Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Want to house all my snakes (corns, black pines, and black milks) in Iris VE-175 tubs (sold by reptiletubs.com). They are approx 50"x20"x14" I'm thinking of building a frame type rack and using these tubs with the tops still on.
There is a chance future tubs may be translucent green or even opaque. What I would like to do is cut a large window on one side. Take a piece of clear acrylic and silicone it over the hole - maybe have an inch overlap. It would be even cooler if a rail could be mounted to allow the acrylic to be a sliding door. The one drawback is the the cage is ribbed and may have to fill gaps to get a proper mounting. Maybe a foam bead around the window area. Do you think it will comprise the structure too much? Any other suggestions? Thanks

I wouldn't bother with windows on the tubs that you can see through. That material can crack easily unless you cut it with a rotary tool slowly or use a soldering iron.

For the solid-green, non-see through tubs, that material cuts much easier without cracking, and you won't compromise structure as long as the window doesn't go across many ribs.. i.e. do a few small windows each between a rib pair if possible rather than one giant one.

That is what I think anyway.

>>They are approx 50"x20"x14" I'm thinking of building a frame type rack and using these tubs with the tops still on.

What do you mean by a frame-type rack? Do you mean a rack where the box will slide in a track of sorts?

If so, that is not a good idea for a few reasons. I won't get into that in case you meant something else.

If you just mean a glorified shelving system to hold these boxes, I think that will work fine.

>>There is a chance future tubs may be translucent green or even opaque. What I would like to do is cut a large window on one side. Take a piece of clear acrylic and silicone it over the hole - maybe have an inch overlap. It would be even cooler if a rail could be mounted to allow the acrylic to be a sliding door. The one drawback is the the cage is ribbed and may have to fill gaps to get a proper mounting. Maybe a foam bead around the window area. Do you think it will comprise the structure too much?

If you just want to cut a large rectangle out of the box and attach a piece of acrylic, this will not effect the structural integrity of the box too much. I have seen this box and the ridges will pose a problem, but they can be dealt with.

Regarding the sliding door idea, this will also work but you'll need to attach a frame of some sort to support the sliding track. It would not be difficult to make a wooden frame and attach it to the boxes. I do something similar with 50 gallon storage totes but in my case I attach them to the opening of the box as in the pictures below.

You're talking about something different with the frame being attached to the side, but a frame like the one above attached to the side will offer sufficient support for a sliding door system.

My only other suggestions will depend on what you mean by the frame style rack.

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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

2.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

4.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

Maybe 2x4s. Top view of each 'shelf'.
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May put a mini shelf for the flexwatt so the tubs don't rub it? I'm nowhere good enough to install slide out shelves. It will just be a frame with a few crossmembers for extra support. All this is conjecture at the moment since funds are tight. Chris - your totes are what inspired the idea of cutting a big window in these tubs.

we'll the pic didn't turn out. just put a bunch of space between each cross-member.

It sounds like you mean just an inexpensive regular shelf. That will be fine.

One thing to consider is making the shelf from PVC pipe. You'll need the fittings used to make PVC lawn furniture. 3-ways, 4-ways, etc.

For the odd size of the Iris box it will end up being pretty cheap.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

2.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

4.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

what diameter would you recommend to support 6 tubs using aspen substrate, hides, etc.

I would use the thickest size that is available for the patio furniture fittings. I believe that is 1.5", but I'm not sure.

You could set up a test shelf at home with 1.5" PVC. If it's too flexible just return it.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

2.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

4.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)