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Reptile rack advice

C

CDAreptiles

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My reptile business has grown tremendously over the last year or so and I am having to leave behind my hobby breeding set ups which consisted of several glass tanks which take up an enourmous amount of room. I am in the process of purchasing reptile racks in order to have more animals and take up less space however I would like some advice about what to get:

1) What is the difference between the PVC reptile racks and the wooden racks?

2) In the past I had a few snakes in Iris tubs which were set on a table with the lid on. Because of the water bowl inside the tub from which the snakes could drink water constantly evaporated and condensed on the lid making the inside of the tub too humid for the snakes to be kept in. How do reptile racks keep this problem from happening? Why not simply keep the tubs stacked on top of eachother with the lids instead of wooden or PVC racks?

Any help regarding this subject will be highly appreciated!

Thanks,
CDAreptiles
 
Another quick question:

1) What is the best wood to use when building the racks?

2) What is the best type of tub to use? (Iris tub...etc.)

Thanks again,
CDAreptiles
 
Why not just stack - because inevitably, the tub you want access to will not be the one on the top. The benefits of using a rack are largely focused on making things easier for the keeper - easy to clean, easy to maintain, easy to heat, easy access to animals, etc.
Most of the rack systems are designed for lidless use - to prevent the accumulation of moisture that you mentioned. While I built most of my earlier racks for use WITH lids, for a variety of reasons, I am growing to appreciate the benefits of lidless. With very few exceptions, I will be working in that direction with any new racks I purchase or build.
PVC racks are lighter and easier to clean/disinfect. Wooden racks are cheaper to build. Melamine is darned heavy.
Use the material that works best for you - you are the one that will be using the rack for years to come.
For tub selection - you need to consider availability - both now and in the future. Rubbermaid tubs change sizes fairly frequently - which could put you in a position, a few years down the road, of being unable to find properly fitting tubs for your rack. Sterilite is pretty consistent, but occasionally they discontinue sizes, or there are small changes to a size (I have 2 different sized 28qt tubs here, and one really doesn't fit properly in my racks...BUT they are different model numbers. If you pay attention to what you are buying you shouldn't have a problem). Sterilite tubs are also readily available at Walmart, Target, and a host of different places. Iris tubs are very popular for a variety of reasons. The sizes commonly used for reptiles have been around, unchanged, for years. They also feature flat smooth bottoms for easy cleaning - the down side is that they are more expensive and tend to be less easily found (locally) should you need a replacement.

If you are planning to build them yourself - I suggest you take a look at Clays page: http://arbreptiles.com/cages/cages.shtml
 
oh - btw - a couple more reasons to not just stack boxes:
you WILL have escapes
it impacts your ability to easily and safely heat the cages
constantly moving tubs to get to the one you want - I know, I already mentioned that part...but it does become a factor pretty quickly
 
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