EPTSchris
New member
I recently hurt my hand and have had a lot of free time, so I devised a cheap effective 41 qt. snake rack from my local walmart and figured I'd share it with everyone. I made this for my boas (none of which are over 4ft yet). I apologize for this thread being poorly put together. My rack has already been built for about a month, so I don't have step by step pictures. I'm just bored and figured I'd share it, but don't worry there isn't much to it.
Materials:
Plano approx-36" x 18"x 48" (I already threw the box away) black plastic shelves. $29.99 One set of shelves gives you 4 shelves, or 3 compartments for tubs. Each shelf is rated at 50# I believe. This is literally all you need.
Directions:
Cut the support poles at 8" with some sort of cutting device. I used a table saw, but this plastic cuts easy and does not crack so you could get away with using a saws-all, hand saw, circular saw, whatever you have. The support tubes are one diameter, its the hole they go into on the shelf that has the taper. Then for your standard sterilite 1860 tub to fit straight in you will need to cut a L shape on the front two support poles because the upper lip on the tub is about an inch too big. This can be done easily by just coming straight down on the support tube approximately 4 inches then backing your saw out and coming in to the side to finish. You can avoid this cut by just sliding the tubs in at angle to get them in place. It's your preference. This is all you need. If you want to have extra security you could drill holes where the tubes go into the shelf and screw it all together.
Pros:
It's light weight, costs $29.99 for a 3 tub rack, its all plastic, very sturdy, if your snake collection is changing or growing it's easy to add/remove tubs, takes literally 10 minutes to assemble with no skills required, and you can use the 50 qt 1927 tubs if you take the wheels off. I haven't gone higher then 4 tubs yet, but it is sturdy enough to hold a 45# olympic weight on top right now, so I believe I could go to 6 tubs easy with this method.
Cons:
You need to use the lids. The bottom of the shelves are cut out and honey combed (sort of ) in design, I'm assuming to reduce weight. It's open on all sides obviously, but I like the increased lighting and airflow for my snakes so this is preference.
My total completely set up approximately $250 (give or take $20)
2 sets of plano shelves-$60
4 tubs- $40
4 flukers 11x 18 heat mats- $80
1 heat mat thermostat from amazon- $30
4 probe thermometers from lowes- $40
Hope you enjoy!
Materials:
Plano approx-36" x 18"x 48" (I already threw the box away) black plastic shelves. $29.99 One set of shelves gives you 4 shelves, or 3 compartments for tubs. Each shelf is rated at 50# I believe. This is literally all you need.
Directions:
Cut the support poles at 8" with some sort of cutting device. I used a table saw, but this plastic cuts easy and does not crack so you could get away with using a saws-all, hand saw, circular saw, whatever you have. The support tubes are one diameter, its the hole they go into on the shelf that has the taper. Then for your standard sterilite 1860 tub to fit straight in you will need to cut a L shape on the front two support poles because the upper lip on the tub is about an inch too big. This can be done easily by just coming straight down on the support tube approximately 4 inches then backing your saw out and coming in to the side to finish. You can avoid this cut by just sliding the tubs in at angle to get them in place. It's your preference. This is all you need. If you want to have extra security you could drill holes where the tubes go into the shelf and screw it all together.
Pros:
It's light weight, costs $29.99 for a 3 tub rack, its all plastic, very sturdy, if your snake collection is changing or growing it's easy to add/remove tubs, takes literally 10 minutes to assemble with no skills required, and you can use the 50 qt 1927 tubs if you take the wheels off. I haven't gone higher then 4 tubs yet, but it is sturdy enough to hold a 45# olympic weight on top right now, so I believe I could go to 6 tubs easy with this method.
Cons:
You need to use the lids. The bottom of the shelves are cut out and honey combed (sort of ) in design, I'm assuming to reduce weight. It's open on all sides obviously, but I like the increased lighting and airflow for my snakes so this is preference.
My total completely set up approximately $250 (give or take $20)
2 sets of plano shelves-$60
4 tubs- $40
4 flukers 11x 18 heat mats- $80
1 heat mat thermostat from amazon- $30
4 probe thermometers from lowes- $40
Hope you enjoy!