Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I finally found all the materials needed to build the ladder rack listed in the link. The 11 shelves that I found are 3/4" instead of the 5/8" that the plans state. The four panels holding the shelves are still 5/8" thick. Will these wall panels be strong enough to hold the 11 3/4" shelves?

P.S. would a 32 quart (Sterilite 1756) be large enough to use? I know that very large female Ball pythons need something bigger but the tubs are hard to find. I wish they still made the same style but larger. I ended up buying 41 quart tubs, but I really like the square shape of the 32 ones. the 41 qt ones have more floor space, but they are are not as high and widen towards the top.

http://www.dozierstudio.com/ladderrack.html
Rack

The 5/8" material will be more the strong/rigid enough to form the sides of your rack.

The 32 qt. sterilites are okay for smallish ball pythons. May not be a bad tub to start with depending on the size/age of your current collection.

If you don't like the 41 qt. tub I say go ahead and build a rack around the 32 qt. tub. I think you'll always have a need for it if you're breeding. If you go this route I would recommend building the rack so the boxes slide in width-wise. That way you could also use two the 15 qt. boxes side by side on any give level. The rack will also be lighter.

In the meantime order some of the Iris CB-70 tubs from Reptiletubs.com for your adults. I believe I have the actual floor area of that tub saved somewhere. I'll see if I can find it.

Thanks Chris, I already bought the wood and even the 41 qt tubs. So I would be using the same rack but was thinking of instead putting those tubs. The 32 ones are the same price at target as the 41 ones, the 32 ones are the same hight as 15 quart ones that I already have, the 32 ones are exactly the width of the 16 inch wood, so I would eliminate the issue with the other tub being too wide by 3/4 of an inch.
The only concern is that I'm not planing to build another rack any time soon, I don't think that breeding wise the 32 quart one would be large enough, and my 36" long shelves might look awkward if there are 32 quart tubs in them. I just dont want to space the rack out for the 41 quart tubs and not be able to use them. I wish that they made the 41 ones the same design as the 32 ones. The 41 ones widen towards the top and they provide more floor space. I actually bought one about a month ago to test it. I've been using the 41 one for one of my male 1700 gram males and he seems to like it.

By the way I currently have 3 large females and one large male. I also have 03 adn 04 hatchlings. Eventually I would like to cut down to 10 snakes.

Ok enough with my ramble. Thanks, Dave.

Why would you build the rack around the 41 qt. size and not use them?

I'm sure they're not the same height as the 32's so you'd really need to cut down the size of your wood for the 32's. Building a rack for 32 qt. sterilites is a lot cheaper so you'd want to use a different wood product.

I think at this point I'd either build the rack for the 41 qt box or order something larger from Reptiletubs.com

I'd call or email and get the actual floor area for the CB-70 or CB-110.

Have you checked to see if your shelving product is wide enough for the 41 qt. box (without the lid)?

I read somewhere you said that you like to keep it around 1/8" is that right? I don' the snake to be able to crawl out, I know how determined those buggers are.

Ball Pythons are not the best escape artists. I would say the gap should be a minimum of 1/8".

Don't make the mistake of building your rack with too small of a gap. Most beginners decide to err on the side of too little gap. Trust me, it's easy to build up a level that is too tall rather than remove material from too tight of a level.