As a first time rack builder/owner this is amazing! I’m so glad you came across my RUclips!!! For real saving me the 6000$ I was about to give up and spend!
Dude you build the best home built racks by far. I'm a professional wood worker, I build custom electric guitars and furniture so I can appreciate the work you put into these. I'm just getting back into snakes after a long break and I'll definitely borrow some of your ideas instead of spending thousands on pro racks. If you are careful with your water these melamine racks will last an extremely long time, specially with the edge banding.
Great build man! ive been having problems with keeping heat consistent with vision racks using the one long heat cable. The way you did the heat tape would solve the problem. great work
Great video, and a beautiful rack. I wish I had your woodworking skills and equipment, so I could duplicate it. One nitpick, however: you made such a big deal out of all 10 power cords being the same length so you would have the same amount of power going to each shelf, and then you plug them all into a strip that no doubt has different lengths of wire from its power cord to each outlet, which negates the whole thing. Actually, that probably doesn't make any difference anyway at the relatively low power levels you're drawing, but then neither does the length of the cords to the individual shelves. I do like the idea of being able to unplug shelves you're not using, however. Thanks for sharing.
For those of you who are soldering THG heat tape: Instead of melting the plastic like that, turn it over and cut a square off the bus bar. It'll save you (literal) headaches burning plastic and soldering connections.
@@jackystewy The 2 thick bars that the smaller bars connect to. If you turn over the tape and take a knife or exacto and just cut deep enough to expose the metal but not cut into it, you'll have less issues.
Thx for this.. Superb. - was easy to follow & well explained why you did what you did.. Going to start mine in the next few days but going to completely cover the sides as I don't have ambient heat & want to have less humidity variables. Superb job.. Will subscribe now thx
Dude you are a beast!!!!!!🤙🏼💪🏼 You just took me to school!!!!!! That’s an amazing build!!!!!!! Your video just made me a subscriber!!!!! Come on with more videos!!!!!
Im going to do mine just like this but using pine for the sides instead of melamine. 2 sheets of melamine just for the shelves. Im doing a 10 high for 41qt. Might wire every 2 shelves together so its less wiring than 10 individual. Worst case have one extra heat tape running.
Just finished building a rack with FB70’s using this as a guide. Works great! Thanks for the awesome content. Also built an incubator after watching your videos. Prolly guna build racks for males, hatchlings and rats now.
You explained the heat tape and power strip. Can you let me know everything else you use for this set up. What thermostat and anything else that needs to be hooked up together. I would appreciate it. Thank you
I've been looking at alot of videos to build my own snake rack because mines are getting to big for their tubs and deffently going to save this video to try and build my own just like yours
Hate to say this but I tried those EXACT same water dishes and they have a huge inherent flaw. That opening in the bottom makes them think they can get under it and they try...and in trying they flip the dish over. I bought 50 of them. The next day i had about 40 flipped dishes...I was so upset lol. What I did find though was that dollar tree sells surprisingly nice dog water dishes that are almost the exact size but just a little bigger. I bought red ones for my females and blue ones for my males. And at $1 apiece you cant beat the price. I also use industrial adhesive backed velcro and put one side on the tub and one side on the bottom of the dish so that they cant move or spill them.
Ha! I went through the same thing with a similar bowl! Though fortunately, I had only picked up one to test. But yeah, the little notch is just enough for them to give it a try. Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink! I've got one male who remembered it and now he pushes his dish around the tub, trying to get under the edge (funny guy!). I'm actually using it successfully now but only because I happened to switch to coco fiber, so now I can bury the bottom to keep the girl that's using it from noticing the notches (plus, she's not all that curious or adventurous).
How did you put the casters on and what type? That's my biggest struggle right now, I just got some casters that look massive, I don't know how'd we'd put them on.
If you fully encase the heat tape with the foil tape then you should be fine. You'll just want to inspect fairly regularly to make sure there is no peeling of the tape and exposing the heat tape.
Wow! That is really professional and looks every bit as nice if not better than the big commercially manufactured ones! I love that it's on casters too! Would you consider building these for people who don't have that capability? At some point I may need at least a 5 high adult female size rack, and a baby rack with like 10 tubs. If so, could you give me some estimates? These could probably be shipped flat with all the screws to attach the planks together and assemble after it comes.
I've thought about it. But honestly the quality working with melamine is not too the level I would be happy selling to someone. Additionally, it weighs an insane amount so shipping would be very expensive. I have build them for people locally, but I doubt it'll ever make sense beyond that
@@MorphMixologyReptiles I wonder if you could do it in PVC? I think that is lighter weight. Hopefully you could get everything like you want it and be in a position to do that in the future.
@@MorphMixologyReptiles Are you in Las Vegas or Utah? Somebody who lives in Utah had mentioned that there was some ordinance against it in their area and therefore none of the home improvement stores would order it. I think I remember someone in one of the livestreams saying the same was true in Las Vegas.
For this rack to work you need to have all levels plugged in at the same time. If you disconnect one, you'll have to turn them all off and do them all at the same time again
Not at all true. Each outlet is supplied the same amount of power based on the one with the temp probe. The power strip allows you to unplug any level individually (except the one with the probe).
@@MorphMixologyReptiles say your heat temps are all at 90 and you unplugged one tub and it goes to 75. The thermostat still turns off the power supply when the probed tub gets to 90 so if I want to plug the cool tub back in, how does it heat up fast enough to get back to 90 like all the others. I'm building this rack this weekend so I guess I'll find out for myself soon enough. Thanks
How well has the melamine held up under normal use? I have access to pvc foam board but it is really expensive. Could you get 2-3 years use out of the melamine if taken care of properly?
Quick question. How do you fix the possible problem of a level of heat tape going bad and being alerted of that happening? Being that the probe is just fixed to one level. Do you monitor every level every day? I like separate heat tape pieces for each level but am afraid of one or more becoming faulty and stop heating or over heat the tub. Thsnks
Awesome video! I built a similar style 9 high melamine that fits 41qt & 28qt sterilites but yours is built way better! I'll be using some of your tips when I built another one!
I’m getting ready to build a rack based on yours. I’m trying to decide if I want to do the freedom breeder tubs or the starilite tubs, I’m curious why you didn’t do the freedom breeder tubs for this build?
Myself, my son, and my daughter (surprisingly) are planning to get into ball pythons in a big way soon. We have one three year old female that we love to death. Anyway, I’m curious what if you are planning to produce any visual pieds and if you will be sharing the pairings that you have planned? Also I’m hoping to pick up a couple more snakes this spring and I am curious how you guys will be selling the one you produce. I would sure like to support you guys if I can.
Thanks I appreciate the support. No visual pieds this season. Hopefully plenty of other combos, het pieds included. We will share every clutch here in videos but will also have them on the website, Instagram, and morph market
what temp do you have the thermostat at for that? I built the rack from your vid and i have the thermostat at 102 and im only getting about 85 in the tub.
Love the video man I’m building a rack in the next few days and am going to wire my heat tape like this, does it have to be a huge power strip like the one you have? Or can I use the shorter ones if it’s only a 6 level rack ?
@@MorphMixologyReptiles I'm making a new snake rack that uses 4 separate 4 foot sections any advice on what thermostat. Could use and could I use just a single with an extension chord
Nice video, but I guess what I'm not understanding is saying "it's breeding season...I can keep 12 clutches in the Rock Star cooler, 18 in the new one". At 12 clutches and roughly 84 snakes...why not just buy an ARS or freedom breeder with that revenue? At $250 a snake and $2500 per professional rack system...that's 1.5 clutches from one snake in one season. At $125 a snake that's three clutches. Have to take into account the cost to build something like this, calculate what your time is worth, the longevity of it (since you'll likely upgrade later), and the amount of money you're saving is the spread between those two racks. If this rack is built for a few hundred dollars, super. Subtract that from the cost of a professional rack system, divide that by your average sale per snake, and unless you're breeding normals, a few clutches should pay for a legit system and last you a lifetime.
That's was definitely the best rack building video I've seen, I love your videos. keep up the good work and I'll keep watching em
Awesome thanks man!
As a first time rack builder/owner this is amazing! I’m so glad you came across my RUclips!!! For real saving me the 6000$ I was about to give up and spend!
Dude you build the best home built racks by far. I'm a professional wood worker, I build custom electric guitars and furniture so I can appreciate the work you put into these. I'm just getting back into snakes after a long break and I'll definitely borrow some of your ideas instead of spending thousands on pro racks. If you are careful with your water these melamine racks will last an extremely long time, specially with the edge banding.
Thanks man
Great infos!!
Where i can order that heat tape couldn’t find much on amazon.
Thanks
LOVE your build videos!! I'm upgrading and expanding as well and can't wait to build my own racks!!
Another BIG-VIDEO! thanks for doing it !! and I can not wait to see the next one! Thanks BRO!
I LOVE how precise you are 😁 my OCD is happy
Haha mine too
Great build man! ive been having problems with keeping heat consistent with vision racks using the one long heat cable. The way you did the heat tape would solve the problem. great work
Awesome thanks!
Great video, and a beautiful rack. I wish I had your woodworking skills and equipment, so I could duplicate it. One nitpick, however: you made such a big deal out of all 10 power cords being the same length so you would have the same amount of power going to each shelf, and then you plug them all into a strip that no doubt has different lengths of wire from its power cord to each outlet, which negates the whole thing. Actually, that probably doesn't make any difference anyway at the relatively low power levels you're drawing, but then neither does the length of the cords to the individual shelves. I do like the idea of being able to unplug shelves you're not using, however. Thanks for sharing.
For those of you who are soldering THG heat tape: Instead of melting the plastic like that, turn it over and cut a square off the bus bar. It'll save you (literal) headaches burning plastic and soldering connections.
wait whats a bus bar?
@@jackystewy The 2 thick bars that the smaller bars connect to. If you turn over the tape and take a knife or exacto and just cut deep enough to expose the metal but not cut into it, you'll have less issues.
Thx for this.. Superb. - was easy to follow & well explained why you did what you did.. Going to start mine in the next few days but going to completely cover the sides as I don't have ambient heat & want to have less humidity variables. Superb job.. Will subscribe now thx
Awesome! Good luck
Dude you are a beast!!!!!!🤙🏼💪🏼
You just took me to school!!!!!!
That’s an amazing build!!!!!!!
Your video just made me a subscriber!!!!!
Come on with more videos!!!!!
Im going to do mine just like this but using pine for the sides instead of melamine. 2 sheets of melamine just for the shelves. Im doing a 10 high for 41qt. Might wire every 2 shelves together so its less wiring than 10 individual. Worst case have one extra heat tape running.
Make sure the pine is kiln dried otherwise it can be toxic to your snakes
@@MorphMixologyReptiles Thanks for the heads up
Just finished building a rack with FB70’s using this as a guide. Works great! Thanks for the awesome content. Also built an incubator after watching your videos. Prolly guna build racks for males, hatchlings and rats now.
Awesome! Glad the videos helped
You explained the heat tape and power strip. Can you let me know everything else you use for this set up. What thermostat and anything else that needs to be hooked up together. I would appreciate it. Thank you
Very curious how long should you expect that rack to hold up? Super excited to build mine!
Amazing video, building one just like this. Thank you so much for all the information provided
Thanks!
the organization is dope bro! good shit man I'm looking forward to build one of these pretty soon thanks a lot!
Awesome thanks!
Instead of using the velcro for the water dishes I'd just silicone the cup to te bin and use a second cup that can just be pulled out and cleaned
Flippin awesome!
Any tips to mitigate any chance of a fire?
How much was the total cost & what are the dimensions?
How was you able to attach the sides
I've been looking at alot of videos to build my own snake rack because mines are getting to big for their tubs and deffently going to save this video to try and build my own just like yours
The rack in the corner has the middle of the sides missing how do you handle heat loss
Great Video and Workshop Buddy is the bomb!
Thanks!
Hate to say this but I tried those EXACT same water dishes and they have a huge inherent flaw. That opening in the bottom makes them think they can get under it and they try...and in trying they flip the dish over. I bought 50 of them. The next day i had about 40 flipped dishes...I was so upset lol. What I did find though was that dollar tree sells surprisingly nice dog water dishes that are almost the exact size but just a little bigger. I bought red ones for my females and blue ones for my males. And at $1 apiece you cant beat the price. I also use industrial adhesive backed velcro and put one side on the tub and one side on the bottom of the dish so that they cant move or spill them.
Interesting. I'll have to keep an eye on that. The girls in this track could never fit under them so hopefully they don't try 😂
Ha! I went through the same thing with a similar bowl! Though fortunately, I had only picked up one to test. But yeah, the little notch is just enough for them to give it a try. Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink! I've got one male who remembered it and now he pushes his dish around the tub, trying to get under the edge (funny guy!).
I'm actually using it successfully now but only because I happened to switch to coco fiber, so now I can bury the bottom to keep the girl that's using it from noticing the notches (plus, she's not all that curious or adventurous).
Awesome channel by the way. This is my project today. What is the most efficient way to have lowe's rough cut it without losing any board?
There’s a Google doc in the description of the video with a cut list. You’ll need (3) 4x8 boards
@@MorphMixologyReptiles what kind of wheels did you use for the 3/4 melamine on the bottom?
What routing bit do you use we burned up 2 on one 10 pieces.
How did you put the casters on and what type? That's my biggest struggle right now, I just got some casters that look massive, I don't know how'd we'd put them on.
On all of your DIY snake racks (hatchlings and grow outs). Are the legs cover both sides or part of the sides?
Should I make my snake racks out of PVC or Melamine? Is one better than the other?
PVC if you can
what size lengths did you use for the heat tape?
As a builder myself I say Cool build man! Earned you a new sub here!
So glad i found you! Amazing DIY
Thank you! Welcome
@@MorphMixologyReptiles of course! Question, how easy is it for you to sell off your snakes? Or how quickly do you sell out?
I don't know yet lol. I'm hoping to have my first hatchlings for sale this summer
@@MorphMixologyReptiles right on, hopefully you do well! Maybe I'll even buy one!
Awesome. Keep an eye on Instagram. That's where it hits first
Thanks for this. I am going to build one soon and was curious, how is everything holding up on it? Anything you changed?
hi...great build vid...you mentioned that you have a link to the measurements for the rack pertaining to the cuts of wood....where could i find that?
It’s the very first link in the description...
Did you buy the electrical cords like that or did you make them?
Where is the thermostat connected too?
I didn't see the measurements, can you repost in case I missed it
No worry of fire with the melamine and the heat tape?
Is the routing necessary or could I just use foil tape to tape it down?
No because you don’t want the tubs sliding on the heat tape. It can tear it up and cause a fire
If you fully encase the heat tape with the foil tape then you should be fine. You'll just want to inspect fairly regularly to make sure there is no peeling of the tape and exposing the heat tape.
Just ordered all the materials, I'll post when finished.
Wow! That is really professional and looks every bit as nice if not better than the big commercially manufactured ones! I love that it's on casters too! Would you consider building these for people who don't have that capability? At some point I may need at least a 5 high adult female size rack, and a baby rack with like 10 tubs. If so, could you give me some estimates? These could probably be shipped flat with all the screws to attach the planks together and assemble after it comes.
I've thought about it. But honestly the quality working with melamine is not too the level I would be happy selling to someone. Additionally, it weighs an insane amount so shipping would be very expensive. I have build them for people locally, but I doubt it'll ever make sense beyond that
@@MorphMixologyReptiles I wonder if you could do it in PVC? I think that is lighter weight. Hopefully you could get everything like you want it and be in a position to do that in the future.
I've thought about it. But the PVC isn't really available here so it's very expensive
@@MorphMixologyReptiles Are you in Las Vegas or Utah? Somebody who lives in Utah had mentioned that there was some ordinance against it in their area and therefore none of the home improvement stores would order it. I think I remember someone in one of the livestreams saying the same was true in Las Vegas.
No I'm in southern Montana
Sooo the heat tape won't melt the tub???
How do you secure heat tape to shelf to keep it from moving
It's stapled down.
Let us know how the heating works out! Ive never seen the different sections being connected to the extension before the thermostat
I have another rack done this way. It works perfectly. And all the other commercial steel racks like Freedom Breeder and ARS are some that way too
@@MorphMixologyReptiles wow thanks! Didnt know that
What kind of bit for the router ?
What kind of power strip did you use and do you have a link?
doing great stuff man, you need more subs, this is quality content
Thanks man!
For this rack to work you need to have all levels plugged in at the same time. If you disconnect one, you'll have to turn them all off and do them all at the same time again
Not at all true. Each outlet is supplied the same amount of power based on the one with the temp probe. The power strip allows you to unplug any level individually (except the one with the probe).
@@MorphMixologyReptiles say your heat temps are all at 90 and you unplugged one tub and it goes to 75. The thermostat still turns off the power supply when the probed tub gets to 90 so if I want to plug the cool tub back in, how does it heat up fast enough to get back to 90 like all the others. I'm building this rack this weekend so I guess I'll find out for myself soon enough. Thanks
How long are the heat tape i know you said 6 inches but what about the long?
Awesome video man...like the diy stuff...keep em coming...
Thanks man!
So all of the melanine board is cut the same size? Also what is the cost?
What is that tape over the wires also what is the plastic over the heat tape and was it routed out to put it in heat tape ?
Tape over wires is just electrical tape. And idk what plastic you're talking about
Excellent video thank you so much for the info. Keep up the great work.
Thanks!
Just FYI. Crimped joints are stronger than soldered joints.
Aewsome turorial i wanna build one my self but was curious How much did all the wood material cost? And whats the name of the wood?
good job really
I could see that the gap on the rear was about 3/16 inch. Is that going to be a potential problem?
Nice, informative video 👍🤟🏼
What type of thermostat did you use? Great video by the way.
How well has the melamine held up under normal use? I have access to pvc foam board but it is really expensive. Could you get 2-3 years use out of the melamine if taken care of properly?
I'm confident in 2 seasons. Not sure beyond that. I've seen some melamine racks that are 6-10 years old and still holding up
Quick question. How do you fix the possible problem of a level of heat tape going bad and being alerted of that happening? Being that the probe is just fixed to one level. Do you monitor every level every day? I like separate heat tape pieces for each level but am afraid of one or more becoming faulty and stop heating or over heat the tub. Thsnks
You just have to keep an eye on your collection. That's part of the job
So this tub size would be the equivalent to roughly the fb-70?
How are your temps doing with the probe placement in the middle of the rack? what is the variation you see from top to bottom?
Works perfect. 1-2 degrees max
What’s the name of the dishes
Very informative video. Thank you very much.
I know this is a super late comment. But what would the height be if its just 5 high. Thanks.
You definitely have some skills. Can you swing down to Arizona and build me one? 😉
Haha I wish. Thanks tho
I would love to pay him to build me a rack or be his neighbor and build one together side by side’, WOW! He does such nice work!!!!!
What kind of thermostat are you using with that rack?
Herpstat
What video do you show how to do the routing out for the heat tape
I think it's the 1532 combo build.
Thank you I’ll go watch it now
What size screws were used for the build. I just split atleast 3 boards. And I'm pissed 😤
#8 x 2. Predrilled
Or use #6 if ur worried about it. But melamine is almost impossible to get perfect.
What the overall height of the rack please if possible
Awesome video! I built a similar style 9 high melamine that fits 41qt & 28qt sterilites but yours is built way better! I'll be using some of your tips when I built another one!
Awesome thanks!
No pdf ?
Great build man
Thanks bro
I'm looking at making something similar for king snakes would you change the diameters or tub sizes?
I don't really know. I don't work with them. Just make sure with colubrids that there is almost no gap above the tub. I hear they are escape artists
I’m getting ready to build a rack based on yours. I’m trying to decide if I want to do the freedom breeder tubs or the starilite tubs, I’m curious why you didn’t do the freedom breeder tubs for this build?
Basically price. And I like the completely clear tubs
That’s kind of what I was thinking. Thanks for your response.
Myself, my son, and my daughter (surprisingly) are planning to get into ball pythons in a big way soon. We have one three year old female that we love to death. Anyway, I’m curious what if you are planning to produce any visual pieds and if you will be sharing the pairings that you have planned? Also I’m hoping to pick up a couple more snakes this spring and I am curious how you guys will be selling the one you produce. I would sure like to support you guys if I can.
Thanks I appreciate the support. No visual pieds this season. Hopefully plenty of other combos, het pieds included. We will share every clutch here in videos but will also have them on the website, Instagram, and morph market
Awesome, I will be watching for sure. Also I just found that you did a pairing video😬.
You say 16.75 on the blueprints but in the video say 16.5 for the shelves, did you just cut down to 16.5?
As always great video and awesome build! Any particular reason you went away from the rail design?
Just to try something different. And these tubs don't have nearly as strong of rims to hang on
what temp do you have the thermostat at for that? I built the rack from your vid and i have the thermostat at 102 and im only getting about 85 in the tub.
Mines 95 to get a 90 hot spot
Love the video man I’m building a rack in the next few days and am going to wire my heat tape like this, does it have to be a huge power strip like the one you have? Or can I use the shorter ones if it’s only a 6 level rack ?
Just a power strip. Doesn't have to be huge
Thanks man
Should have wired in some switches to turn on and off the heating pads to make it easier.
Because unplugging a cord is so hard to do these days
Wouldn't you need more thermostats since each level is a separately plugged in piece of heat tape?
Hey. Did you use 2x4’s on the base?
Do you stop feeding your breeders iternet says to stop feeding them then breed and do you drops temps???
Breeders will often go off feed naturally during breeding season. And no I don't drop temps
@@MorphMixologyReptiles I'm making a new snake rack that uses 4 separate 4 foot sections any advice on what thermostat. Could use and could I use just a single with an extension chord
@@MorphMixologyReptiles I'm using 4 in heat tape
I use all Herpstat thermostats
Picking up PVC but left measurements at home
With the 10 High could you just use a Herpstat 1? Great video by the way.
Yes absolutely.
For the price difference, go for the herpstat 2. You may never need to use the second imput, but it's cheap "just in case" insurance.
What material did you use? Is it wood or pvc?
It's melamine
Love your builds! How many thermostats did you use?
Hey brother, where did you pick up that Pizza Hut freezer? Did you contact PH, or was that on craigslist?
On Facebook marketplace
How much heat tape do you need?
Don't know off the top of my head. Just add all the shelves and vertical between them. Then add a foot or two just to be sure
Swear your channel has the most views you should have more subs
I would really like to do this but I already got confused 😐
How much do the snake tubs and your incubator jack up your light bill per month?
Almost none
What cords did you use?
Just basic white extension cords
Is this 3/4 melamine?
Yes
How much would this cost? Just an estimate.
Probably $150 ish
Hey buddy this build will fit fb70 tubs
Are you saying you know that it will fit? I've never tried it
Nice video, but I guess what I'm not understanding is saying "it's breeding season...I can keep 12 clutches in the Rock Star cooler, 18 in the new one". At 12 clutches and roughly 84 snakes...why not just buy an ARS or freedom breeder with that revenue? At $250 a snake and $2500 per professional rack system...that's 1.5 clutches from one snake in one season. At $125 a snake that's three clutches. Have to take into account the cost to build something like this, calculate what your time is worth, the longevity of it (since you'll likely upgrade later), and the amount of money you're saving is the spread between those two racks. If this rack is built for a few hundred dollars, super. Subtract that from the cost of a professional rack system, divide that by your average sale per snake, and unless you're breeding normals, a few clutches should pay for a legit system and last you a lifetime.