Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone, I have got this idea for a baby rack that I wanted to bounce off of you and see what you all think, it's kind of a hybrid between a snake rack and a rodent rack. I’m looking to see if anyone has tried it before, and any potential problems. I think of it more as a rearing rack, the idea being that they would only be in it for 4-8 weeks after hatch then moved to larger spaces. I’m including a diagram of the whole thing for reference only (not to scale by any means). The blue sections would be the tubs, I’m thinking the 13x7 ½ x4 ½ size (I think steralite makes them), I know this is small but remember I’m only thinking 1 baby per tub and only for the first 4-8 weeks. The yellow bars are 48” fluorescent fixtures with the UV bulbs. The red dots would be the basking lights, I’m thinking the small directional spots like what is used to highlight artwork (on dimmers because at that range I don’t want them to get too hot). The tubs would slide into the rack and have ¼” rubberized hardware cloth as a top so they would have good air flow, maximum uv, and be easy to mist and have about 4-6 inches until the next level. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

I know people that use very similar set-ups but with larger tubs. I would imagine those tubs would be fine for one baby each. Sounds like alot of work, but if your up for it...lol.

>>Hey everyone, I have got this idea for a baby rack that I wanted to bounce off of you and see what you all think, it's kind of a hybrid between a snake rack and a rodent rack. I’m looking to see if anyone has tried it before, and any potential problems. I think of it more as a rearing rack, the idea being that they would only be in it for 4-8 weeks after hatch then moved to larger spaces. I’m including a diagram of the whole thing for reference only (not to scale by any means). The blue sections would be the tubs, I’m thinking the 13x7 ½ x4 ½ size (I think steralite makes them), I know this is small but remember I’m only thinking 1 baby per tub and only for the first 4-8 weeks. The yellow bars are 48” fluorescent fixtures with the UV bulbs. The red dots would be the basking lights, I’m thinking the small directional spots like what is used to highlight artwork (on dimmers because at that range I don’t want them to get too hot). The tubs would slide into the rack and have ¼” rubberized hardware cloth as a top so they would have good air flow, maximum uv, and be easy to mist and have about 4-6 inches until the next level. Let me know what you think.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Sean
>>Heart Mountain Herps
>>
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Bill DiFabio
Garden State Herpetoculture...website to follow...
Email Me
"The pendulum of the mind alternates between sense and nonsense,
not between right and wrong." - Carl Jung

Thanks Bill. If it completely stops the nips it's worth the time.

Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

Hey Sean,

We use something very similar except larger for our hatchlings.. our setup is larger though like most and we house more dragons per cage but I have always wondered about doing something exactly like that to see how it would work... kinda like you said before about doing it like baby snakes...

Just a thought maybe it will help maybe not.

Don't know how accurate you made the diagram, but if you put six across i would put the basking spot on cage 1 on the right side and the basking spot on cage 2 on the left side.. so they are back to back if that makes sense. That way they will have a "cooler" end then if the heat was always on one side for each cage. I hope that makes sense.. but we have had that problem before with rack systems.. especially in a reptile room where it's hard to control the heat. Just a thought. I know they have the far end to get away from the heat.. but hopefully that will have made enough sense lol...

Would be sweet if this system works. I have built a LOT of cages and rack systems.. and would definitely love to hear any type of input that you have on this and how it all works out. The biggest concern I think will be the heat and "trapped" air that may overheat everything with small cages and many spots even on dimmers especially in a reptile room with other heat.

Good luck keep me posted.

brandon
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Dragons by Nature

Hey Brandon good idea, makes perfect sense and would also save on wiring. I'm concerned about the combined heat on a rack system also, but I figure it can't be any worse than all the 100W spots I'm running on all the 10s I've got set up right now. Thanks for the input.

Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

Yea, that's a good point as well... probably would be better cuz like you said it would be lower wattage controlled better... but then again the tank/cage would be smaller as well with less airspace so who knows.

Really interesting stuff. Please keep me updated!

brandon
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Dragons by Nature

Without a pic this may be hard to describe but I'll try. I have thought about building a rearing bin that is stackable. It would all be made out of thin plywood. Basically it would have 8 bins across at only 6 inches wide and 12 inches tall and 24 inches deep. The two sides at each end would be 24 inches tall with a top that went over the entire width. You would fasten the 48" UV bulb across the top over all 8 bins. Then it would only need four spot lights that would be aimed at each divider so that two bins could share one spot light. The 24" depth would offer a greater area for temp variance and the overall piece would be only 2 ft tall. Multiple units could be stacked. It would be light weight and three units could hold anywhere from 24-96 dragons depending on how many you put in each bin. That setup would take up a space 4' wide by 6' tall by 2'ft deep. Lights would be cut in half. I know a pic would help but yhe only one I have is in my head.

Mike

Please visit my joural page. I use a system very similar to what you are describing using portable metal racks from Sam's club. The approximate cost per rack is $325
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