Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ah, wouldn't that be nice?? Well, I don't know anyone selling something like that, but I can give you the plans to do it yourself!! I don't believe I'll ever buy a premade rack from someone ever again! These racks are great for boas up to 5', as long as they're not little porkers! I bought the shelving unit from Home Depot, the brand is "WorkForce" and you'll need the 24" wide units, it takes 2 kits to build the 9 slot rack and they are $49.99 each.. You're also going to need the peg board used in garages to hang stuff from hooks on.. To get yourself started, cut the peg board into 24x36" sections and notch 2.5x2.5" spots on each corner. Once you've got that done, you're ready to cut down the polls.. I'm not going to give you the measurements because it seems there are some different versions within the brand (I learned this while making the neo racks) and I don't want to give you the wrong measurement on accident.. It's very simple to take the measurement, grab the 41qt tub and place it on the bottom shelf, take the pegboard and stack it on top, place one of the tubes in the hole and draw a line where the peg board meets it, add 1" to that line and you've got your measurement.. Cut 4 of the poles down to size and screw the peg board to the bottom of the next shelf, assemble it and see if the gapping is good, if not, make some adjustments before you cut the rest of the tubes. Once you get the right measurement, measure each tube and draw a line.. Once they are all cut, finish screwing the rest of the peg boards to the bottoms of each shelf and go to town on assembly.. One tip, once these shelves are put together, it's very hard to disassemble because the tubes have some locking features, it's not impossible to take apart, but it takes a good amount of strength, so make sure you've measured correctly before you assemble.. There are a few options you can use as well, there is a void space in each shelf that can be insulated with 1.5" styro, I think that will keep ambient temps very well considering heat usually goes through the roof.. And the bottom shelf shouldn't be a problem with cold floors if you have it insulated as well. With the use of the pegboard as a ceiling, you could slip your flexwatt inside and have overhead heat, I'm going with belly heat though.. If there's any questions, ask them.. Here's a few pix, I'll have step by step pictures with instructions on my site when I get it up... In the pictures are the neo racks I made from the 18" wide shelf kits that "WorkForce" makes, same principle and it's a 36 slot neo rack for $140.00 tub'd and heated. Combine the two and make some great aisles! I'll be using the neo racks back to back with sides against the wall and a 41qt rack for an end cap, 9 sub adults and 72 neos on 3' of wall space! Take care and Good luck!

The plastic does not melt, crack, or discolor with the use of heat tape?
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Delusions of Grandeur feed the EGO...

It hasn't yet, the 3" flexwatt is 6watts per foot and max temps are 110-120 degrees, definitely not plastic melting temps. As for the 11" flexwatt that's 20watts per foot, I'm not sure on the max temps, but I know it hasn't melted anything over here.. I can't make any guarantees, but I hope this helps.

The shelves are rated for 150lbs each, I'm a skinny 175 and they're holding me.. Please excuse the work clothes, started on the racks when I got off work.. Take care

Are you using the Sterilite 1960 tubs? If not what brand are you using? On the 9 slot racks, do you use the 11" or 3" flexwatt? Thanks and good idea.

Jason Gonzalez

and I'm using the 11" flexwatt for the 41qt rack.. Thanks

Alan Hall, the innovator from Jungle Habitats caging gave me the base ideas for this rack.. Take care

Thank you, Great Idea. I have 5 of those racks that I was going to trash but now I have a use for them.
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Joel Pretz

np

Just wondering what model (size) sterilite tubs you used for the Neo-Racks?

Thanks