Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ahahahha I figured that would get SOMEbodys attention....

I do have a serious question though...
when using a rack system, and if you use sterilite tubs from wally world or similar store...how big do you use?
they looked awful narrow- is that enough room for them to move around and live in? even for your biggest girl?
i realize i would try to take them out and handle them, thus giving them more stretching and exercising, but otherwise....

also, is there anywhere i can get the clear tubs- the ones we have at my store are those more opaque ones- you can see through them, but not as easily as a tank. i want something i can see into better.

and heat tape/cording wont warp the plastic, right?
ok, yes, im a dork...cause yall use this stuff alll the time but...you know how it is when you dunno what youre doing- LOL

thanks
-----
~Snake Charmer~

3.1 dogs (church, bandit, willy and tonka)
0.2 cats (squeaky, cami)
1.1 'normal' ball pythons (zenith, zahara)and i want more snakes. guess you can say im developing a "reptile addiction"- lol

The tubs I have for feeding are made by rubbermaid - they're called Revelations. They are clear.
I think I got them from Target.
-----
Corvid
"Look Like An Innocent Flower, But Be The Serpent Under It." ~William Shakespeare
0.1 "Normal"
1.0 Spider

No, the heat tape will not melt the plastic assuming you've set it up correctly. Just make sure the probe from the temp. controller is securely fastened to the heat tape. If it falls off and dangles freely, then the temp. controller will read room temps. Which is bad in so many ways.

From what I've seen, most people seem the use the CB70 or similarly sized tubs for adults. The dimensions are 34" x 17.5" x 5.3". Baby balls can be housed in shoe box sized tubs. Balls pythons don't need a whole lot of room and actually feel more secure in smaller enclosures. Less stress on the snake usually means less stress on the owner. I'm currently housing my snakes in Rubbermaid 14qt tubs. When they get larger, I'll upgrade to 28qts. And for my adult females, I'll purchase the CB70 tubs.

Which actually brings up a question of my own. Will 28qt tubs be large enough for adult males? Or should I get CB70's for them as well?
-----
1.0 Pastel Ball
1.1 Het VPI Axanthic Balls
1.1 Het Albino Balls
0.0.2 Red Tail Boas
1.0 Albino Nelsoni Milksnake
1.1 Room mates
2.2 Dogs
0.1 Cat

I have found rack set ups for about $225 shipped that come pre-wired with heat tape. Throw on a t-stat and go! So they are alot of cheaper, good rack systems out there. I don't know about you, but when I was pricing all the matierals too build one, it didn't cost too much more too get something that I knew wouldn't fall apart on me, lol.
-----
Coolluigi

1.0 Pastel
1.0 Yellowbelly
0.2 Normal
0.1 Spider
1.2 Het VPI Axanthic
and soon to be more. *fingers crossed*

do you have the link to those racks? i am not handy at all, and like you said, by buying all the materials and building the racks yourself, not much money is saved anyway.

depending on what you buy, you might break out even. but the point is that if you build it yourself, you can build it to any dimension that suites you, which you can also call it a custom rack.

Pitoon

My biggest girls are in a hollow core door rack using some roughly 39" X 24" tubs I found at Sam's club a few years back. For the very biggest I'm considering moving up into an old 48" Neodesha cage but it's harder to heat properly/keep humid and probably provides more visibility and overhead space than the snakes are comfortable with.

Yes, that is true. I guess I still haven't decided what too do yet. I'm sure I'll end up buying a cheaper one, and if the need ever arises to get something bigger for some females maybe I'll build one for 'em. Its just hard too get the time off during business hours too go and buy all the materals to build one. Lol, gotta love retail.
-----
Coolluigi

1.0 Pastel
1.0 Yellowbelly
0.2 Normal
0.1 Spider
1.2 Het VPI Axanthic
and soon to be more. *fingers crossed*

My girlfriend made her own rack. It can house 7 adult balls and cost something like $150 including the heat tape. It was pretty easy and much cheaper than most are out there. We're going to be building another one soon for some new snakes coming in. If you have the tools, I'd highly recommend building your own. It's an enjoyable project as well.

We built our own rack that'll hold either 28 babies or 14 adults. Total cost was around 200 bucks.
-----
1.0 Pastel Ball
1.1 Het VPI Axanthic Balls
1.1 Het Albino Balls
0.0.2 Red Tail Boas
1.0 Albino Nelsoni Milksnake
1.1 Room mates
2.2 Dogs
0.1 Cat