Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm going to build racks for the upcoming season and I'm think of building almost to the ceiling because I have limited floor space.
pros and cons of tall racks?

tall enough to where you have to remove part of the ceiling to fit it. keep it average 4-6' if you build to tall you have to keep in mind that heat rises and you may get a weird temp gradient

I have always wanted a huge rack like that, but the only problem is, it takes money, and time. And most of the time, I don't have both of those things at the same time I think a problem with it would be moving it, once it's there, it's there. You might be able to move it with a couple of people, but it would be a pain. I might be wrong on this, but whatever you do, don't make a rack that big out of melamine, you will never be able to move it. I have two racks that are about 4ft tall and they are made of melamine, and they are fairly heavy. See what other people have to say, but one thing you could do is build two separate racks of the same dimensions that when put on top of each other would reach to your ceiling. That way they would be easier to move and you could have your floor-to-ceiling rack and you could possibly make it of melamine. That is just my opinion and I could be wrong but I hope I helped you.

i make my racks out of melamine. it works very well but the disadvantage is the weight. When i make them about 9 or 10 levels high, i make them in sections of 3 levels and joins them together with corner braces. I put casters on the bottom level so it can be moved in the snake room. If you have to move it, you simply remove the screws holding the sections together. two people can easily carry the smaller sections. Rin

I see what you are saying. I would rather have a "3-piece rack" made of melamine than one big rack made of plywood. I love melamine because it makes the racks look nice and clean. I would do it in sections so you can make it out of melamine. The only drawback to melamine besides the weight is the price. It is way more expensive than plywood but it is well worth it.

Making the rack in 2-3 sections is a good ideal. Putting casters/wheels on the bottom makes moving it around easier as well. But one thing not mentioned, is accessibility. If your top cage is 6' high, make sure you can comfortable slide cages out for feeding etc. Stools and benches are fine but a pain to have to get up and down a stool to check the top cages. Don't forget big ball pythons can weight 3-5 pounds, especially if two are in the same cage for breeding.
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PHLdyPayne

It's a pain in the neck to climb a ladder everytime you need to check, water or feed a critter. My rack is not to the ceiling, but it is over my head, the top row is too high.
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2.1 Albino BP
0.4 100% Het Albino
2.1 100% het Caramel Albino BP
1.0 100% Het Clown
1.0 50% het clown
2.12 Normal BP
0.0.2 Western Hognose
alot of cornsnakes
0.1.0 Dumeril Boa
3.6 Bearded Dragons
1.0.2 Sulcatta tortoise
3.3 Russian Tortoise
1.0 Cockatiel
0.1 Rottweiler
0.2 Boston Terriers
0.1 White Boxer
0.1 Paint Mare
bunch of geckos
0.1 Cat
0.1 Teenage daughter
1.0 Husband who puts up with all my critters.

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actually as high as you want....or can reach......I reach up to get the top boxes from my racks.....

..bad......if the snake shoots up on top of rack and doesn't stay IN the box.......

..BAD,......rats that are scared jumping out while you set box down on table.........but this happens at all levels.....

.........mine are 12 boxes high.........

........room is FULL..........
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ball girl s
#3
#6
#98001
#98005
#01005
escapee
Darkness
Dotty
het amel#1,#2,#3,#4,#5,#6,#7,...LOL
Het ghost #1, #2
PHG #1, #2
PHP #1, #2
NERD pastel
Grazi pastel
Bell pastel #0401
Bell pastel #0402
Pastel PHG #1 , #2
ghost #1 , #2
Yellowbelly 1
NG Striped #1 #2
Oreo #1 , #2
het green ghost
#02012
#020103
# etc etc etc etc......LOL .....and some people would actually list the other 80 critters and the 1000 rodents here........

one golden also.....fat and lazy.......