Hello, i need help!! What is the best material to use to build a snake rack? Ive been looking and looming ive seend mdf, melamine and am not sure what to use. Can anyone give any adivce what have they used so on. Im currently using a rack from halfords.
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Honestly you can go with whatever, I don’t have much but personally I only use tub setups and wooden terrariums. Tbh wooden terrariums save me a lot more space and a lot more time and money than any other setup could but that’s most likely just me lol. Plus I do believe in giving snakes enrichment and enough space to at least stretch out their entire body but I’m not going to shame anybody that does otherwise, just my style. But if you’re interested I could share my blueprints and such for my wooden stacker setup
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If you’re using mdf, unless your tubs are going to have lids on them, I’d recommend the melamine coated instead. MDF and plywood will absorb water and potentially mold spores over time. That or you can use something like a pond sealant maybe to coat the areas that will have exposure to the humidity.
PVC is lighter and also water resistant so that’s the more popular ones as of late I think? Quite a few are made with it now. I should be picking one up over the weekend in fact…
I’ve seen some metal racks as well, but not as often. They seem to only be focused on by the higher end rack builder not average hobbists.
In the end as lily mentioned, you can go with whatever! As long as it will safely house the animals when built. It’s basically your budget and sense of style if you home make one. Heck, my first was home built melamine with a coat of teal paint on the outside because it made me smile.
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Homemade I would do melamine.
Cons: heavy, and while the top and bottom are pretty water resistant any cut or bare sides are not and need to be sealed with melamine tape or something to ensure water doesn’t get in and expand and crack the board.
Pros: if done right will last a long time(I have a baby rack I still use for overflow that I built in 2004-2005) Also they are really easy to slide tubs on with their slick coating, and while pvc is probably better in the long run, melamine is denser and does holds heat better.
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All mine are MDF plastic coated, But… They are so heavy if the MDF is thick enough to be strong enough take other racks on top. , I build them in small sections say 2X3 tubs of 33 ltrs but even then they are almost too heavy for me to lift up the stairs to my snake room without a strain. (I am not weak they are real heavy).
Just a tip, I seal the joint edges with aquarium sealant to avoid warping, Some have lasted 30 years and are still millimetre accurate.
I would like to find a fiberglass supplier cut to size for future home made racks. That should be strong and lighter.
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My 30 year old MDF rack with 30 year old 15ltr contico tubs-
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A new MDF 25 and 33 ltr rack that nearly broke my back moving it–
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Mad respect for this rack setup. Sorry that’s off topic but honestly that seems like a really cool setup where the snakes still get enough space for enrichment (which I’m a sucker for, I actually build my own hides and deco for em just because I get so obsessive over decoration)
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Agree with you! They are nice and very professional looking racks @ascended
Plus the fact that it looks like that at 30 years, nice job!
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So to reply to everyone. This is my set uo currently i am looking to upgrade the boxes and make its alot bigger so rhey have vertical space. Im facing a big big issue currently, SNAKE MITES!!! Its starting to worry me its been about 4-5 months ive used so many diffrent methods and as much as they cut back the mites they just keep comi g back in numbers. Last night i picked at least 12 if not 20 mites of my cb22 hatchling and my cb17s and below have them out of the 12 snakes i own my boa, hognose and three pythons have mites. Ive ordered frontline spray but i also want to soray down the rack and whole house? Any suggestions for s amoke bomb or spray that works and is cat safe and reptile safe? Its at a point now where im stressing daily picking mites and spraying every week with mite spray and nothing is happening!!
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I used to use Vapona in the old days, (last century when we didn’t know better) Worked perfectly, but as its a neurotoxin it did create a spider nuro effect in one non spider animal (out of hundreds) so not recommended by me in the 21 century.
Have you tried predator mites? They have worked for me since, if fresh and enough of them
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Although mines temporary, I just bought jumbo shelves(hard plastic) and some sterilite tubs from dollar general. I cut the shelves down to a good height for the tubs, ran heat tape on a thermostat and voila great starter setup thats perfect for keeping heat, humidity and comfort for my balls.
For my small to medium balls. I use xxl dog bowls with a “lip” so that the bowls have 3 key purposes.
- keeping 1 full of water over the heat tape helps with humidity.
- makes for a perfect and inexpensive hide.
- is big enough for the snakes to drink and soak in, and the snakes cant spill it or tip it over because of the height of the bowl v the height of the tub lid.
I also use puppy pads as the substrate. It wicks away the moisture, which helps prevent scale rot and really helps when they shed.
Hope this helps.
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Thankfully. I’ve never had this issue "knock on wood "… but my brain has nagged me about this, I would seriously (although probably stupidly) treat every nook and crany of every inch of everything in the room, including the room its self. Then repeat said treatment within the period of mite eggs incubation cycle… repeating it at least 3 times to ensure they all die.