06/18/2023
SNAKE RACK BUILD!!
Our first go at building a snake rack for neonates and sub juvenile corns. This was a budget build utilizing materials from our seemingly endless home renovation. Mostly comprising of 7/16 zip board with some rough cut maple framing and a touch of cement board. We decided to provide belly heat with flexwatt heat tape driven by a herpstat 1 spyderweb controller. A 6” wide strip of cement board was used at the rear of each self directly fastened to the framing. Having a nominal thickness less than that of the 7/16” zip board front section allowed the heat tape a flame retardant base while also providing an air gap to the tubs. Each tub also has a small strip of aluminum foil placed externally at the bottom rear acting as a little heat sink. All terminations were solder instead of clipped. Our practice run revealed the need to solder next to the second parallel bar to prevent the separation of the printed circuit. We used both liquid and vinyl electrical tape for good measure at the tape terminations. To keep wire distribution neat we found these green terminal blocks. Using double 2 in 8 out blocks allows us an easy upgrade to the herpstat 2 if splitting of the rack is needed in the future. The most tedious job was that of bin modification… a piece of drywall paper made for an effective repeating template for hole locations. So so many holes 🤦🏼♂️ 32 sterilite 18qt locking lid tubs fit on this rack. With this tub size we have an approximate temperature gradient from 87 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit with room for two hides, a paper towel tube and water dish. Updates to come on how this works out and pictures of its inhabitants!