# Corn Hatchling Rack



## ballpiefun (Mar 8, 2007)

Hi - I'm looking for a corn hatchling rack that could accomodate 30-60 hatchling corn snakes. Money waiting! Please PM details. Thanks.

Patrick.


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## ballpiefun (Mar 8, 2007)

*A Lot Of Help With Building Rack*

OK....none for sale. I'm going to have a go at making one then. I have no DIY skills at all so this will be quite a challenge! Any idea what "strength" (100w ?) heat cable I would need to use for corn hatchlings? Where can I buy heat cable and what type of thermostat do I need to hook it up to, temperature or pulse? Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.
Patrick.


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## hogboy (Aug 22, 2006)

A quick and easy solution would be to buy a bunch of these tubs
!Flip-Ups 10 Medium www.reptileforums.co.uk Special Offer by: Cornish
Put a large heatmat on the back wall of a spare viv, and a decent stat, i use the pulse's or dimming ones.
The tubs are stackable and you should be able to house them pretty quickly
Good luck


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## Plutino (Aug 5, 2007)

not sure on heat cable. We use just standard heat mats down the back. How much you spend depends on how you want it to look really. If you're not fussed, figure out how wide you want it, what boxes you want to keep the hatchlings in and how many across, allow a couple centimeters on either side, and work out how you'll fit the shelves and side pieces into an 8' x 4' piece of MDF from B&Q.
Nail on a one of those cheap pieces of backing, just cut it to about 2mm less than the dimentions of the rack. Stat the mat and run it along the back before nailing down, cutting/drilling a small hole for the wires to go.
The wattage of the mat depends on the size of the rack and if you decide to put doors on the front, and the ambient temperature of the room it's going in (reptile room?). I'd guess something in the neighborhood of 40 watts is as much as you'd ever need really, stat should do the rest. Personally I find a standard mat stat 100w works. Depending on how wide it is you might need 2 mats side by side. Preferably monitor the temps inside the boxes.
Rather vague guide, but that's the jist anyway.
Conti-board is another option, which would probably work for a hatchling rack as it doesn't need to be more than 2' deep.
Could also see if there are any units from ikea or something in the bargin basement approximately the right size.


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## groovy chick (Aug 1, 2006)

I was in Tesco yesterday and they had a 3 teir shelving unit thing which could hold about 15 - 20 tubs for £10. Dont know if it helps but just thought id mention it : victory:


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## ballpiefun (Mar 8, 2007)

*A bit more info................*

Thanks for the ideas so far. Has anybody used any of the Really Useful Boxes from Staples to house hatchling Corns? Are they any good? If so what size? I'm considering the 1.5 litre box (12" pencil box) which is 100mm/4" wide, 70mm/2.75" high and 355mm/13.75" long! I am going to use the carcase of an old pine set of draws which measures 1050mm/41.5" high by 755mm/29.5" wide and 375mm/14.75" deep as the base and I reckon I should be able to put in 8 to 10 shelves, each containing 4 to 5 tubs, depending on the dimensions of the tubs. With that in mind, any further views on how to set up the heating? Thanks.


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## Beardies (Sep 30, 2006)

I should imagine the 1.5 ltr would be fine for hatchlings i have known people to use them good luck with building your hatchling rack : victory:


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## kerrie (May 29, 2006)

i cheated on my rack i bought this







Beech Small Extra Deep Bookcase. from Argos

and added an extra shelf


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## Montage_Morphs (Jul 6, 2007)

Ikea sell some fabulous bookcases that can easily hold 50+ hatchlings.


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## garysumpter (Apr 18, 2005)

Vision Products

Eurorep are hoping to get the racks in stock soon.

Gary


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## ballpiefun (Mar 8, 2007)

I finished it today and if I do say so myself.......I think it looks really good!!

Just need to attach the thermostat and play around with the settings for a couple of days and nights.

I would be interested to know peoples thoughts on the ideal temperatures for hatchling corns. Is 32/90 too high for the warm end? Is 28/82 more suitable? 

I'd also be interested to know opinions on whether or not a night time drop is necessary with hatchlings.

Cheers,
Patrick.


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## ballpiefun (Mar 8, 2007)

*Photos of the completed Hatchling Rack.*

I finally got around to taking a couple of photos of the finished rack which now houses my new SerpenCo 2007 hatchlings. I know it's not exactly building from scratch but trust me when I say that, given my lack of DIY skills, this is a massive achievement for me. I hope you like it.


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

thats looking really good :thumb:


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## madaboutreptiles (Jun 5, 2007)

I think that looks bloody good mate......very nice job


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## ballpiefun (Mar 8, 2007)

Thank You !!


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## dracowoman2 (Nov 6, 2005)

Looking very nice there ballpiefun, that's about my limit in DIY as well, I'm about to convert an old chest of drawers with 6 x 12L RUBS for my 07 Royals, as the 50L's are well too big for them for a while, which will leave with with 4 empty 50L RUBs, now I wonder what I can put in them  I now feel inspired


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## groovy chick (Aug 1, 2006)

Looks really good :mrgreen: Well done 8)


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## snickers (Aug 15, 2007)

That looks really good! Just the job

Don't want to ruin it but there are some problems with RUBs for hatchlings. The lids don't fit flush with the tub. There is a small space that apparently is just wide enough for a snake to get stuck. You probably have to turn the tub over to see the problem. There have been a few threads on here talking about it and discussing solutions.


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## ballpiefun (Mar 8, 2007)

snickers said:


> That looks really good! Just the job
> 
> Don't want to ruin it but there are some problems with RUBs for hatchlings. The lids don't fit flush with the tub. There is a small space that apparently is just wide enough for a snake to get stuck. You probably have to turn the tub over to see the problem. There have been a few threads on here talking about it and discussing solutions.


Thanks for bringing that to my attention but I'm not having any problems with mine. I'm using the 12" pencil boxes (1.5L RUB) for my hatchlings. It has a catch at each end but because of the length of the box I compensate this with an elastic band across the middle of the box. Like this;



















Anybody else using these for hatchlings? If so, have you encountered any problems I should be aware of?

Cheers,
Patrick.


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## Reiyuu (Sep 21, 2007)

looks awesome! if only i could do something like that with the leos! lol


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## Petsnakes (Nov 11, 2007)

Hi Patrick,

The only potential pain in the butt that I can see is the hides.

If the snakes poo inside them won't it be difficult to make sure that they are completely clean inside?

It also takes time to clean them out.

Why not just use kitchen roll or toilet roll inner tubes?

I just flatten them and let them spring back up.

Any poo on them and they get binned.

Makes cleaning out a lot quicker! 

Especially when you have so many.

Might take a little while to build up your stock but just ask friends and family to keep the tubes for you.

They may think it's a bit wierd but there again, you do keep snakes! ;o)

Bye for now,

Jim


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## ballpiefun (Mar 8, 2007)

Petsnakes said:


> Hi Patrick,
> 
> The only potential pain in the butt that I can see is the hides.
> 
> ...


Hi Jim - I did start off with the bog rolls but they kept getting pushed into the water bowls which not only soaked up all of the hatchlings water supply but also soaked the kitchen roll and the whole tub ended up covered in condensation.

So far, touch wood, my hatchlings are very clean and tidy and I have only had one incident where one of the hatchlings pood inside the tube. However, if they do, I am well prepared. I have a baby's bottle cleaner which gets in and around the bends. Obviously, if they get more untidy as the get older, like most teenagers, I might have to reconsider!

I haven't been able to catch you on MSN yet but I really need to chat to you about that awsome shed of yours. 

Cheers,
Patrick.


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## Petsnakes (Nov 11, 2007)

Hi Patrick,

I've been using the cardboard tubes for years and it's very, very rare for them to get wet.

I think I can see what the difference is though.... I use ceramic hamster food bowls for the water. They are probably twice the height of the dishes you use.

My tubs are also wider and I use either a kitchen roll tube or two toilet roll tubes pushed together. This means that the hide goes diagonally from corner to corner with the water dish fitting into the gap at the front.

I just mentioned it because I see that you are using two pipes per tub and you have about thirty boxes in use.

That's 60 pipes to check and wash. Far too much like hard work for me. LOL

I should be on MSN between 7pm and 9pm tonight. Hopefully catch you then.

Bye for now,

Jim


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