Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know this has been discussed before but perhaps not between these two manufacturers. Could those of you who have purchased the Chameleon Condo rack and or the Boaphile rack please list some of the pros and cons of these setups?
I'm leaning toward the Chameleon Condo rack currently- though I'm not too sure about the heat rope... Boaphiles look good, though if the heat tape fails- how do you get to it to replace it? Thoughts? Also- what thermostats do you think are the most reliable?
Thanks!
Lora

I believe the chameleon chondo rack is made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in either 1/4" or 1/2" thickness (or a combination of both).

The Boaphile, of course, is made from foamed rigid PVC sheet.

The HDPE will be more dense making that rack heavier. Even more so if some of the walls or shelves are 1/2". However, I'm certain each shelf on the CC will be more rigid given my brief experience with each material.

If it matters to you, HDPE is FDA approved for food contact while the PVC is known to offgass a bit after being cut, etc. Keep in mind that tadpoles of many frog species are raised in section of freshly cut PVC pipe so I hardly doubt the offgassing is a concern to whatever you might keep in a rack.

The PVC material used by boaphile will be slightly more flexible but will conduct heat better and likely require less total wattage of heating. The PVC also has the flame retardant making it somewhat safer. A catastrophic accident may still kill off your animals but is likely to reduce damage to your home.

I guess it really boils down to what species you are keeping. The CC might be better for some of the small to medium sized colubrids know for their ability to escape. The Boaphile would be very good for subadult pythons and boids.

I think boaphile has a lot more experience building plastic racks, but I'm not sure about that.

Sorry, I don't have as much experience as others on this forum to comment on thermostats or heat tape.

Hi Chris,
You have answered a lot of my questions. I've got a hodge-podge of snakes right now, mostly colubrid rat snakes(size ranges 4 Mandarins ranging from yearling to adult to a 6.5 ft taiwan beauty) but also a pair of African House Snakes and a coastal carpet (she's only about 4ft). I'd love to consolidate the housing needs of my snakes, but some need extra heat (a Mex. Black King, the Carpet, the Taiwan, and the pair of House snakes) and of course the Mandarins don't. I feel sure that I'll have to go with a heated rack and a non-heated rack because even on the lowest shelves a heated rack will get too hot for the Mandarins. I'd planned to build my own with the help of a friend, but he's a flake and I can't wait till he's available.
I appreciate your information on the different materials.
Thanks!
Lora

I think with both racks you will achieve more of a vertical gradiant that you anticipate. I assume with the CC rack you have the option of only weaving the heat rope through the tiers you need so that may be a better option.

Also, I'd rather trust HDPE to E. mandarina and Lamprophis than expanded PVC. The HDPE will conduct heat less as well possibly adding to its attributes for Mandarins.

But the security of the rack is greatly dependent on the gap built between the box and the shelf - this may vary between the two companies. Assuming it is equal, I'd prefer the HDPE for its rigidity.

With the Boaphile racks you have the option of boxes that slide in width-wise or length-wise. With the length-wise you'll obviously allow more opportunities to the Mandarins to get away from the heat. I'm not sure if the CC offer this option.

Sorry to hear your friend is a flake. Building your own sounds like the perfect solution for the collection you have.

Don't rule out the option of paying a bit extra and having all the wood cut for you and then assembling it yourself. This will still be a cheaper (although heavier) solution for your needs.

If you do this I'd go with a cabinet specialty shop as the cuts will be a lot more accurate and make assembly easier.

Maybe you can get your friend to snap out of it long enough to at least get you through the initial assembly stages.

And since you won't be restricted by shipping you can build the rack to be 7 tiers tall and make better use of the material. In case you've not heard me post on this before, seven 28 qt. rubbermaids will fit in a 4' tall rack and most materials come in 4' increments. However, rack companies don't build 7 tier racks due to shipping constraints.

Thanks again Chris for taking the time to reply!

I sent an e-mail on to CC asking about the vertical temp, gradient in their 7 shelf rack (they offer 7 shelf 28qt 48 inch).

I also asked about not heating the bottom shelves and the general
temp of the heat rope (in case of thermostat failure).

In their ad, they say they gap for 3/16 of an inch which sounds
small enough to prevent a hatchling from escaping...however their
disclaimer is that the boxes may vary.

I may see if I can get my flaky friend to help me out with a display cage for the Taiwan- since the idea of building a shelving unit didn't intrigue him enough to follow up...

I'll let you know what CC says in response to my e-mail- since I know you often share your knowledge on this forum!

3/16" is actually a pretty big gap. I think breeding sized Grey-banded kingsnakes can escape from a gap that big.

But gaps are easy to shim. You can put down a piece of poster-board and cover it with contact paper used to line drawers etc. Then sort your boxes for the tallest/shortest ones.

Also, fill all of you boxes with near boiling water and set them on a flat surface while they cool. This primarily makes the slightly warped ones slide better but also makes it easier to compare them for how easily they slide in and out of racks.

Glad I could help and look forward to hearing what you find out.

Here's the response from CC by phone.

With the heat cable in the back the temp runs 100F (with out a thermostat) at the back of the rack, front end is 2 degrees warmer than room temp. He couldn't tell me what the gradient would be top to bottom, just front to back. Probably warmer towards the top but not by how much...

Without heat the unit is $20.00 less (he recommended flexwatt for heating some shelves but I'm not sure how well that would work on the outside of the unit).

He's looking into pricing for a custom unit that only heats the top half with the manufacturer. May not get a response until Monday since it's the weekend.

I'll let you know what else I hear.
Thanks again,
Lora

I spoke with CC again about only heating the top half of the 7 shelf rack and they said they could do it for the same price as a fully heated rack. So I ordered the 7 shelf with only the top 4 shelves heated by the heat rope. I'll let you know how it turns out as it does require minor assembly (I should be able to handle a screwdriver!).

I also ordered a Boaphile single 322D w/the low wattage heat tape option for the Taiwan Beauty, since a 28qt tub would be too small for him.

Thanks again for your suggestions! They really helped me to weigh my options.

Lora

Hello Folks,

Thanks for the rack order, I am sure you will be satisfied. The gap between the tub and the shelf is actually about 3/32, not 3/16. Sorry for the confusion.

Please let us know when you get the rack and let us know what you think.

Thanks again,

Mark
Animal Plastics, Inc.
Animal Plastics, Inc

Thanks for the reply! I really appreciate the custom work on the rack I've ordered. I'll be sure to spread the good news about it when it arrives. Spoke to Mike tonight and he ran through all my options; they sounded great.

Looking forward to getting my snake room situated!
Lora

First off, the Flexwatt will not fail, but in the highly unlikely case that it did happen because of a broken wire or loose connection, simply tape a section of Flexwatt to the outside back of the rack, then cover it with styrene foam sheet or more foamed PVC (it is available from plastic suppliers, and sign shops can order it for you.) No big deal really - no reason to throw away a rack.

Mandarin rats like it cool. Also, Boaphile racks have very little ventilation. This is fine for tropical boas/pythons. I would rather have more ventilation for temperate and montane species. Just an opinion. I think melamine racks are better for colubrids. Another opinion.
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Mark