Finally moved my snakes into their new homes

[braingarble]

I finally have 2 out of 3 snakes moved to their new homes.

I purchased this rack from constrictors Northwest. The owner, Ed Lilley, makes a great product and has excellent customer service. I would definitely recommend him! This model is "pro-stack" and dimensions are 36x24x14. The assembled rack stands approximately 5 1/2 feet. If anyone is interested, I have included a link http://www.constrictorsnw.com/cagessupply/prostacks.html


- I decided to heat the rack with radiant heat pads from pro-products. They are pretty pricey, but I felt they are worth it.
http://www.pro-products.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=59

- All 5 racks are controlled by vivarium electronics thermostats. I have four(4) VE-200 and one(1) VE-300.
http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostats

- The lighting is low wattage under cabinet lights. They are low profile, bright, and do not produce too much heat.

In addition to being a reptile nerd, I am an IT nerd. If you look closely at the poor quality cellphone pictures you will see two wires. One is the temperature probe for the thermostat and the other is a temperature sensor is connected to a circuit board, running my environmental/home automation project. The cool thing (from a nerd perspective) is that every 10 minutes a server asks the temperatures sensors/circuit board for the tank status. If the temperatures exceed a certain threshold(high or low) a notification is sent via email/text with the information about the rack. Additionally, I log the tank status every hour. Eventually, I plan to create an interface to shut the rack down if temperatures become too high.

I am planning on purchasing 3D backgrounds, which will hide the wires. Just need to convince my wife that I "need" them


-braingarble

 

[juliegarner]

Nice set ups you got and i agree backgrounds would set them off a treat

 

[hypnoctopus]

Wow, it looks really nice! I really like your natural decorations as well.

 

[Nythain]

Wow... Slick setup.

 

[Flow]

nice...will have to look into these racks.:idea:

 

[smigon]

Great setup! Now you need two more to fill the bottom ones!

 

[Chromatic Corns]

JEALOUS!! and great idea with the enviro control program

 

[Pitbullgirl16]

That's an awesome setup!

 

[Nanci]

Where are the heat panels placed? Each viv has its own thermostat? Looks gorgeous!

 

[braingarble]

@smigon - I agree, I do need to fill those last ones. I really trying to hold out for a palmetto and a scaleless from Don soderberg. However, I probably could be swayed if I stumbled upon a anery tessera all my choices are expensive, so I can't imagine I will be filling them very soon. We will see how good my willpower is.

@nanci - yes, every rack has its own thermostat. They are all vivarium electronics, pulse proportional thermostats, all VE-200, except for 1, which is a VE-300(i bought this one first and realized that I didn't really need the additional features. So, decided to save the money and get the lower model for the remaining)

The radiant heat pads are mounted above/ceiling on every tank. They push down a balanced heat. Unlike a heat lamp, this heat will not dry the tank humidity. It's a heat closer to the sun. The heat pad from the below tank also acts as a uth. I received these racks in January and have been experimenting heat and temperatures for a few months. At first I was concerned that the heat would not make it into the hides. The panels do a good job penetrating an object. I have had one snake (top rack) relocated for about a month and is thriving. Hence my decision now to move #2. My last guy is a little smaller and while I did put aluminum screening over all the vent holes (yes I'm paranoid), I'm concerned he could formulate a plan (as if he's a criminal) to escape.

Personally, I would not put a hatchling in these racks.

-braingarble

 

[Nanci]

I think a radiant heat panel might work great in my uro cage. Would it work to mount it with industrial velcro? Do you know how hot they get?

 

[braingarble]

@nanci - like flex watt, they (radiant heat pads) will run away. I am not sure how hot they will get, but I would say without a thermostat they could easily produce 150-200f. However, they are not hot to the touch, like a bulb, or ceramic heat emitter. You can hold your hand on them for 10 seconds or so. If you using a thermostat, you could hold your hand on them all day (if you had nothing else to do).

As for mounting, I guess you could use velcro. They are very lightweight. They are predrilled and come with mounting screws. I am unsure of your application, but maybe you could mount the RHP to a board(wood or composite) and then velcro the whole unit up. This way if you need to change out the velcro, it's on the board not on the unit itself. It would give you a greater surface area as well, as the back of them is slightly recessed.

I have incredible ability to over think the easiest of tasks. I would put a level on a ham sandwich. The gentleman, (whom I believe was owner) I spoke with from pro-products was extremely knowledgeable. I'm sure if you called him, he would be able to help you, rather than me giving you advice based on my opinion.

I hope this helps

-braingarble

 

[Nythain]

In addition to being a reptile nerd, I am an IT nerd. If you look closely at the poor quality cellphone pictures you will see two wires. One is the temperature probe for the thermostat and the other is a temperature sensor is connected to a circuit board, running my environmental/home automation project. The cool thing (from a nerd perspective) is that every 10 minutes a server asks the temperatures sensors/circuit board for the tank status. If the temperatures exceed a certain threshold(high or low) a notification is sent via email/text with the information about the rack. Additionally, I log the tank status every hour. Eventually, I plan to create an interface to shut the rack down if temperatures become too high.

Just actually read this part... Ruddy brilliant! Being a nerd has some serious advantages sometimes