Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just curious if anyone here has worked with building a snake rack out of PVC (similar to animal plastics, etc) or out of other lighter weight materials besides melamine?

Lots of people build their own PVC (or PVCx "sintra" cages and racks. The most important thing you need to keep in mind is that you have to measure precisely, have very smooth cut edges, and the right kind of adhesive to join the pieces with (it's a solvent that actually welds two pieces together chemically).

You can get PVCx at sign shops or plastic suppliers locally or through the internet. Search around, and I'm sure you'll find more info
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Lauren Madar
www.ophidiagems.com
1.1 Hog Island Boas
1.1 Hypo BCI
0.1 Sorong-type GTP
1.0 Normal Ball Python
1.1 Surinam BCC

I have played around with expanded PVC mostly. I think it's a great material, but don't forsee building any racks from it. I found the 1/4" thickness to be prone to sagging, which is a shame since it comes in at a nice price/weight point.

3/8" or 1/2" are nice but still can sag a bit. And they tend to get very expensive, which is just not worth it when some products weigh as much or more than plywood of the same thickness. Spend some time on google looking up weights of various expanded PVC products and plywood. You'll be surprised. I have a summary saved somewhere in my email. I can track it down and post it if you like.

I guess that was the biggest shock to me, just how much the stuff weighs. It is one of the lightest sheet materials but some 1/2" products actually weigh the same as 1/2" plywood.

There is a bit of a learning curve to working with it, but it's not that bad.

My favorite material for building lightweight and affordable racks is hollow core doors. Check out Riobravoreptiles.com for more information. I have one HC door rack that I have not taken the best care of. But it's still standing and still secure.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

How's it going? Long time/no talk. I've been SUPER busy now that summer is over and school is up and running again.lol. I'm about to take down one of my 16qt PVCX racks and convert it to a 32qt rack. The 32 qt racks of 1/4 PVCX are still holding strong with no sagging. I LOVE THEM...and now that I switched to aspen...it takes me no time at all to spot clean.

Anyway, hope all is well. I feel like the older I'm getting the busy life gets.lol. I have verizon email now...northeastsnakes@verizon.net...drop me a line.
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Sincerely, Jason
www.NortheastSnakes.com
NortheastSnakes@verizon.net

I've long since switched to aspen shavings instead of paper towels and LOVE IT! Also, still no warping with the PVCX in the 32qt racks. A little warping/sagging in the 16qt racks BUT those were my first racks I built AND there was definitely a learning curve to constructing them. My link has step by step pics AND a FAQ...but don't click on the link for the FAQ b/c it dead ends...er..if you do..just click backspace to go back....the FAQ's are on the same page but simply way down at the bottom.
Cheers!
http://northeastsnakes.com/reptileroom.htm

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Sincerely, Jason
www.NortheastSnakes.com
NortheastSnakes@verizon.net