Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is a new rack I built for my babies,got the idea from pic's on another fourm.Lots of ventilation with the screen tops.tub just slide in and out.QUESTIONS,I got in such a hurrie to get this up cause my babies just shed[1st]I forgot to stain it ;is this wood kiln dried douglas fir ok the way it is.Also my house has been staying about 80deg with the heat wave up here and was wondering if there is a need for additional heat.I'm gonna heat this with two heat pads down the back,but didn't want to use them know with the hot weatherTHANKS ALOT P-RAT

Hey P-Rat!

How are you? I love that rack you built! Great job!

I wouldn't bother using the heat pads. 80 degrees is perfect for your pits. I keep mine and all other snakes at 76-82 at the very most. I feel that using the heat pads may provide too much heat. Snakes, especially pits, don't require temps past 82, in my opinion. I learned the hard way by killing my first two pits cause they were too warm. They stopped eating, regurged, and languished until they either died or I had to put them down. Afterwards, I about slapped myself for not thinking about all the heat my whole collection was putting up with.

Take care!

Billy Fraser
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Genesis 1:1

Thanks for the advice on temps,I thought I would be OK the way it is just wanted to make sure.Do you know anything on the wood is it ok,THANKS P-RAT

hahaha, that is a great looking baby rack, should work well. I agree the temps are fine, but i would also put the heating source on so when a cold spell comes through to you and I they are ready to go. Post some pics of babies when you get a chance.

Have a good one P-RAT

Gregg F.
Gregg's RB

Neat little rack that you built there, and PERFECT for baby bulls. They will thrive in that space.

The doug fir is fine the way it is. The only reason you would need to paint it or do anything else to it is simply looks. Doug fir is not harmful to the animals in any way.

I agree with Billy about the heat. Bulls are hardy animals and do well in simple enclosures. I would get the heat pads set up, and just keep them unplugged. That way if you have a cold spell come through you will have no worries. Keep us updated on the babies, and I always want to see more pictures!

Take It Easy,
Kemper

Nice rack you have there hehe. About the heat easy just hook up your heat to a good thermostate.

Doug H.

Just keep it dry and clean and your snake neonates should be happy and do fine. You would want to stay away from resinous woods like cedar and walnut. I would disinfect the wood at regular intervals. Wood can support bacteria growth. Generally, when the temperature gets low enough to use a heat source to keep them warm, it's time to hibernate them. That's when I put my snakes down. If you have a snakeroom or can put the racks in a room that you can control the temp. you should be able to control the temperature of the room itself to be fine for the snakes. A heat source on the back of the rack would be used to make one side of the enclosures a higher temp than the other. That way the babies and juveniles can go back and forth to thermoregulate themselves. Generally that's the purpose of a heat source. So, I would go ahead with your plans to put the heat pads on the rack. If not, I would think to run a piece of peg board down the backside of the rack. Pegboard still allows air flow for ventilation and blocks off the back to give the babies a secure feeling. I would think that leaving it open on the front and back would be stressful for the babies. Just a thought and an observation. I'm not saying its right, it's just what I would do. The rack in the pic is far better than most. The heat pads aren't to keep them warm. You keep them warm by keeping the room they are in warm. Keep an eye on any of your babies that may want to rub their nose on the screen. It's not good for the rostral scale of pituophis. Congratulations and its nice of you to build your babies a new home. It seems Del and I have to build a new rack system for each of our places each breeding season. I need to build another breeder rack.

>>This is a new rack I built for my babies,got the idea from pic's on another fourm.Lots of ventilation with the screen tops.tub just slide in and out.QUESTIONS,I got in such a hurrie to get this up cause my babies just shed[1st]I forgot to stain it ;is this wood kiln dried douglas fir ok the way it is.Also my house has been staying about 80deg with the heat wave up here and was wondering if there is a need for additional heat.I'm gonna heat this with two heat pads down the back,but didn't want to use them know with the hot weatherTHANKS ALOT P-RAT
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