I'm getting prepared... still not 100% sure if Talyn is gravid: but preparing the baby room is fun!
Here's my rack -- it's not yet finished. I'm using metal shelving insulated on 3 sides with styrofoam. The individual boxes (8L) are heated by two 50 Watt heat cables -- I'll have to run some temp tests to see if that will warm them up enough or if I have to go up to 150W. The shelves are lit with white Xmas lights. (I would have liked to space the shelves a bit closer together but the spacing was pre-determined on this shelving system.) The room will be heated to 25C.
There's enough space in the rack for 28 babies to be housed individually.
What do you think?



Here it is with Talyn's terrarium in the background.

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Andrea

Wow Andrea,,,what an awesome job. It looks fantastic !!!

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

looks great hope she is gravid. is that just a basic white shelvin unit?

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Live for today Not tomorrow.

Thanks!
Ken did you get my PM?

Aiden: it's not white but it's one of those metalic shelving units that snap together. I just had to buy 4 extra shelves.

I'm not sure it'll make a difference, but I thought metal might spread the warmth a bit more than wood. I still need to drill air holes in the boxes and I want to put two perches in each one. (These can also be used as chondro hatchling boxes!)
Then I just have to wait and see...

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Andrea

Andrea,,,you're the bomb!!.. It looks fanstastic!! Great Job.

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

Fab job Andrea! - I sure hope you get something to fill it!!
Can I ask - where did you get the tubs and how much were they? They look just the sort we need for our Hogg rack, but we are having trouble finding some for a decent price, the closest we have found are going to mean that our rack will be a very very expensive creation!! Also, what measurements are they?

Really great job

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

great job...they look really good...i hope your baby is preggers!

Bitis - I got the boxes at Jumbo (it's a Do-It-Yourself store here). I like them because they have nice solid clip lock lids -- not a lot of jarring to get them open and shut but a good strong fit. AND the boxes are very transparent.
Here's the info on the bottom of the box:
Heidrun Europlastic
cm 33x22x16
lt 8
They have smaller and larger sizes. I had to buy the lids separately but altogether for one box I paid about GBP 3.30
I hope you can get some like these, I think they're going to be perfect!
I also bought some little plastic plant saucers to use as a water dish and I got a good sized PVC plumbing pipe which I'll cut in half and in pieces for washable hide boxes.
Now it's up to Talyn!

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Andrea

what ever happened to herp lovers wanting the best conditions and setups for thier herps?
babies or not, thier still pets. like keeping a dog in a cage all its life, i doubt herps like it very much in ugly, barly decorated racks that only provide the proper light and heat when its nothing like thier natural habitat.

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Zaroba I understand your concern about the rack system; but as I stated, it is not yet finished and it is for hatchlings. It is the best way to keep up to 28 baby snakes if you want to monitor them individually: ie. who has eaten, how much, who has defecated, urinated, etc. Also as far as "wanting the best conditions and set ups" this is the way to go with little babies. Young snakes need very specific conditions to start off well and being able to reliably control the temperature and humidity in their environment could mean their very survival.
When finished, my boxes will have nice perches for climbing and hide boxes. They are not going to live out their whole lives in there: just until they are eating regularly and reliably and I can sell them.
Having said that, there are keepers who have larger rack systems for adult snakes and that works well too. I prefer to keep my adult animals in larger naturalistic terrariums, but babies have special requirements AND yes, it is much easier on the breeder to be able to monitor all the little ones easily and keep everything clean.

My female rainbow boa's home looks like this and any snake that I keep as an adult will be similarly housed. This terrarium is: 5.5' long, 3' deep and 3' high.



Honestly though: I think the terrarium decoration impresses me more than Talyn.

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Andrea