Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm going to be needing to build 2-3 more racks this winter while the snakes are in hibernation.

I'm just exploring other options and looking to see what other successful Hognose Snake breeders use. I'm not looking into buying over priced vision racks etc.. but just interested in what other use?

Thanks,
Chad

I've made all of mine so far.
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Louie Chavez

Website-Cowtown Reptiles
Facebook-Cowtown Reptiles

Well so have I, but that wasn't my question. I meant what did you make them out of, or who you bought it from, style (IE: open top, closed top, etc..)

Thanks,
Chad

Sorry read it wrong I guess sleep deprivation will do that.

I was able to acquire some shelves from Home Depot. They are maple colored and were cut to the dimensions I needed for all my adults. I pretty much just adjusted the spacing of the shelves and put them together. Plus they look great. They came from off an old display.
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Louie Chavez

Website-Cowtown Reptiles
Facebook-Cowtown Reptiles

That's the power of (working at) Home Depot!

Sorry, my attempt at slogan humor.
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

HAHA! Good one Troy! I tried to get the rest of them from surrounding stores but they had already got rid of them. Oh well I still haven't built all of them either so I guess it's a good thing. Plus don't work there anymore.
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Louie Chavez

Website-Cowtown Reptiles
Facebook-Cowtown Reptiles

I now build my own racks as shown here.

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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

Wow very nice rack system you have going there. I just bought a new house and have to build a few new racks for the new snake room. Think i may be using some of your idea's.

Thanks for sharing Albert L

Sweet looking racks, I like them, but I don't like how you have the lid on the tub, with the amount of snakes I have, and it's growing it would be a Pain in the you know what for feeding, and cleaning.

Though I just might steal your idea for the flex watt.. hmm. thanks!

I don't like how you have the lid on the tub, with the amount of snakes I have, and it's growing it would be a Pain in the you know what for feeding, and cleaning.

I don't know the size of your collection but mine has finally exceeded 120 snakes and all of my tubs have lids on them. For me, I don't find it to be any more of a pain as I actually find it more of a convenience. Let me explain...

The only 2 reasons I can think of for having a lidless rack are for quick access to the tub and not having to pull a tub all of the way out to access it. These two reasons only attribute to saving a little bit of time and possibly space (from having to place a tub onto a surface).

However, for me and my own personal experience and from the research gained from others, I finally decided to keep my lids on, here's several reasons:

1. Lids ensure that there's one less escape possibility, especially if the rack is well fitted to ensure proper lid closure. I've heard of several instances where some racks eventually sag or warp so that a lidless tub has a gap between providing an escape route.

2. Snakes can also be very pushy and can sometimes exert enough nose rubbing and body pressure to potentially slide a tub enough to open it. I have heard of only a couple instances of this being witnessed, so it's probably a rare event, but still possible.

3. And of course there's the human element of not pushing a tub in all the way allowing any amount of gap for a sneaky snake to make a break for it.

4. I have several female hognose that are eating machines and lunge out at me upon opening their tubs. If I had a lidless system, I would have less control over them considering that they would instantly go for the opening when in fact I might need to get to the back of the tub for maintenance reasons.

To be continued...
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

5. One of the biggest reasons for using lids is in case of emergencies or the need to quickly and easily move animals. If I had to evacuate my house in a hurry and had the opportunity to grab at least a few snakes, with lids I have a lot more time and opportunity to grab a lot more than I did if I had a lidless system where I would have to deal with snakes trying to escape while I fumbled around looking for lids to put on. In times of crisis, one doesn't have this kind of time. Plus, I've been doing a lot of home remodeling which means that every now and then I've had to move some of my collection from one part of the house to the next. Being that my racks are big and heavy, this of course means removing the tubs to lighten the load. With a lidless system, this would be more of a chore having to remove the tubs, put lids on (if available) and then move the tubs around. With a lidded system, I never have to worry about putting the lids on or taking them off and plus having to store these lids everywhere in case I might need them later.

So yeah, I put in a lot of thought as to why I chose to have a lidded versus a lidless system and for me, it was the better choice.
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

I understand why you did with lids. It's just not how I want my animals setup, plus I am working in a fairly small area.

Your reasons are valid, I don't consider myself lazy by any means, but in this aspect of lidless vs lid I am pretty lazy!

I do however LOVE you flexwatt method I plan on using that idea!

Thanks,
Chad

This is what I meant when I am working in a small area, and it's even smaller now, but the 2-3 racks that I will be building will be a bit more open.

.

Woah! You are working in a tight spot. Yeah, lidded tubs in that kind of space would definitely be very frustrating and impractical; now I understand your need of wanting to use a lidless system. That really makes my walk-in closet seem like a mansion to walk into, now I don't feel so claustrophobic when I have to feed my babies.
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

thanks , for sharing.

Your reasons are valid, I don't consider myself lazy by any means, but in this aspect of lidless vs lid I am pretty lazy!

Well, I've never considered going lidless to be a lazy method, especially with the time saving benefits it can have for people with massive collections like Brian Barczyk. If he had lids on his racks, he'd never get anything done!

So no, I understand the reasons for going lidless. I merely stated those reasons/facts to validate my choice of using lids. Trust me, I waffle in my decision every time I build a new rack, but I always think about the emergency evacuation scenario and it locks me in every single time.

I do however LOVE you flexwatt method I plan on using that idea!

Thanks! It took me a few different methods until I came up with that idea which seems so simple now but it sure didn't come to me simply. I've heard in the past about people having "bad" spots in flexwatt and always wanted a means to remove bad sections if possible, that was my motive for coming up with that. Unfortunately, it's not the easiest way to setup as it takes a very sharp razor and a steady hand to slice and peal the one side of plastic that is glued to that thin metal strip. If you aren't careful, the razor will cut right into the metal strip and mess it up. Fortunately, the other side of the plastic just lays over the top, so you just have to be careful in cutting it cross-wise to get off without cutting through that metal strip. Trust me, you'll probably mess up a few pieces before you get the hang of it, I know I did.

Good luck with your project, I wanna see it when it gets done!
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

Thanks Albert and Chad!
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

Troy... One question what do you do for your little ones. Any special set up smaller tiles? no tiles ? I know some people dont even use heat but were i am located it gets pretty cold.....

Thanks Albert

what do you do for your little ones. Any special set up smaller tiles? no tiles ? I know some people dont even use heat but were i am located it gets pretty cold.....

Well, currently I keep all of my babies and sub-adults in a walk-in closet that is heated using a thermostat controlled space heater. All of them are housed in appropriately sized sterilite tubs and on adjustable height industrial shelving for the time being until I can get some of these other home renovation projects out of my hair so that I can build some more of my custom racks to accommodate the smaller type tubs and move everybody down into my snake room. I will incorporate the same heating methods into my shoebox tubs as I did in my sweater box tubs with the exception of using smaller strips of heat tape and the ability to line up multiple shoeboxes side by side on each shelf as well as using the tile method to apply that heat. Once I get those built, hopefully this winter, I'll take some pictures and post them.
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

Nice Racks and herp room Troy!

~ Mike Russo

Nice Racks and herp room Troy!

Thanks Mike!

Actually, those pictures of the reptile room on the BLBC thread are now outdated as we've removed all of the carpet and put in ceramic tile flooring. Plus, I'm slowly replacing all of the adjustable shelving and glass tanks with my home-brewed racks so that I can manage my space and collection a little better. It's going to be a busy winter I tell ya.
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

I have 2 Animal Plastics racks and they are great. I also have 2 Vision racks that I picked up used. They aren't near the quality of Animal Plastics, but I couldn't pass the price I got these 2 for.
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Greg Jackson