[Housing] Considering this rack, will it work?

[ScottyPimpin]

I'm looking at this 34qt 1926 4 high rack system for my snakes. I would be using flexxwatt with ranco t-stats.

My question is about the flexwatt since i've never used it before. with the dimensions of the tubs being 38" x 16" x 27" I could easily fit 2' of flexwatt per tub. Either use one 2' strip or cut it and run 2 pieces side by side. I don't have a snake room so the ambient temps of the room will be about 70f. Will 2' of flexwatt be enough to keep ambient temps up in the tubs? if not i'll be going back to my original plan getting enclosures, they are just so darn expensive.

My Columbian boa is a little over 3' now so she will outgrow the rack and need an enclosure regardless. I also have a neonate rainbow boa, juvenile 50/50 desert phase cali king and the g/f has 2 ball pythons she houses together.

Do you guys think this rack system will work?

[JLTerry]

Re: Considering this rack, will it work?

I don't use this brand of rack or know anyone who does, but it appears from the site that they suggest running 3 feet of 11" flexwatt down the back side for back heat. You could probably use belly heat, may or may not have to modify rack. Modification maybe as slight as drilling a few holes in the back. If you do want to use belly heat then 1' of 11" would be plenty since it would cover 1/3 of the floor, 2 feet per shelf would be too much and there wouldn't be a useful temp gradient that your boas will need. You would place the flexwatt about 2" away from the back wall. Some people would probably suggest using a couple strips of 4" flexwatt, again covering about 1/4 to 1/3 of the bottom. I know The Boaphile doesn't use 11" on his cages. I believe he uses a custom made 4" size, but I am not for sure. Maybe some others will chime in.

Edit: Yeah I checked and The Boaphile uses 4" flexwatt rated at 5 watts per foot and is custom made for him. The kind you can buy will be 4" at 8 watts per foot, which should do the job fine. If you go with the 11" it will be 20 watts per foot.

[jgonzalez305]

Re: Considering this rack, will it work?

With this size tub you can only use 11" of belly heat safely and 32qt is probably too small I would go with 41qt and your boas can use this for maybe a year or so depending on how much you feed...you can also build a custom front from plexi glass to help insulate the inside and keep all the runoff heat from the flexwatt for ambient temps...the ball pythons will be fine in these probably there whole life. But your boas are going to need an encloser of at least 4x2x2 (soon)

Your boas and balls need the proper temp gradient

[ScottyPimpin]

Re: Considering this rack, will it work?

thanks for the responses. I do want to keep a temp gradient which is why i am moving away from my glass tanks. I can't get ambient temps above 71f on the cool side in the 20 gallon. The rainbow is a baby and she's in a 10 gallon, ambient temps are at 77f which is perfect for her so i can't complain there.

my red tail will out grow the rack in no time since she's already 3'+, i'm aware of that. The rainbow is only a baby so the rack would last her quite a while before i put her in a 4' enclosure. as for the ball pythons and king snake, the rack is fine and having extra tubs when the boas move out is an excuse to buy more snakes lol.

I'm just looking around to find a good rack with a good flexwatt heating solution that will work with what i have. I don't need anything that holds more than 3-4 tubs but large enough tubs to house at least an adult ball python, king snake etc.

[ScottyPimpin]

Re: Considering this rack, will it work?

now i'm kinda confuses.. it says on the site

Holds 4 boxes. Rough Dimensions 38 x 16 x 27

is the entire rack 38" H x 27" W x 16" D or does it hold 3 tubs each that size??

[JLTerry]

Re: Considering this rack, will it work?

now i'm kinda confuses.. it says on the site



is the entire rack 38" H x 27" W x 16" D or does it hold 3 tubs each that size??

Yeah I'm glad you pointed that out, that should be the rack dimensions. I can't find the tub dimensions but I would guess the tubs would be close to 27" long and 16" wide so a foot of 11" of flexwatt on the belly would probably be too much . You would be best to go with the 4", maybe make two strips the full width of the shelf. That would cover about 8" of the length and you could cover the entire width. I would contact the company first if I was you.

[ScottyPimpin]

Re: Considering this rack, will it work?

That's what i was afraid of, thanks Terry

[ScottyPimpin]

Re: Considering this rack, will it work?

just came across rhinoraxx over on boaphile. that's a darn good deal for everything included.

Only down side, columbian boa, rainbow boa and cali king snake all use different temps.. which means i'm going to need 3 different t-stats

[JLTerry]

Re: Considering this rack, will it work?

just came across rhinoraxx over on boaphile. that's a darn good deal for everything included.

Only down side, columbian boa, rainbow boa and cali king snake all use different temps.. which means i'm going to need 3 different t-stats

Also, I believe his racks come with a single strip of flexwatt that laces through all the shelves, I may be wrong but I believe this is how he sets them up. The rack has one plug and is rated at 75 watts, so heating would be the same on all 4 levels. Yeah he has great deals and hopefully I will get a 5 stack of 421D's this year.

[ScottyPimpin]

Re: Considering this rack, will it work?

ah i see.. yeah that isn't going to work at all for me because of all the different snakes i have.. it's ok though i'll just go back to my original plan getting enclosures with radiant heat panels.

i'm going to pick up a 4' for the red tail, 3' for the king for now. the brazilian is perfectly fine in her 10 gallon tank, 77f ambiant temps with 85%+ humidity. When she out grows that i'm gonna pick up a 6' for the red tail and move the brazilian into the 4'.

thanks for the help Terry

[JLTerry]

Re: Considering this rack, will it work?

No problem, but the boaphile racks are awesome! I would keep them in mind if you are keeping the same species in one rack, or call Jeff and see if he offers different heating options.