I made a rack!

[maxfox426]

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

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. 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!)


I had one little heating faux pas today, but I seem to have it figured out now. 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!

 

[gelshark]

super nice jorb

 

[maxfox426]

Thank you!!

(LOL! Coach Z! I see what you did there. )

 

[Jenn_Tigercat]

That looks awesome. Working on my own rack. The two snakes I have in 20 gallon long terrariums will probably stay in those. Which means I will have room for one more snake. Shhhh don't tell me that lol.

 

[maxfox426]

That looks awesome. Working on my own rack. The two snakes I have in 20 gallon long terrariums will probably stay in those. Which means I will have room for one more snake. Shhhh don't tell me that lol.

LOL! When I showed my design to my husband he was like, "what do we need room for 8+ snakes for?" Ummm... no reason. :rofl1:

I don't think he minds ALL that much, though. Haha!

 

[ratsncorns]

Very nice job! I cant say the first one I made was all that wonderful LOL

 

[maxfox426]

Very nice job! I cant say the first one I made was all that wonderful LOL

Thank you! I spent a lot of time planning it out. Of course, there were still a few hiccups along the way, but overall I'm pretty pleased.

I was especially proud of myself when I found the iron-on edging tape to finish the top so there isn't any exposed board around the sides. My husband was the one that came up with using white out and sticker dots to cover the screws.

 

[Jenn_Tigercat]

I like the color coordination as well. I just have the tubs labeled and then have a big binder that has a separate area for each snake with all their info.

 

[Dreamsnake]

This is really cool. My lonely snake is in a book case in the kitchen for now. She has a converted aquarium viv. When the youngest child grows up, I'd like to build a rack. Then get more cuties.

 

[medusacoils]

That's outstanding! Great Job!

Wayne

 

[maxfox426]

I like the color coordination as well. I just have the tubs labeled and then have a big binder that has a separate area for each snake with all their info.

If/when I get more corns, I'll probably switch to the binder method. For now, though, I had already started with the individual notepads and with just the four it's not too hard to keep track of.

This is really cool. My lonely snake is in a book case in the kitchen for now. She has a converted aquarium viv. When the youngest child grows up, I'd like to build a rack. Then get more cuties.

The building process was actually quite fun, and not all that hard! In one afternoon I planned out the measurements, bought the boards (Lowe's even cut them to my measurements for me), screwed it all together, and wired it up. It took me about a day of fussing with the heat to get it right, but that was pretty much it!

Now I already have space whenever temptation strikes.

That's outstanding! Great Job!

Wayne

Thank you!

 

[Leologan42]

WOW I wish I had those organization skills. Nice set up.

 

[Juniors Serpents]

Thats a really nice rack . Its simple, and very well detail oriented. Thats a amazing rack for a first time build.

 

[insomniac101]

Very nice job! I see you're very neat and organized too. May I ask where you got those thermometers? I haven't seen those anywhere, and most I've seen are black. I'd love to have some white ones. Thanks!

Kathy

 

[Melissa469]

Great Job!! Very creative! I like the color coordination.

 

[pcircle85]

Those water bowls...are they dog bowls?? They look like the perfect combination hide/waterbowl

 

[maxfox426]

WOW I wish I had those organization skills. Nice set up.

Thanks! Lol! We'll see how long the organization lasts.

Thats a really nice rack . Its simple, and very well detail oriented. Thats a amazing rack for a first time build.

Thank you! I spent a LOT of time planning out the possibilities, down to the exact measurements, so I was pretty confident when I went into the hardware store to have the boards cut. The last thing I wanted was to buy all the supplies, put it together, and have it turn out to be a complete failure!

If anybody wants the details on this, let me know and I'll post all the measurements.

Very nice job! I see you're very neat and organized too. May I ask where you got those thermometers? I haven't seen those anywhere, and most I've seen are black. I'd love to have some white ones. Thanks!

Kathy

I buy my thermometers online through Big Apple Pet Supply. I get the dual probe version with no humidity gauge.
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Deluxe-Thermometers-Humidity-Gauges

Hope that helps!

Great Job!! Very creative! I like the color coordination.

Thanks. I've gotten a lot of comments on the color coordination. Like I said earlier, maybe I'm weird, but it really helps me keep everything straight!

Those water bowls...are they dog bowls?? They look like the perfect combination hide/waterbowl

Yep! Actually, I think they are technically cat bowls. I bought them at WalMart for about $2 each, I think. I was really happy to find them, too. The snakes do seem to like the option to hide underneath! (I find them under there fairly often.)

 

[Sweetseraph]

This is amazing! I love so many things about this. You're like the female MacGuyver, dudette! LOL I love the paperclips for hanging the thermometers, the neatness and color-coordination, etc, etc.

And I'm totally getting some of those Van Ness bowls, at least for my smaller guys. I work at a pet store and it never occurred to me to use those for the snakes.

 

[Sweetseraph]

Oh, and, yes, we would love measurements.

 

[raynefyre]

Wow that's a pretty awesome rack!!!

How big are the shelves' dimensions? I want to build basically what you did for the same size tubs except taller to hold 8 - 40qt tubs. Do you have plans or anything to show how you built it?