I made a snake rack!

maxfox426

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#1
Okay, it's a VERY simple rack, but it's functional. What more can you ask for?! :rofl1:

(Also, yes, this is what the question(s) I posted earlier today were about. I have it all fixed and working properly now, though.)

PICS!


Cell phone photo of the finished structure. I used melamine to build it. Please don't mind my messy garage. LOL!


All set up! If needed, it can hold eight (8) 15qt tubs, or four (4) 34qt/40qt tubs, plus Reggie's viv on top. I wanted it to be as versatile as possible. I will probably add castor wheels at some point, but I didn't feel that it was necessary right away.


The tubs. Labeled and color-coded, because I'm a weirdo. :p The bottom left tub is just full of silk plants/vines for now... storage basically. I wanted to have something on the other half of that UTH for balance.


The "storage" shelves. If I need to, I can take all that stuff out and fill those shelves with four more 15qt tubs. Or two 34qt/40qt tubs.


Close up of my color-coded feeding/record notebooks and delis. I don't know why I still keep Reggie's deli cup... I can't even pretend that he fits in it anymore. LOL!


The thermostats. I have since marked them with post-it notes so I remember which is which. Reggie has a t-stat/UTH all to himself. The other t-stat is hooked up to the two UTHs that heat the tubs.


The thermometers. I've already changed this since taking the photo. Reggie has a thermometer at the warm end AND the cool end. Tatl and Tael share a thermometer with one probe each on the warm ends. Una has one thermometer probe on the warm end of her tub and the second probe is directly on the UTH for reference. The post-its are now marked with the names/probe locations.


One more photo of the whole setup. I am quite proud!

(The spray bottle on top of Reggie's viv is cat deterrent. LOL!)


All in all, I think I did an okay job for a first attempt.

I forgot to take a picture of this, but I used double-sided velcro strapping to help secure the tub lids in the shelves. Since I'm using the latch boxes, the center of the lids don't really fit right up against the shelf above, so the straps provide a little extra peace of mind. Easy to detach/reattach, too!


Let me know what you think! I know it's pretty small/simple, but I already LOVE it! It looks really nice, and it's MUCH better than having tubs scattered all over my office!


Thanks for looking!
 

SizzleDog

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#2
Very cool! What's your heating method on the tubs? I didn't see any flexwat.... unless you don't have it in yet? Or it's somehow.. under the tubs...

Seriously, COOL!
 

Fran101

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#3
COOL!!!! Its so..organized! lol I love this kind of stuff (not snakes..but organization and colorful post-its)

they all even have different colored notebooks for records..

you make me want some kind of small creatures so I can make one!! lol
 

maxfox426

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#4
Very cool! What's your heating method on the tubs? I didn't see any flexwat.... unless you don't have it in yet? Or it's somehow.. under the tubs...

Seriously, COOL!
I'm actually using the Ultrathem 11x11" UTHs in the center of each shelf. Each tub uses half of one. I already had them, they work great, and I REALLY like them!

If I expand to fill all four shelves with snakes, I will probably switch to Flexwatt, but for now, I'm happy with this setup. :)
 

maxfox426

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COOL!!!! Its so..organized! lol I love this kind of stuff (not snakes..but organization and colorful post-its)

they all even have different colored notebooks for records..

you make me want some kind of small creatures so I can make one!! lol
LOL! Yeah... organized... I seem to be able to do that with my animals. If I were to turn around where I was standing with the camera, though, and take a photo of my desk... um, yeah... LOL! It looks like a blast zone over there. :rofl1:

The color coding happened kind of by accident. I bought different colored notebooks for each snake, and then later realized I already had corresponding post-it note colors, too. Haha!
 

SizzleDog

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#8
I love how Ultratherm never gets too hot (like Flexwatt can) - and it's s o much more stable. Of course I have my heat regulated with a thermostat, but it's nice to know if my thermo fails, my ultratherm *probably* won't burn my snake before I notice the thermostat is broken. ;)
 

Izzy's Valkyrie

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#9
AWESOME!! I love it, I love the color coding and organization :) Looks great! Funny, we keep a spray bottle on top of ours too to keep the cat away. She thinks it's the devil.
 

maxfox426

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#11
I love how Ultratherm never gets too hot (like Flexwatt can) - and it's s o much more stable. Of course I have my heat regulated with a thermostat, but it's nice to know if my thermo fails, my ultratherm *probably* won't burn my snake before I notice the thermostat is broken. ;)
What is the ideal temp for a BP? I've found that my Ultratherms seem to top out at about 94*F (though I haven't let them REALLY run), which is dangerous heat for corns. They're better off in the mid-80s. Just curious. :)


AWESOME!! I love it, I love the color coding and organization :) Looks great! Funny, we keep a spray bottle on top of ours too to keep the cat away. She thinks it's the devil.
Yeah, I'm not expecting that squirt bottle to do a whole lot for long. Ticheli has pretty much figured out that it's only a threat if it's in my hand. :rolleyes: I do have a motion-sensing sprayer, though, which I may have to set up there for a few days.


Awesome job! Love the setup!

Now peektures of snakies please??
I am working on new pics! ;) I actually took a few Sunday night... not the greatest photos, but hopefully good enough until I can get some decent ones.
 

SizzleDog

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#12
For BPs, we keep the cool side at around 80-85, hot side is 90-93. African snakes need a bit more heat than indigenous American ones. ;)
 

maxfox426

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#13
For BPs, we keep the cool side at around 80-85, hot side is 90-93. African snakes need a bit more heat than indigenous American ones. ;)

Ahhhh, that makes sense. I knew they were native to Africa and it made sense to me that they could tolerate warmer temps, but I haven't done any research on BPs beyond that. :p

The more you know!
 

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