Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey dude:

I read your post about your rack turning the snake into great eaters. I was wondering what tubs you use. I am thinking about using the 28 qts. I did a search in the forum and I know that at one point you contemplated using 28 qts. Is that the tub with which you eventually went? Also, can you expand on the reasons you think that racks help with eating? I think you theorized that it helps keep the husbandry in ideal conditions.

Please tell me more about your theory. I am definitely interested in making a rack if I can turn some of my more stubborn snakeys into eaters.

thx in advance!
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

Longtang......
When I started keeping BP's (last year) I had them in aquariums. They did ok, but sometimes skipped meals. Since I put them in rubbermaids in a rack system, the temperature and humidity are much easier to regulate, and they eat like clockwork. I have one troublemaker female who is very picky about how she likes her dead rat to dance for her, but everyone else does better than they did before. I don't know if they eat better because they are more comfortable in the confined area, or because of better environmental conditions, or both, but I love having them in my rack system!
My babies are in shoebox sized rubbermaids, the subadults are in 28qts, and the adults are in 42 qt underbed blanket boxes.

The other thing I have changed is that they now feed them in their individual homes, instead of moving them to a seperate feeding enclosure.
Probably a combination of everything I have changed.
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"I am a cop, and you will respect my authoritae!"-Cartman

Hi:

Thank you for the reply. It seems like more than one person has had the great experience of having racks help their ball pythons. I am still in the stone ages for at least one of my BPs. She is in a 20L aquirium. However, she is not a finicky eater. The one that is a finicky eater is in a plastic storage tub (24x 20 x 20) with a screen top. I would like to get him moved to a rack so I can have more organized space and have better climate control.

I am now drawing the plans for the BP rack. Do you want me to post it after I have it drawn? Also, would you guys like it if I took pictures while I am constructing it?

Let me know. Ah. What the heck. I will probably post them either way! Hehehh.

Cheers. Please have a pleasant bp Rack day.
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

I'm with RPlank on this one. All of the things he said have also helped my snakes eat more consistently. At this point I have 0 trouble feeding ball pythons. Granted I only have 2.5 BPs, but ALL of them are eating very consistently now. Maybe I should also mention that all used to at one point be feeding on live, and I ONLY feed pre-killed to all my snakes.

I personally feel that for me racks are ideal. The heat tape is on a thermostat, and the ventilation is consistent and I always keep just about the same amount of water in the tubs. When they are in shed I put some paper towels in the tubs and spray them with water to raise the humidity further than just having a bowl or tub of water in there. I also always have it that way for my brazilian rainbow boas, but they need more humidity than BPs. I really think snakes prefer the rack to displays and aquariums because they are thigmanthropic (sp?) and it is easier to maintain ideal husbandry. But if I had to guess what the main reason is for why my snakes eat so consistently now I would think it isn't the fact that they are in a rack as opposed to displays, it's simply because the husbandry is better. Had I figured a way to keep my husbandry practices closer to perfect in displays, then they probably would be doing just as well.

To answer a few other questions I use the 32q sterlite tubs, but they are roughly the same size as the 28q tubs. Also, DEFINETLY feed in the enclosure. Much faster and less stressful on the snake (and you). I've only been bit by BPs during the process of feeding them outside of their enclosure.

I not only make racks, I'm also a client
We have setup several customs with new rack systems. One in particular had almost his entire 30 ball python collection in aquariums. Each heated a bit differently, each with a bit different decor, some with hideboxes, and some without.
For starters, the rack systems provide a very even temperature and an incredible gradient (some people who don't believe in back heat need to look at the gradient produced by a back-heated rack). Secondly, and most importantly, in a 24" long tub (like the Sterilite 28-quart or the Steritlite 32-quart, the best in my opinion), 12" of the tub itself is dark, eliminating the need for hides.
When this customer in particular moved over to the rack systems, within two weeks he was from a 40% feed rate to an 80% feed rate. I'm tooting my own horn as well as others that manufacture and own racks systems when I say they are one of the best ways to go.
Hope this helps,
Jason @ Jason's Jungle

>>I not only make racks, I'm also a client
>>We have setup several customs with new rack systems. One in particular had almost his entire 30 ball python collection in aquariums. Each heated a bit differently, each with a bit different decor, some with hideboxes, and some without.
>>For starters, the rack systems provide a very even temperature and an incredible gradient (some people who don't believe in back heat need to look at the gradient produced by a back-heated rack).

Jason:

I have 11" wide flexwatt. Do you think I should go with the back heating rather than under tub heating? I am thinking about back heating as an option. Do I just make the shelves and make sure the back of the shelves is completely enclosed with wood (to keep heat in?) Then do I just mount the heat tape to that back end so that it sits vertically (in relation to the ground)? Is that going to be adequate heat for the snakeys?

question #2: I am thinking about building the shelves to accomodate the 28 quart tubs. Later when I if I need to move to 41 quarts, the dimensions are going to be very similar. 28 quart is 24 x 16 x 6, where as the 41 qt is 34 X 16 x 6. Same height and width. I can cover up the extra ten inches of the lenth with a 10 inch piece of wood (I will screw in the 10 inch piece of wood to cover one end of the tub and the rest of the tub can still slide into the rack). I hope I am explaining it ok.

What do you think of my idea?
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

Do you think that 11" flexwatt straight down the back of the rack is going to provide enough heat for the BP snakeys?

Somehow, I am worried that it wouldn't be enough heat, esp in winter?

Thnx for your input in advance.
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.