightly bigger then a 10 gal tank (i forget the exact dimensions) slide in horizontally and I use it for young kingsnakes. I have drilled lots of holes in each drawer. My room temps stay at around 70 which is what I want the cool area to be. Each box ranges from 85 in the back to 75 in the front. What I want is more like 70 - 90/95.

The next rack I build will have boxes that slide in longways and a backless design. Any advice on improvements to the current rack would be great but I don't think that there is too much hope for it. The one nice thing is that it really lets you see into the drawers well.

Those are nice racks. I like the clear boxes

I believe the polycarbonate is one of that materials that heats up pretty well, which may cause some of the problem. But the sideways insertion is probably the biggest factor.

You could switch the rack to back heat if you want to continue using it.

I'm sure you'll be able to get your next rack to work with the heat tape at the back.

You can always attach an acrylic window to the front of the boxes you use for your next rack. Not quite as nice as the cambros, but it does work.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

i have built several racks similar to yours,41 and 27 qt. tubs sideways and 12qt. length ways,all appox. same height so they can be used in the same opening.the last four that i made are backless with reflectix insulation on the back wall and this has worked great.i should mention i use 3 inch 6 watt belly heat 2.5" from the back wall,i've found that the temps change every 1.5-2 inches from back to front.

most of my kings are splendida,when i first got them they were all in the front of the tubs because the temps were too high.after i thought about it they hole up in the day to avoid high heat and come out at night when it's cool.i keep the warm end about 82-84 and my room temp (and front of tub) is about 75.they seem to thrive at these temps,frankly i wondering why you want warm end at 95? it seems to me your temps are spot on.

well anyway i think by adding reflectix on your back wall you'll see a great differance.have fun!

i forgot to mention that going backless on a rack does give some sideway sway,but it much less that i thought and it's not a issue as fas as i'm concerned.

If I went with a backless rack I would put in some cross suports to prevent sway.

I don't understand how do you have reflectix on the back of your backless rack?

In the wild snake are continuously making choices. At any given moment, even on a hot day they can bury down and find spots at 65F or they can bask on a sun baked black rock at 100F. They know whats good for them if you give them a chance to show you. For a while I kept a group of cal kings in 33 gal long tanks in my basement (4ft long to give a good gradient). The tanks ranged from 62 to 105 during the day and 62 to 89 at night. I recorded their behavior in a variety of ways. The fact is that every snake used every temperature for specific things. All spent at least 80% of their time at or below 70 degrees! So much for hot blooded desert snakes. Gravid females and all snakes usually used the highest temps within 24 hours of feeding, and at dusk.

The fact is that offering a wide range of temps is the most fundamental aspect of herp keeping. A gradient of a few degrees is the bare minimum for successful care. Try larger cages with a wider gradient and you will be amazed at the interesting behaviors your snakes display. And if you keep carefull records, I can garantee that you will average a few more offspring/year.

cheers

>>If I went with a backless rack I would put in some cross suports to prevent sway.
>>
>>I don't understand how do you have reflectix on the back of your backless rack?

I think he means backless in regards to stuctural support IE Ply, however I find reflectix works just as good.

I built an all ply rack solid shelves and sides instead of using a solid ply back to give the rigidity I wanted I used reflectix. I planed to add a few cross braces after but wanted the insulation factor. Well needless to say that I put the reflectix on so square and tight I didn't need any support. The reflectix proved to be enough.

Just a thought
Jeremy
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"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

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