Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Wasn't sure if I should start a new thread or not. Sorry if I made the wrong choice but I figured it was a different rack so a different title was in order.

Still working on this page too. So keep checking in and let me know what you think.

Here I show a small pic of the rack. Again, I am posting details on a page so I can keep updating it when I find mistakes and take more photos.

Thanks,
Troy

Troy's Hatchling Rack

tis on hell of a rack
-----
1.1 Kenyan Sand Boas (new)
0.1 Rubber Boa
1.0 Eastern Hognose 2003 super red
0.2 Eastern Hognose Snakes
4.4 Western Hognose Snakes
1.1 Womas
Spadefoot
Black Knobbed Sawback
Northern Diamondback
Florida Redbellied Slider
Western Painted
Southern Painted
1.0 African Hedgehog
1.0 Sulcata

1 Pleco
2 Silver Dollars
3 Bosemian Rainbows
1 Cory Cat
1 Upside Down Catfish
2.0 Fire Guramis

uhh... I think that is it.

You do have a nice rack. But it is easier and cheaper to buy melamine by the sheet. No table saw you say. Well if you buy from Lowes or Home Depot then they have a saw and they will cut it for you. They also have edging as well. Not hard to roll it out and iron it on. Home Depot has it cheaper here. 23 dollars and some change. All you will need is a cut list.

Please i am not downing you or your rack ideas. They are great and look 10 times better than mine. You can save more money by cutting what you need out of sheets of melamine.That is more money for more snakes and feeders. LOL.

>>tis on hell of a rack
>>-----
>>1.1 Kenyan Sand Boas (new)
>>0.1 Rubber Boa
>>1.0 Eastern Hognose 2003 super red
>>0.2 Eastern Hognose Snakes
>>4.4 Western Hognose Snakes
>>1.1 Womas
>> Spadefoot
>> Black Knobbed Sawback
>> Northern Diamondback
>> Florida Redbellied Slider
>> Western Painted
>> Southern Painted
>>1.0 African Hedgehog
>>1.0 Sulcata
>>
>>1 Pleco
>>2 Silver Dollars
>>3 Bosemian Rainbows
>>1 Cory Cat
>>1 Upside Down Catfish
>>2.0 Fire Guramis
>>
>>uhh... I think that is it.
-----
Thomas Jones
aligatorhunter@earthlink.net

No one is to be trusted

When I first looked at the rack I was like this is good but when I saw the price it took to build it $262 I was like Id be better off getting one of those light weight plastic racks.

I just didn't have the energy last night to post it. Home Depot has the first four cuts free then each after 25c, but I've went in there a few times and had more than 4 cuts and they didn't even count the cuts after four as 25c.

>>You do have a nice rack. But it is easier and cheaper to buy melamine by the sheet. No table saw you say. Well if you buy from Lowes or Home Depot then they have a saw and they will cut it for you. They also have edging as well. Not hard to roll it out and iron it on. Home Depot has it cheaper here. 23 dollars and some change. All you will need is a cut list.
>>
>> Please i am not downing you or your rack ideas. They are great and look 10 times better than mine. You can save more money by cutting what you need out of sheets of melamine.That is more money for more snakes and feeders. LOL.
>>
>>
>> >>tis on hell of a rack
>>>>-----
>>>>1.1 Kenyan Sand Boas (new)
>>>>0.1 Rubber Boa
>>>>1.0 Eastern Hognose 2003 super red
>>>>0.2 Eastern Hognose Snakes
>>>>4.4 Western Hognose Snakes
>>>>1.1 Womas
>>>> Spadefoot
>>>> Black Knobbed Sawback
>>>> Northern Diamondback
>>>> Florida Redbellied Slider
>>>> Western Painted
>>>> Southern Painted
>>>>1.0 African Hedgehog
>>>>1.0 Sulcata
>>>>
>>>>1 Pleco
>>>>2 Silver Dollars
>>>>3 Bosemian Rainbows
>>>>1 Cory Cat
>>>>1 Upside Down Catfish
>>>>2.0 Fire Guramis
>>>>
>>>>uhh... I think that is it.
>>-----
>>Thomas Jones
>>aligatorhunter@earthlink.net
>>
>>
>> No one is to be trusted
-----
- Joel Smith

"If you're not part of the solution, you're still part of the problem"

>>I just didn't have the energy last night to post it. Home Depot has the first four cuts free then each after 25c, but I've went in there a few times and had more than 4 cuts and they didn't even count the cuts after four as 25c.

If your Home Depot is anything like mine, the cuts will be off by 1/4" in a random directions, the pieces won't turn out square, and they'll use a dull cross-cut blade so that you're guaranteed to get lots of chipping around the cut. Thanks, but no thanks...

Of course, having someone else make the cuts for you isn't necessarily a bad idea, you just need to find somebody that's going to do a decent job. I'd try to find a REAL lumber yard that will make the cuts with a blade that you supply. Or go with Troy's method, which isn't all that expensive, especially if you shop around for the wood. You may spend an extra $50, but at least you'll have solid, nice-looking racks!

As I mention in the directions, you can change the materials to whatever you have access to. And you would save a lot of money by having Lowes cut a 4X8 sheet. The page is still being updated and I plan to add a cut list for a 4X8 sheet for those that want to go that route. It's almost done.

BUT, the 4X8 sheets I see at my Lowes are crap. The surface of the "melamine" isn't even melamine. It's paper of some kind. That may not matter on some racks but if humidity is important in an animals box, then that paper is going to swell and flake off.

If I could find a 4X8 sheet that has the quality of these shelves, that's the way I would go. Even without a table saw, if I could get Lowes to cut it, I would save some money.

The shelves used in my design have a vinyl type surface. With an eggshell texture. One day, I wanted to see just how water resistant they were and I layed a shelf flat and poored water on it. I left it there until it evaported and nothing happed to the surface of the shelf. I like that. But the Rubbermaid brand doesn't have quite as nice of surface so look for the brand in my directions. They are the same price.

I will be honest and say that in regards to the hatchling rack, the cost was higher than I thought it would be. But much of that cost was for Rubbermaid tubs and dimmer switches.

Troy

The plans really help a bunch!
-----
Greg Holland
G&M HERPS
www.imageevent.com/gmherps
gmherps@sbcglobal.net

Great simple design that many can build themselves.

The precut shelves are more square/accurate than what can be cut on the panel saws at most home improvement stores and the surface is of MUCH higher quality. Have the square corners and exact dimensions is worth the extra money alone, not to mention the better durability of the surface.

I've had mixed results with the panel saws at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. The biggest problem is that the employees are not allowed to clamp a stop onto the saws, making for less than accurate cuts.