Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i built my own gecko rack some while back. melamine, heat tape, ranco thermo, simple set up. now i've liquidated my geckos and am aquireing ball pythons. i am using 41 qt rubbermaids so the gecko rack won't transfer over well. i've been looking to see if pvc, abs, or any other of some material i have seen used on commercial racks can be purchased in 4x8 sheet and at a fair price. not an easy task so far. also i am considering heat cable this time. any opinions on heat cable vs heat tape? and any idea where to purchase material that would be better then melamine?

What is your main reason for wanting to use plastic? And what do you consider a fair price? I can give some better suggestions with that information.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

Expanded PVC, Centra, XPVC, it goes by several names. If you can pick it up local to you expect to spend around $95-105 for 1/2" or around $60 for 1/4".

If you have to have it shipped you can usaully have them cut it down for you into 4'x2' sections to beat freight charges. Expect to pay between 50 cents to a dollar per cut/set up fee.

For a rack your building yourself I would recomend Melamine. It comes square, is easy to cut and doesn't cost nearly as much as plastic.

Its really hard for me to justify building plastic cages when so many people now offer turnkey setups for very little more than it cost to build it yourself.

Nate

i opted to go melamine and built another rack today. 3 tier with 41 qt tubs for BP's, a male, female, and one extra just in case. i think next time i'll just purchase pre made. thanks everyone.