Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am in the process of looking to build a new rack to house some soon to be adult corn snakes. I have a couple of questions and need some opinions. Sorry for the long post but after researching i would like to hear some opinions.

I am looking to use 30qt boxes and design the rack so 2 boxes on each level with 3 levels so a total of 6 boxes. I would like it to be lidless as well. My house does get fairly cold during the winter (in the 60's) so I was wondering if i need to use belly heat or if back heat is an option? I plan on using flexwatt, most likely 2 rows of 3" or 4" if belly heat, maybe 11" down the back if back heat.

If I need to use belly heat, can the flexwatt be placed right ontop of the shelf or do I need to create a recess in the wood/melamine etc to put the flexwatt in. I can't seem to find a definitive answer on this one and would like to hear some opinions.

And last but not least what material have people found to be the most effective. Water resistant, ease of use, sturdy, fire resistant etc. Plywood doesnt seem to be a good idea to me unless it is sealed to be water resistant. Melamine seems good but I can't seem to find it easily. Is it available at home depot or lowes or will I need to order it? I actually saw a website that suggested using hollow core doors which I'm thinking might be a good idea but I can't see how i could create a recess for belly heat, if one is needed.

Thanks for any advice,
Rich

P.S. Happy 4th of July

If this room is getting into the 60's, then go with belly heat. A little belly heat goes a long way.

If you insulate the rack well, or heat the room a little, back heat can be effective. It certainly makes things easier when building a rack because you do not have to deal with cutting recesses or else sliding the boxes on top of the heater.

Take a look at the classifieds. So many nice plastic racks available that are not that expensive in the long run.

Also, where heater touches wood, I would use melamine. Heat does not affect it.
-----
Mark

Thanks for the advice. I had a feeling the plywood wouldn't be a suitable material for the heat. Given my situation, any suggestions on what size I should use for belly heat. One or 2 strips, 3" or 4". I haven't worked with this myself yet and would like opinions.

I can definately insulate the rack after it is built. In fact I have about 15 foam insulation panels laying around not being used. Ideally I'm looking to be able to heat the back of the rack to around 90 deg max for the colubrids. They rarely require much higher.

If I do decide to go with belly heat is it necessary the flexwatt is recessed into the melamine or can it be taped down and handle the movement of the tub.

I have looked at some plastic ones that are sold and while they're very nice I just enjoy building things myself. It is also much cheaper that way and if I go with belly heat I may make each level powered independantly so I can adjust temperatures differently at each lvl. Will be interesting to see how that works out.

Here's a picture of same cages I built last summer. I would definately change a few things but overall they work well. Not bad for a first try.

Those cages came out very nice. Seems you have a talent for it. I can understand why you would build rather than buy.

You can tape down the Flexwatt rather than make a groove. Use the good aluminum tape sold for metal ducts. You can find it in the air-duct section of Home Depot or Lowes. Cover the entire exposed surface of the Flexwatt to protect it.

Another idea (I've tried this and I like how it works, just not how it looks) is to use the thin aluminum flashing sold in the roofing section of the above stores. They come in rolls. I tried the 6-inch wide roll, covered the Flexwatt and taped it down on the edges using the aluminum tape. Then, I cut another strip and taped it down along the shelf front so the box corners rested on the aluminum flashing. The aluminum helps spread the Flexwatt heat out to a larger area but with a slightly lower temperature.

If the belly-heat rack is insulated reasonably - i.e. not an open-air rack - then one strip of 3" Flexwatt is usually fine for a thin-bodied colubrid like a cornsnake, even in a cool room.
-----
Mark

Thank you markg and chris harper for the responses. I just purchased some clear boxes today. They measure around 26" x 16" x 6". I'm going to begin construction on the rack tomorrow. I think I'll be using the hollow core doors. I'll keep you all posted on how they come out. Albeit good or bad lol.

Rich

If I need to use belly heat, can the flexwatt be placed right on top of the shelf or do I need to create a recess?

A recess is not absolutely necessary, although I would use one whenever possible. A recess does not need to but cut, however, as you can build one up by laying down strips of material for the boxes to slide on. When I built my hollow-core door rack I built each area 1/4" taller than the height of the box. This allowed for the use of 1/8" strips to create a recess and then the other 1/8" was for the gap between the box and the upper shelf.

And last but not least what material have people found to be the most effective.

I like melamine or hollow core doors. Hollow core doors are a pain to cut and fill compared to wood but do offer a nice combination of price and light weight. However, I will comment that they seem to be most economical for boxes over 24" in length. For 30 qt. boxes I like to use melamine.

I'm sure you'll be able to find it. I have also built racks from melamine shelves that I just cut down to size.
-----
Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Malaysian locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)