Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I'm curious if all wood warps if used for reptile racks? Is there a certain type of wood that's good for reptile racks? I'm trying out diffirent materials for my own racks. For example, PVC, Melamine and Wood.

Just some more info. When I build my racks I like the one rubbermaid per shelf. So they are vertically oriented.

Thanks for any info.

Frank

>>Hi. I'm curious if all wood warps if used for reptile racks?

I'm sure all wood does warp to some degree, I'm just not so sure it's significant.

>>Is there a certain type of wood that's good for reptile racks?

Melamine coated particle board will always be a good choice for building racks - that is unless your trying to ship them across the country. It's just so cheap that the weight penalty seems worth it.

Birch plywood, even the cheap stuff, is remarkably resistant to sagging in racks. It's lighter than melamine but more expensive and the boxes don't slide as well on it. There are ways to deal with the sliding issue.

Actually, a rack with 1/2" birch plywood sides and 3/4" birch plywood shelves and no back would be fairly light, at least by rack standards.

PVC will sag a bit, the 1/2" material used by Jason's Jungle is one exception. But the 1/4" material is so much lighter and cheaper it's very tempting to try to use it. I think it's fine for most snakes except for small colubrids and live-bearing species such as Sand or Rosy Boas.

And as I've mentioned before, sagging is less of a problem if you have the boxes slide in length-wise instead of width-wise. You give up versatility, weight, and money to have the boxes slide in length-wise, however.

Unfortunately, cost, security (i.e. snake proof), and weight are all at odds with each other when it comes to building racks. I suggest you pick which two of the three are most important to you and go from there.

If you want a cheap rack that is secure enough for small colubrids... use melamine.

If you want a light rack for ball pythons... use 1/4" PVC.

Lots to consider.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

I'm going to try Melamine first and see how that goes. I'm planning to keep my snakes in the garage from this point on. Security is first for me. I don't want any snakes escaping...lol

Do you now the link to Dwight's web site. I know he has inctruction on building a colubrid rack.

I appreciate the info Chris.

Frank