Had a baby ball python escape last night (found him on my nightstand, thankfully away from my baseboard heater), and the bin looked normal? So my question is, how can I make the rack system more secure so this won’t happen again?
I’ve had this rack for 6 months with babies in it, but never once had an escapee because the bins are so tight in the rack (because I have a boa cage on top)
I just ran downstairs to do something before posting and I come back up to another hatchling on my floor. Bin still shut tightly in the rack- I just put the two hatchlings in new 6qt containers with lids so hopefully that helps, but I do have 8qt bins with bigger babies in them
No idea how it happened because I struggle sliding the bins in and out with how tight they are. Any advice? I’d rather not replace 15 bins to buy some with lids if I don’t have to!
Could it be that you’re being so careful about closing them from the front that they end up having a bit of room to escape out the back? Just a thought.
1 Like
I double checked that after the first one escaped. Second hatchling I checked while I held her, back of bin was fine and so was the front? And it’s such a tight squeeze too, I don’t know how they could’ve escaped just by pushing up
1 Like
Never had this happen in any rack before. Only difference is I removed some of the 6qt to put in 8qt bins. Maybe that gives the smaller bins more wiggle room?
I have the day of so I rearranged the bigger bins to be on a separate shelf, but the smaller bins back how they used to be, and I’m gonna see what happens! Gonna keep a close eye on them and if they get out, we go from there
Did they escape from the 6qt or the 8qts? I have no idea how they could get out of the 6qt with the lids.
On a slightly unrelated note: You’ll want to be careful with how tightly the tubs fit in there. Tighter fitting tubs will wear down your heat tape faster. It’ll run a risk of short circuiting and causing a fire. It’s not a today or tomorrow thing, but definitely something to keep an eye on in the future.
They escaped the taller 6qt without lids on. Even without lids, it’s still a tight fit so that’s the confusing part
I didn’t know that!! Definitely will keep an eye on the heat tape situation then, thank you!
The tubs are too flexible. Put your hands on either side and exert a bit of pressure and the front will pop out. The snakes can cause the same ‘pop’ by putting their nose right in the centre top and pushing outward. Once they have their nose/head out it is easy for the rest to slip through
3 Likes
You’ll need to put in some sort of sturdy divider in-between the individual tubs to keep them from being able to push the sides of the tubs out. Had this issue with a hatchling rack in the past myself 
2 Likes
Sounds good!! I’ll definitely do that when I can!
It is hard to tell how the bins really fit. Some are at the front edge and some sit back. If they do fit completely inside the front and back ebge of the shelf, then I would place a back stop strip behind each colum of bins (centered to the bin). Second I would place a spacer between the bins to stop side shifting and bin bending (just a small strip arrached to the underneath side of each shelf, it doesn’t even have to be full length). Third I would put a small latch in front of each. This could be a small piece of wood with a screw holding it in place so it can swivel/swing side to side. Just some thoughts on what I would do. Hope it helps. It is never fun having escapes.
1 Like
I’ll definitely give those a try once I find some screws and wood! I know the 8qt bins are out every so slightly, but the 6qt bins are able to fit in all the way
