Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been browsing the web and reading about snake equipment and ran across rack systems. These seem really cool to me but I don't understand how they work exactly. I see that you can keep multiple snakes in them and that they are plastic containers in a shelf so to speak. But how are they heated? What prevents the snakes form getting out? Is it really ok to keep snakes in such small places all the time or are they meant for temporary housing? I can't see a picture of them well enough to understand how they get air in the container and the snake doesn't get out? I am seriously perplexed by these systems!

These (rack systems) seem really cool to me but I don't understand how they work exactly. What prevents the snakes from getting out?

The distance between shelves is typical 1/8" greater than the height of the box. So if the box is 6" tall without the lid, the distance between the shelves is 6 & 1/8".

Some companies use less than 1/8". Personally I think 1/8" is fine. I have some baby G. janseni in a rack built with a 1/8" gap and they have not escaped. And I would generally call those good escape artists.

Also, many cages with double-sliding doors have a gap greater than this between the two sliding panels.

Is it really ok to keep snakes in such small places all the time or are they meant for temporary housing?

Now that's a tough question. Most of the colubrids produced in the US for the pet trade are from adults kept in 28 qt. sweater boxes. These only have a floor area of 20" x14". So many people would argue that since they breed in these cages then they should be okay.

I think that's a bit of an oversimplification and would suggest that the invidual keeper's peace of mind is most important. There are larger boxes if this concerns you.

I can't see a picture of them well enough to understand how they get air in the container and the snake doesn't get out?

The gap is typically enough air ventilation. In fact this provides quite a bit of ventilation. But many people drill or melt holes to provide extra ventilation.

With many plastic racks the builders have tried to minimize these gaps (bad idea, IMO) and then drilled making extra holes necessary.

Lastly, these racks are heated with under-tank heating, back heating, and/or ambient room temperatures.
-----
Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

But how are they heated?

Most of your questions have been answered in previous posts. There is 11" wide heat tape running the entire height of the cage. It is sandwiched between the back panel and a pegboard for ventilation to prevent overheating. The heat tape is plugged into a thermostat which you can see in the pic. This is probably the most common and simplest method of heating.

Another method is to weave a 3" strip of heat tape along each shelf in the back. This means the heat tape is placed ON each shelf, and runs across the back side where it is right next to the back panel. The heat tape then down one side to the next shelf, across that shelf, then down to the next and so on. I need to take a picture of the heat tape in my Boaphile rack for clarification.

What prevents the snakes form getting out? Is it really ok to keep snakes in such small places all the time or are they meant for temporary housing?

As has been said before, providing a small enough gap between the shelf and tub does the trick. I felt 1/8" was too much of a gap. so I went with 1/16" gap and it does the trick just fine. Remember, snakes like small spaces as it makes them feel secure. All the snakes in my rack are healthy and feeding very well. They don't seem to show any signs of excessive stress at all. I try to make sure all their needs are met. Also, when I built the rack, I made sure there was a 2" space between the tub and the edge of the shelf. This way, if a certain species likes to be kept cooler, I can keep their tub a little farther from the heat tape in order to make the warm side a little cooler if necessary. Does that make sense?

Thanks for the great explainations! They are very cool systems. Perhaps when or if I get another snake, I should look into these things. I might miss seeing them in the tank though.

I think Chris has answered your basic question, however here is another viewpoint to consider:

I think if you have large numbers of snakes [ie. you are a breeder], then rack systems might be for you. However, if you're simply looking at racks as a way to keep as many snakes as possible in a small area, then you might want to look at why you keep snakes. For example, if you keep snakes because you think they're beautiful and you like watching them then a rack is not the best choice. Visibility is limited, the small size of enclosures tends to limit behavioral repretoire. Anyway, racks vs. other methods of housing is a thorny issue at best.

Racks certainly have their advantages on many levels - ease of cleaning, large numbers of animals in a more climatically stable environment. However, overall I dislike them because I don't believe most snakes will exhibit the widest range of behaviors when confined to the smaller size cages typical of most racks, and they're simply utilitarian, ugly-looking things where you can't really see your snakes. I've always been a big proponent of naturalistic vivaria for all herps, including snakes, so naturally I'm biased when it comes to this issue.

There are some arguements that point out some species of snakes tend to do better [ie. eat, breed] in the small, semi-sterile environment of a rack system, whereas in a large well-appointed naturalistic vivarium they didn't eat or breed. It could certainly be argued that more fine tuning of the naturalistic setup is in order before you can completely write it off.

Anyway, I digress. I think racks are okay in some circumstances. However, in most situations careful attention to designing a naturalistic vivarium will go a long ways towards showing you your snakes in a whole new light.
-----
Matt Campbell
Animal Keeper, Small Mammal/Reptile House
Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago, Illinois

Assistant Curator
Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, Illinois