Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just curious if you guys put holes on all sides of your boxes for proper ventilation? By doing so is proper humidity lost?

Thanks for the help,

Tim

I don't put holes in mine anymore , but if your in a really humid place such as florida I may consider it, if your in a drier climate such as the upper midwest then I wouldn't worry about the holes , you'll want that extra humidity to stay in the tubs over the winter months when the humidity level is low to prevent constant sheding problems... Anthony McCain-McCain's Reptiles.

I do not use ventilation holes. I have a Boaphile rack and my snakes do just fine without them. Actually, they seem to really thrive with the extra humidity. There is a slight gap at the top that allows a little air flow.

No holes in my racks.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I'm surprised no one uses holes? There's enough of a gap between the shelf of the rack and the top of the box to allow proper air circulation?

Tim

>>I'm surprised no one uses holes? There's enough of a gap between the shelf of the rack and the top of the box to allow proper air circulation?
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>>Tim

Hot air rises. As it does it pulls cooler air from the outside of the tub in. I have plenty enough gap for this to occur. Also, consider how little air circulation they really need. How much do you think there is in a gopher hole? And, I normally open my cages on a dail basis checking for dirty cages or water.

There are many who do put holes in their tubs. Do a search. This question was posted just about a week ago.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I tried the Animalplastics Iris boxes with no holes at first. But I am in Florida and the humidity and condensation on the boxes was too great. I put 6-7 holes on each side and 3 holes on each end. Now they are fine.
Susan - Ssnakes

There's between 3/32" and 3/16 of a gap , depending on the size of tubs the rack is designed for. How many 1/4" sized holes do you supposed it would take to equal that much open space/surface area, it's ALOT more than a tub with a lid with 16-20 holes drilled in the sides like we all used to do that's for sure! Generally you won't need any holes, but drill em out if you want to! Anthony McCain-McCain's Reptiles.

Thanks for the help. I'll keep it in mind and experiment a little.

Tim

Tim,
I just acquired an Animal Plastics rack and tried it with no holes. The tubs were getting soaked inside so I used a soldering iron and burnt some holes and that has helped. I live in Wisconsin and still needed the holes. Ron
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The Crawl Space

Thanks for the info. I have heard that holes are a good idea due to the tight fit of the tubs in the AP racks. Did you put holes completely around the tub, one side, two sides etc....? Thanks for the help.

Tim

Tim,
I put holes on two sides and the back. I didn't want any showing on the front of the tubs. I put them about 1/4 inch from the top and spaced them about an inch apart. I made 2 rows on each side and back. The space between the rows is about 1/2 inch and the holes are 1/8th. Ron
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The Crawl Space

Thanks for the help. I will most likely do the same. Are you happy with your rack? Do you use an outside heat source besides the rack itself? Meaning, do you find the heat within the rack is enough to maintain a sufficient ambient temp inside the tubs? Or do you need to use an secondary source of heat (space heater, raised room temp etc....)?

Tim