Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live in Southern CA, with a dedicated snake room. Heat is not the problem, want something that might keep in the humidity better, but not sold on melamine, too heavy, and I just do not like the airflow, even with holes in the tubs. So, what is everyone using? I have one Freedom Breeder rack, might end up with another, but before I put my $2500 down, want to see if there is anything better, and cheaper.

Dave

I'm using the Ball Python Racks from Vision.
In my opinion the best racks on the market for ball pythons.
http://www.visionproducts.us/racks/index.html
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Adrian
AFR
http://imageevent.com/afreptiles

I agree with Adrian. Ron

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The Crawl Space

These racks are made from hollow interior doors that have not been drilled for nobs. They are backed with peg board to keep the larger on from sagging. The larger rack requires no cutting. Th smaller rack uses half a door for the shelves. The tubs are sterilite or various sizes that are all the same hight. The doors are $22 at Home Depot and Lowes. They are much much lighter than anything else I have seen used.

Al

I agree, hollow core doors sealed with vinyl film (not contact paper) are great. Here is one I built around the Iris CB-80 box -- 31" x 17" x 12" -- for my Gonyosoma spp.

I was not able to use HC doors for the sides because the rack would literally not fit into the snake room I had at the time. I used some leftover melamine, which did make it heavier than it should have been.

But I also love my Vision racks, which the guy from Vision was nice enough to build for me around the CB-80 box. That box has the same rim as the CB-70 so it was not difficult for him to do. I have since ordered another three levels and now have two, four-level racks, instead of one, five-level rack.

One nice thing about HC doors, besides the weight, is that they tend to come in configurations that work well with some of the larger tubs we use for herps. If you use melamine for a 33" long tub there is a lot more waste than when using a typical 22" long tub. It can more than double the cost of melamine, for example, when the tubs are not even 50% larger. With my large HC door rack there was zero waste.

If you shop around you can often get HC doors with minor blemishes for $10 each. It pays to check everytime you're at Home Depot or wherever. But on the same note, HC doors vary a bit in quality. Some are much better suited for being cut down. I like the ones with the pine interior frames vs. the MDF frames. I have also heard the Masonite HC doors are very nice, albeit a bit heavy.

For more information on building racks from HC doors, see Rio Bravo Reptiles.

i am sort of confused as to what hollow core doors are, the picture looks as if the cages were just built out of regular ply-wood and shelving..thanks for the help...
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0.1 normal redtail boa
1.0 true redtail boa
1.1 100% het for albino redtails
1 miami red phase cornsnake
1 baby sulcata tortoise
1 snow corn

The hollow core doors used by myself and the other poster are just the basic interior doors you see in most homes. They are hollow which makes them quite light.

Also, these are door blanks that have not yet been drilled for the door-knob or mortised for the hinges.

thanks..but one more question, how much are they..it seems like they would be expensive..thanks again..
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0.1 normal redtail boa
1.0 true redtail boa
1.1 100% het for albino redtails
1 miami red phase cornsnake
1 baby sulcata tortoise
1 snow corn

$10 to $27 is the price range I have seen and paid.

>>$10 to $27 is the price range I have seen and paid.

A sheet of low quality melamine costs about $28. But you can only cut five shelves for a CB-70 tub from a single sheet. For about the same money you can use a HC door and get the equivalent of four shelves and save a ton of weight.

And if you shop around and take your time a hollow-core door rack can cost you half of what a melamine rack will.

The scratch and dent door I bought for $10 was only 24" deep so my comment about half the cost of melamine would be off.

I'm still certain that you could build a BP rack for less money with HC doors. But you'd have to be patient and wait to have enough scratch & dent doors.

I have also heard of people using doors leftover from remodeling homes. These are often easy to find in the newspaper for very cheap. You just have to use some wood, expandable foam, plaster, or whatever to fill the hole cut for the door knob.

hi i am a do it myselfer and i am planning on building one soon, i really like the design of your cages and i was wondering how you heat it and keep the humidity up..thanks..
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0.1 normal redtail boa
1.0 true redtail boa
1.1 100% het for albino redtails
1 miami red phase cornsnake
1 baby sulcata tortoise
1 snow corn