Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The design for the racks I'm building isn't going to be moisture resistant....

It will be made out of wood- i know most people don't use the lids to the tubs in thier racks....

Would it hurt anything to use the lids? Would i need more vent holes?

Thanks

Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

Using the lids are fine as long as the tubs or lids one are vented. As a matter of fact, Freedom Breeder as come out with a new design that has lids on their tubs.
Link

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www.fbballpythons.com

awsome!

Should i put MORE holes since there is a lid... or??

speaking of that- i've seen pleanty of pics of vent holes... but whats a typical # ?

every 2 inches on one side? on all sides? one inch?

how many holes?

beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

There is no secret formula. Since your racks will be wood, my suggestion is the fewer holes the better. You need to experiement with a couple of tubs and see how the humidity holds up with different number of holes. I would start with holes about every three inches down each side.
Link

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www.fbballpythons.com

sounds good!

Thank you so much for your help- i know i ask a lot of questions.

:- )

Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

What do you do with the ball pythons that you rescue. Do you keep them or put them up for adoption?
Link

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www.fbballpythons.com

generally put them up for adoption.
They have to be eating good, and at a healthy weight, and blah blah blah first- so sometimes we have them for several months.

we get a lot of similar sized things- corns, smaller red tails, etc-- that can go in a rack like this.

i've recently jumped on the breeding bandwagon. I see all these beautiful snakes- spiders, BEL, and especially the bees- and a few of my close friends and I are totally facinated by them- and i've always wanted to try my hand at breeding, so we've picked up a few hets, and will get a few other goodies- just for us to play with.

They're totally our pets- het, visual whatever, or normal- they're spoiled rotten.... and i'd like to have a few of those high-end morphs for my own personal benifit. I think they'd be great to take out at adoption events- there's no way a bee won't catch some attention...

anyway- i'm rambling...

Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

I use the lids but I think most people don't. I suppose it slows me down on checking/feeding/cleaning but I don't have so many tubs that it matters much. I like it that I can easily wash the underside of the lid too when cleaning cages. I live in a very dry climate and drill small air holes in the sides about an inch from the top. I think I would have a lot of shed problems with the mesh top commercial racks that apparently work fine in a lot of parts of the country although I suspect most of those are also used in dedicated snake rooms with larger collections that might generate their own humidity or justify an industrial humidifier where needed.

I like using lids with racks because I have several aggressive snakes that race at me to literally attack me. I also have some that are very food aggressive and when they smell rats, they fly out of their tubs if they have half the chance. If I didn't have lids, I would get bit a little more often that I think I would like.
As for the holes, there is no sure formula. One amount of holes may work for somebody but not work at all for another. Start out with a few and see if it gets too humid. If it does put a few more in. I would put as many in that it wouldn't be too humid but if I were to spray it to increase humidity, the humidity would stay in for a while.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Also, how is the experimental rack going with the heat rope? I'd like to know how it's going b/c I am somewhat interested in it and wouldn't mind trying it myself. Talk to you later.
Josh

Its going great now! (the lid Q's pertain to the heat cable rack)
I decided on the wood design- it's the cheapest.
We had originally planned to router out grooves for the cable to lay in- and it just got to be a pain in the rear...

The new design is made from decent grade wood- about 10 bucks a sheet... i'll get exact prices/sizes tomarrow.

On each level- (this isn't as complicated as it sounds) We have a solid sheet of the wood- then on top of that sheet, there are 4 strips of the same wood at 1/8" thick. The strips run width-wise. (side to side- not front to back) The 4 strips is actually what the tub sits on. The solid sheet is what the cable sits on.
The cable is at the back of the tub- and goes between 2 of the small strips- There are 2 rows of cable about 5 inches apart- basically on either side of the thin strips.... (with me so far?)

The thin strips are placed- one at the front and back, then 2 in the middle- it keeps the tub level.

As of right this moment- i've only got the cable on a Rstat-- the Tstat is in use- and i'm waiting for another 350$ for a new one (and permission from the husband)
The Rstat- on its lowest setting is keeping the cable at about 90-93 degrees- the whole length- i've had it running for 3 weeks now with various items set on top- to test the melty-ness...

Doesn't melt the tubs at that distance- I know that 1/16" would work- but wood that thin ended up also being a pain- soooo-- we went 1/8"...

I will be using the lids- not only b/c my wood is obviously not water-proof- but as others have stated- cleaning the top of the cage-(lid) would be a nice feature- as well as those pissy kids that like to bite! (hadn't thought of either until this post!- THANKS!)

I am still debating newspaper or ?? (cypress/aspen/?) for bedding... i've always used newspaper- for its ease... but i'm sure that wood beddings will hold the heat and humidity better...

The wall space i have available- allows for 18 tubs- 3 racks- 6 tubs high. I am using these tubs: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=huc_ic_1_txt/602-5446112-8882220?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B000AVS7OK&nodeID=&merchantID=A1VC38T7YXB528

comes to almost 200$-- just for the tubs.
The cable i got as a freebie.... The lumber- i'll have to get a total on- but i am keeping track- and i will post pics of the assembly and final product...

anyway- its bed time.

Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue