# racks dont have to be



## loxocemus (Sep 2, 2006)

just sterile looking white melamine with opaque tubs


























these are ikea tubs i think thier called, approx size is 3ft long, 2ft deep and 9 inches high, i cut windows into them and the occupants spend a lot of time watching the world go by, where'as before in rub's all four walls looked the same and ud never see them lay outside, now most of the animals spent the night in the open asleep, or the day in the open asleep, depending on which one it is. they have underfloor heating via pads, being below the trays means the snakes cant be harmed or do harm to the equipment, each tray/shelf has a 6w flourescent tube on a timer that light the trays nicely.









as u can see in the shelf above, those 2 heavily condensated rub's are for a yearling pr of xenopeltis sunbeams, the humidity is so high, iv covered the under surface, thier ceiling with 4mm clear acrylic as it would have destroyed plain melamine, though these too are getting a regular windowed tray, though i still wont see them, the boxes have 3 inches of very damp almost wet moss, those conditions would kill probably any other species commonly kept, what would kill a corn will make a subeam thrive, evolution is a strange puppy alright.









above is the entire rack, it look quite small but its about 6.5 ft hight, 3ft wide and 2 deep, theres 8 trays, 8 stats, 8 digi thermometer, the reason for 8 stats is so i can keep any species on any shelf, 92 for a boa on one, 88 for sunbeams, 86 for baroni etc etc.









view of the stats above









the top half of the rack (above) has been removed, its built in two 4 shelf parts, im removing 2 floors, to make a cage for the baroni now thats she's offcially a monster, il post updates on that when i m done.









the bottom half of the rack (above) is still the same four trays for various things, though that may be getting changed too, not sure yet.

from the rack scrap left over i made these

















they can be partitioned as either 1, 2 ,or 3 "cages" each, inside and the dividing walls are completely covered in contact paper, so ideal for quarantine and again flexibility, high humidity or low humidity species could be kept in them.

this is my longest post ever, sorry for bad spelling and punctuation, hope someone finds it useful in some way.

rgds
edward


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## Woodyofcastle (Jun 23, 2008)

Stuck for words, stunning, wish i could build with wood, wish i took more notice in wood work at school now lol


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## markandwend (Jan 28, 2007)

They look great mate, brill idea putting the windows in the tubs:2thumb:


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## kelly (Mar 3, 2006)

all i can say is wow. thats just amazing


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## toyah (Aug 24, 2006)

It looks really good Ed - I do like the windowed tubs. 

How are your sunbeams getting on, what size are they now?


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## bennett (Jan 3, 2008)

:mf_dribble::mf_dribble::mf_dribble::mf_dribble::mf_dribble::mf_dribble:


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## odyssey (Oct 23, 2006)

very very nice indeed. thats what im gonna use for inspiration for my racks when i move house in 2 weeks. finally got somewhere i can have a whole room for my reps :2thumb:


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

wow that is awesome. 

how are you lighting them? and is it UV or just normal light?


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## loxocemus (Sep 2, 2006)

hey toyah
thier almost a year old now, havent missed a meal in that year, iv only seen one eat once and that was recent, never seen one on the prowl, never seen one drink, never seen one poop, i got lovely moss though  thier getting porky and about 18 inches with the male slightly behind as he has been since i got them, if they refuse food 100% thier in shed, iv never seen a shed slip off a snake so easily, they can slide though moss and the entire skin, head to butt will come off, thier skin is a prism/shield/water proof/funky thing 

it almost time for adult boxes for them, or at least half an adult box each. when u open the drawer this wave of hot humid air blasts you, but they love it.

strange but interesting things
rgds to you and stan

edward


uote=toyah;2042823]It looks really good Ed - I do like the windowed tubs. 

How are your sunbeams getting on, what size are they now?[/quote]


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## loxocemus (Sep 2, 2006)

thier little normal flourescent tubes, about 6w and 6 inches long, thier called link lights i got them from ebay, u can daisy chain them together, so i have a string of 8 going to one plug, pretty cool little things, i think thier often used under kitchen cuboards, bathroom mirrors etc, you can string up to 20 together 

rgds
edward



Ailurus said:


> wow that is awesome.
> 
> how are you lighting them? and is it UV or just normal light?


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## Pliskens_Chains (Jun 8, 2008)

thats a great idea:no1:


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## loxocemus (Sep 2, 2006)

*update*

this is an update to the rack in this thread

before









after










































i removed 2 floors making a larger more arboreal cage, i still have a tray bottom for this cage, like a typical drawer cage minus the floor, so i can easily remove substrate etc etc, it has a hinged door as you can see, its almost finished just waiting for my green contact paper from the states to arrive.

rgds
edward


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## McDirty (Jan 29, 2008)

What a stunning set up.

Did you make the rack from the original post from scratch or is it bought from somewhere? From the picture it looks like 2 smaller units stacked on top of each other?

That would be ideal for what I need.


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## Reptile Lover (May 15, 2008)

absolutely brilliant i am just making my own rack for my royals. fancy building it for me?:2thumb:


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## Montage_Morphs (Jul 6, 2007)

Glad you liked my idea for a mahooosive cage for Sweetpea  Lookin good.


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## Viper (May 10, 2008)

Thats ace man !!


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## loxocemus (Sep 2, 2006)

yes i made the original rack, i still have the bottom half with four trays, havent decided if i am going to change it or not. it is indeed two seperate units, good eyes, its much easier to manage in two pieces, for modifications, moving yada yada yada.



rgds
edward


McDirty said:


> What a stunning set up.
> 
> Did you make the rack from the original post from scratch or is it bought from somewhere? From the picture it looks like 2 smaller units stacked on top of each other?
> 
> That would be ideal for what I need.


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## loxocemus (Sep 2, 2006)

mucho grassyarse elle 

still isnt finished, needs a new back, and entire inside surface, walls, back top, covered in contact paper so it will withstand humidity, i have to figure exact lighting and heating, but construction is 90% done, theres a actaully a pane of glass in that door, but its sooooooooooo clean  and iv made a neat full length branch (i hope)

ed



Montage_Morphs said:


> Glad you liked my idea for a mahooosive cage for Sweetpea  Lookin good.


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## Someboy (Mar 31, 2008)

Looks great mate!!!

Did you make the windows yourself or buy them pre-made?- - either way what and how you made them or where did you get them from?

Great idea!!!
:no1::no1::no1::no1::no1:


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## linda60 (Jan 14, 2008)

That is fantastic esp the windows how did you do them.


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## Montage_Morphs (Jul 6, 2007)

He just cut them out with a saw thingie lol. Breaking many boxes along the way...


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## loxocemus (Sep 2, 2006)

i cut the windows out using a pad saw/keyhole saw, its a tricky plastic to cut very prone to cracking, i tried a jigsaw but the vibration made it crack, so i did it by hand, all 18 of them!, i got the acrylic windows cut to size from ebay, if i ever crack one its easy to replace, the black rubber edging is for car windows and just adds a nice touch, the nuts and bolts are zinc coated i think it is, so they wont rust, its acorn nuts on the inside so nothing to get nose rub on, i vented them using soffit vents, these are the vents often sold for reptile keepers in pairs (and in most flat pack vivs) at ridiculous prices, but if u put in soffit vent in ebay you'll get ten for the price of thier 2, think thats everything, if i can be of any help please ask.

rgds
edward



linda60 said:


> That is fantastic esp the windows how did you do them.


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## loxocemus (Sep 2, 2006)

*update sort of*

before









after

















its still empty, but the tray will have the usual setup, water bowl, clay hides and aspen, infact the exact tray the baroni is in just now to lessen the shock of the move, she'll have familiar smells and hides, it needs about a week of temperature tweaking before its ready, hope she likes it, havent decided if im going to make another.

the soon to be tenant










rgds
edward


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

wow that looks awesome. both before and after  will you build me one lol


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## loxocemus (Sep 2, 2006)

*last update*

complete with baroni, she seems to have taken well to it, her last cage attempt ended in regurge and a bite for me, but she's older now and is more aware of what things and movements mean.


















































the green contact paper worked out well, easy to apply and easy to repair, just cut the damaged piece out and stick another bit over, iv not finished completely yet, i want to add a moss hide to the back corner ceiling, an arboreal hide, just need to figure something practical  forgot to add theres a 24x12 heat pad under that green contact paper on the left hand side ceiling its rigged to the same stat that runs the underfloor one, it warms the air slightly. nothing major, just enough to make it a comfortable resting place when she wants to cool off, if she wants it hotter she has to drop down to the left clay pot, interestingly enough she hasnt left the heat for a couple weeks, which isnt like her and she hasnt shed in about 6mths, which totally confuses me, i could understand if she was 5 or 6yrs and not shedding for 6mths, but shes isnt even 2 yrs yet............

rgds
edward


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## Montage_Morphs (Jul 6, 2007)

She looks amazing on it  I'll come take some more pictures of her soon!


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