Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First off I want to say thanks to Rob Jenkins for providing the post that helped me make this rack. The orginal post can be found HERE. I used the same exact materials except for the light dimmer. I'm using a plug-in lamp dimmer instead. The rack is 48 inches high x 24 inches wide x 16 inches deep and I use sterilite containers that I bought at Walmart (12 and 28? quart sizes). I havent put any geckos in it yet because I wanna give it a dry run for a few days to make sure the heat tape runs well and that the temps are okay. It took about 2hrs to make it, but it should have took a lot less if I had not been so critical with measurements. Here are some pics of the finished product:

I liked building this rack because I didnt have to use a saw to cut big pieces of melamine, all the pieces are actually made to be used as shelves or to build custom cabinets. Does anyone know what kind of thermostat is good to use with the flexwatt heat tape? I have a couple ALife thermostats but I heard that on/off thermostats are not recommended for heat tape. I need a proportional one or something. Thanks

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-Sal

1.5 Leopard Gecko Colony

Great looking tank.. are you going to be getting any more leos for the extra bins you have... or are you saving the space for breeding..?
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Matt
My Reps:
1.0.0 Brown (Bahaman) Anole
0.1.0 Green Anole
2.1.0 leopard geckos a Norm, an Abberrant, and my newest... a Blizzard!

Well right now I have 3 gravid girls that are in a 20g long, and I want to move them to individual containers after they lay so that I can bring their weight up again. I am only expecting 2 more geckos, my prized pair of Super Hypo Tangerine Carrot Tails, should be here next week. Those two will pretty much be it this season since I'll have my hands full hopefully with some offspring from the gravid females. So I'll have a total of 2.5
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-Sal

1.5 Leopard Gecko Colony

Thats great, can you post what melmamine sizes and stuff it was? Because that is pretty much exactly what I want to make

And the cost?

Check out the original post by Rob Jenkins I linked to, it has the full list of materials. I used SysDesign shelves (Letters J and L). Size J for the shelves (16x24" and Size L for the sides (16x48". These shelves are available at Lowes home improvement stores. SysDesign also sell the screws that you can use to build them with, I bought 3 packs of 10 screws (screw covers were also included, and they added a clean touch). Don't forget to counter-sink the pilot holes so your screws won't stick out. I used a larger drill bit and just barely made the pilot holes bigger (not too deep! just a mm or so!).
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-Sal

1.5 Leopard Gecko Colony

Hmm I noticed on his list he had saw, but you didn't use one?

And what was your total cost? Yours looks a tad different

He used a jig saw to cut out that square for the dimmer, but I used a plug-in dimmer (As opposed to the hard-wired dimmer used in the original post)to control the heat and just set it on top of the rack, it has a slider also to control the power. I wanted to try the plug in dimmer so that I can use it on different heating devices if I had to in the future, like lamps etc.

Total cost:
7 Shelves (Size J 16x24) $3.87 each - $27.09
2 Sides (Size L 16x48) $7.89 each - $15.78
9 Sterilites (2 dif. sizes) $2-3 each - $27 (more or less)
1 Plug-in Light Dimmer $9.99
Screws w/ covers $3 for a pack of 10

Thats about $80-90 depending on the prices I guess. I also spent about $30 for the flexwatt and a digital thermometer. So it was about under $150 for everything. It's really a solid rack, very heavy though. Let me know if you have anymore questions.
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-Sal

1.4 Leopard Gecko Colony

Thanks, I don't have a jigsaw though... -_-

How heavy if heavy? Over 100 pounds?

You won't need a Jig Saw unless you want to make the type of dimmers that require that cut out. If you get a plug-in type you can put the controller anywhere, like on the side with some velcro. I'm not sure how heavy it was exactly, but I know I couldnt carry it upstairs by myself, I had to get my brother to help me.
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-Sal

1.4 Leopard Gecko Colony

Oh ok just wanted to make sure it isn't gonna fall through the floor or something lol

Not sure how stable this old house is lol

You did a great job there. I still like mine, better than my others, in fact. If you're just keeping leos in the rack, you could probably do without the thermostat. The dimmers on mine are doing a great job; I only adjust them every few days. Since I am in my 'Gecko Room' every day multiple times, I just make adjustments as necessary. It would be more often if your house temperatures fluctuate a lot.

If you really want the thermostat, I've been told to get a 'pulse proportional' one, like the Helix system and the one sold by GCS Reptiles. Boaphile Plastics apparently work with heat tape, because that's what is in the Boaphile units. Boaphile ones are on/off thermostats. I've never used them, but those guys should be able to help you out with any questions, both have been prompt with my questions in the past.
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Rob Jenkins
Have you seen the GeckoCam?
Herptopia Reptiles
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Thanks Rob, my eyes lit up when I ran into your old post with instructions, it was perfect for my current needs and space restrictions. And it was easy to build to! I guess I'll try to use it without the thermostat. It ran it last night and the dimmer kept the warmspot at a constant 90degrees. Those pulse proportional thermostats are quite pricey but I guess they do their job well. Thanks
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-Sal

1.4 Leopard Gecko Colony