How many holes to put in sterilite container?

[Amanda E]

I just bought a bunch of sterilite containers, now I have to drill/melt holes in them.

The thing that I'm wondering is how many holes is good?

I know it is going to depend on how big the box is, but is there a general trend, like a hole every 1 inch? every 2 inches?

Just wondering what you guys do.

By the way, all of the tubs are going to be used in a rack system.

Even if you could just post a photo of a sample tub showing the placement of the holes, it would give me a good idea.

Thanks.

 

[MegF.]

The cornsnake manual says to base it on the amount of humidity you have. If the climate's dry, less holes, if more humid, more holes. Page 15 of the Manual shows a plastic container with the holes in it. They say the holes shouldn't be more than 1/8".

 

[Slik]

Amanda,

I am work currently but I can count and take a pic of my tubs for you after I get home, if my memory serves me right I centered a ruler on eachside/end and then made a mark every inch along it. On my 12qt sterilites I "think" that gave me 56 holes per tub and I was anal and used a counter sink bit to clean up the plasitic burr from the drill on each side of the hole...

So basically 56 holes x 3 times with the drill (one for the hole and once again on each side to clean it up) x 24 tubs = 4032 actual :crying: plunges with my cordless driver. Trust me this IS the worst part of the whole rack system, even including my mess with the electrical cord incident

Don't even ask me how many holes I got in my ten 28qt tubs

Let me know if you want a pic ok?

Oh, just for an FYI my tubs have been maintaining 84-87 on the heat tape end and 74-77 on the cool ends. 5 of my 6 snakes have each shed and not one was torn or shredded so I am fairly certain the humidity/heat levels are working out well. I also took a smallish cat/dog water bowl and took a 1" bit and cut a hole in the side flage and the snakes now use it as a hide while it provides water and a decent enough amount to keep them nice and moist while shedding. I can take a pic of that too if your interested.

Lee

 

[Slik]

Here ya go and yes there are 56 holes per 12 qt container at least on mine..

Lee

 

[Slik]

Pic of the tub from the end, the last pic was of the tub from the side...

Lee

 

[Amanda E]

Thanks you two!

That's just what I was wanting to know.

I totally forgot to even look at the Corn Snake Manual. Oh well.

 

[Amanda E]

New question, but still about sterilites (I hope people read this)

Until I get a rack set up I will be housing two adult corn snakes in two free-standing 30 quart sterilite containers.

The lids seem to fit pretty well, but I'm wondering if I need to put a heavy object on top the of lids.

I've also heard that some people use binder clips on the edges of certain tubs so the snakes can't push the sides away from the lid and escape. Is this needed on sterilites or just on rubbermaids?

Any other suggestions? I've never lost a snake yet (knock on wood) and I don't want to now by not having the tubs set up correctly.

Thanks.

 

[Nagah11979]

Binder clips work well

You could place something on top of the sterilite but it would have to be pretty heavy. These little guys are stronger than you think! I find that medium size binder clips 2 on each of the longer sides and one on each of the shorter sides works well for my adults.

I had been going without the clips for a while and what made me finally use them when I found my three foot normal looking up at me from the crack in between my matress and the bedframe! I didn't even know he had escaped!

Whew!

 

[CAV]

It is better to be safe than sorry. I use binder clips on all of my tubs that aren't in a rack.

BTW, the hole pattern that Slik used is the same one that I use. I used trial and error to determine the total number. If you live in a dry climate, don't drill as many holes. I drilled the ends and waited to drill the sides until I could judge the rate of evaporation. Remember, you can always add more holes, but you can't take them away.