Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I have been trying to figure out a way to secure the front of my AP CB70 rack 10 high. I have seen pics of some very nice metal bars and locks. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with any other designs that would work for me. I am not worried about the snakes getting out on their own. I have an 8 year old son who has friends over and I want to be secure while I am gone. The lock and metal bar looks good and I can definitely use that but I wanted to see if there were any other ideas out there that is beyond my knowledge.

Thanks for any help, this forum is so awesome,

Bill

I'm not sure if it can be done or not but how about a metal, wood or plastic frame for the front. Use 1" or 1/2" hardware cloth for the insert so it doesn't cause any temp change within the rack. Either use a hinge & hasp set up so it swings open like a door or put a couple of screw eyes in the bottpm of the rack frame, align two rods to fit into them that are attached to the bottom of the door. Drop the rod's in and then attach a couple of hasps over the top frame and rack and padlock them. Then when you need to get into the rack you can just remove the "door". Just an idea.
Bruce Delles c/o Twin Cities Reptiles
Link

I use a set of 1/2" 2 hole straps (U shaped metal loops used for securing electrical tubing to the side of a building - found @ Home Depot) screwed into the front of the rack shelves. I used 1 strap about 3/4 of the way up & 1 on the bottom shelf. I made sure to use a pair of pliers in order to bend the straps so they allowed more space for the bars to slide through. I then used 1/2" metal tubing (you could also use pvc pipe or wooden dowels as long as they are long enough) to slide through the straps and PRESTO!! Secure snakes! Hope this helps & wasn't too confusing.

Hi,

I think I understand..But a picture or two would be with a thousand words. Thanks if able. It sounds good though.

Bill

Hope this helps.

Wow,

That Helps....Thanks for taking to time to post that.

Best regards,
Bill

that helps is right...I thought he used "straps"...cloth type...LOL...not the pipe hangers actually used.....LOL

.......not what I was thinking.....but looks simple......and sturdy .......

....the thing I was thinking to do would need metal and welding invoved........

...good luck.......and yes, think snakes getting out too...iF one gets out it will crawl behind another tub and push it out...they do it often enough when they escape...or you forget and leave one box open....

...
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..JY

.

How do you take the pipe off?? I think I am going to do that too. Great idea, but I don't see how the pipe comes off without either hitting the ceiling, or bending the mounts....?????

My rack is only 10 shelves high. I put the top 2 hole strap on the 3rd or 4th shelf from the top. The bar is the exact height of the rack. This allows me to slide the bar up & out of the straps, & it comes just shy of the ceiling.
If you're using alluminum tubing for the bars, they should have enough strength up top to keep the snakes from pushing out & bending the bars enough for them to have room to escape. You should then be able to set your top 2 hole strap even lower on your rack so that you only have to slide the bar past 4 or 5 shelves before it clears the straps.
Remember that I used 1/2" 2 hole straps & 1/2" bars. This means that the straps will HAVE to be opened up a bit to accomidate the bars. I did this simply by straightening out the bent part of the straps where the screw holes are. I then bent them back into place right next to the screw holes so it left a little more than a 1/2" gap for the bars to pass through. Just keep in mind that you will need to bend the straps in order to create more of a gap for the bars.
Hope this makes sense & is not too confusing. Once you have all the materials in hand it will all make sense.

If you used thick enough wooden dowels or pvc pipe for the rods, I'm sure you could drill a hole through the dowel large enough to accomodate a small lock that would prevent anyone from removing the rod.