# Snake Rack Advice!



## Damiieen (Feb 21, 2013)

Hey all

So I'm going to be building a snake rack soon, it's only going to be small (5 28L tubs)
I'll be using melamine to build it.
I will be getting bunnings to make tracks for the heat cord to sit in place and taping aluminium tape over it all to disperse heat. 

My question is what are the best thermo's to go with?
Best temp gun? 
With drilling it together as I've read melamine can split, advice for this would be good.
Best place to put probe?

I think that's all I need to know  

Cheers!


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## Grogshla (Feb 21, 2013)

hi mate not sure about the other questions but i use habistat pulse thermostats and they are great. 
Put the probe inside one of the tubs and secure it to the bottom of the tub where the heatcord will be under.


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## Damiieen (Feb 21, 2013)

Thanks mate!


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## someday (Feb 21, 2013)

pre drill the holes but make sure the holes are a size or 2 smaller then the screw and it should be fine.


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## Damiieen (Feb 21, 2013)

Thank you!


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## Damiieen (Feb 21, 2013)

One more question: 

When drilling the holes into the container, where should I drill them and how many?

I know when drilling you have to drill really slow with little to no pressure, I read that earlier haha


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## reptalica (Feb 21, 2013)

I know to route the heat cord some people use a router. Can hire one but sheesh the way they r priced now u r better off buying one. I picked up an angle grinder for $20 from Bunnings. Did a cracking job on my stack stone.

Temp gun = grab a Zoo Med. It's a small digital one. Just point and shoot.


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## Damiieen (Feb 21, 2013)

I was actually gonna ask bunnings if they could route it for me haha don't have much room in my garage :s

Thanks for the temp gun


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## caleb96 (Feb 21, 2013)

Best way to put the holes in your tubs is a soldering iron by drilling the holes it can leave sharp bits of plastic sticking out and i bought a Habistat Temperature Thermostat of herpshop it was $80  and i don't think Bunnings will route the heat cord strips for you they usually only just cut the wood to size but if they where to route it for you they would probably charge a fair bit.

Caleb.


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## solar 17 (Feb 21, 2013)

l am a "Habistat Dimming Thermostat" fanatic but by gee wizz there are some great looking dimming thermostats on Ebay these days. solar 17


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## Damiieen (Feb 21, 2013)

I'll try find a family member that has a soldering iron.

I guess asking won't hurt haha, if they can't do it I'm sure I'll find someone who has a router.


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## jairusthevirus21 (Feb 21, 2013)

I honestly think you just better off getting a Vision rack... iv tried making my own and cost wise its either the same or not that much of a saving...
habistats thermostats seem to be the way to go...


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## Bananapeel (Feb 21, 2013)

+1 to reptalica. I too use a zoo med repti temp gun and it's a decent investment. I think I paid $60-$70 bucks for it from amazing amazon. It's neat size and gives good reading.
Routers are fairly cheap and I think you get good use out of them, for future needs... or you could sell it to me when you're done with it lol. I tried the ancient way of using a hammer and a flat head screwdriver and chipped away, made a very rough 3cm dent in the timber so decided i have no stone masonry skill.
Back to the point. 
Sorry Jairusthevirus but I have to disagree. Vision snake racks are quite a bit of money and i could bet you could make something similar and more to your liking for a lot less than 1K +
Melamine is cheap, off cuts are still useful, tubs are cheap and knocked together (if you know what you're doing) works very well for a real good price.

Best of luck with the build Damien!


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## Bananapeel (Feb 21, 2013)

Oh and just searched 'soldering iron' on the bunning site and first product that came up was a soldering iron kit for $14.67
Not too bad if it's gonna do a couple of tubs.


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## Damiieen (Feb 21, 2013)

$60-$70?! 
I just looked on eBay and they were $15 with free shipping haha

I'll have a look at routers, we'll see what happens. 

I'll post pics when I start building in a new thread, listing everything I used and the measurements.


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## Damiieen (Feb 21, 2013)

That's not a bad price, might grab one haha


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## Damiieen (Feb 21, 2013)

Also, what wattage heat cord should I need for a temp of 35c maximum, will mostly be at 32-33c


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## Jacknife (Feb 21, 2013)

I run an 8watt 2m heat cord on two tubs and it can easily get to 40 degrees, thermo keeps it at 30. for 5 tubs a 15watt cord should get you the temps you need...


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## Bananapeel (Feb 21, 2013)

Damiieen said:


> $60-$70?!
> I just looked on eBay and they were $15 with free shipping haha
> 
> I'll have a look at routers, we'll see what happens.
> ...



Haha yeah I know they have everything so cheap on ebay but one of the thermometers i had died a few days before i was due to get the snake so couldnt order online. Oh well, i dont mind paying the $60 or so as 1 does every enclosure i will need it for. But yeah it's a hefty price compared to online haha! Best of luck! Can't wait for the thread, will be good to get some info incase I decide to build one!


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## Damiieen (Feb 21, 2013)

Thank you badsville! 

I can't wait to build it!


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## Damiieen (Mar 3, 2013)

"Perches"

What do people use?
How do you install them?

I was going to drill in from the side but I was wondering if there are any other ways?


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## Jungletrans (Mar 3, 2013)

what are you going to keep in them ?


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## Damiieen (Mar 3, 2013)

I will have 1 bhp, 1 olive, 1 bredli and a het darwin. Then hopefully a roughie.

I know the bhp and olive won't use the perch but I just want it in there if I decide to use them for another snake along the way. If I drill them in I can just un screw them I guess.


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## Madders (Mar 3, 2013)

This thread is great. I've got no idea about any of your questions but I intend to build my own rack soon so ill comment and make it easier to find  hope your build goes well!


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## RSPcrazy (Mar 3, 2013)

Damiieen said:


> I will have 1 bhp, 1 olive, 1 bredli and a het darwin. Then hopefully a roughie.
> 
> I know the bhp and olive won't use the perch but I just want it in there if I decide to use them for another snake along the way. If I drill them in I can just un screw them I guess.



Why would you think the olive won't use the sticks? Olives are big climbers, mine spend around 80% of there time on there sticks.

I screw the sticks into my tubs.


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## reptalica (Mar 3, 2013)

Bananapeel said:


> Oh and just searched 'soldering iron' on the bunning site and first product that came up was a soldering iron kit for $14.67
> Not too bad if it's gonna do a couple of tubs.



Should do more than a couple of jobs. Soldering irons are just one of those tools that just keep going.............and going. No moving parts.

Zoo-Med's are $49 at Amazing Amazon.


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## Jacknife (Mar 9, 2013)

I use two pieces of 9mm dowell diagonally like an X about 50mm from the top of the tub


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