In this video, I go into the details of the different types of reptile racks and cages that I've used in the past. We talk about the pros and cons of each so that you may have an easier decision on which one to purchase for yourselves.
You're the MOST educational channel for snakes on YT. You really encompass everything into the topics without being biased. Thank you for all you do!!!
Honestly, I use plastic bins from Home Depot and I modify the lids to have mesh on top so I can use CHEs to heat with. It's very cheap and looks horrible, but it works just fine. Lol. I just use these for Babies, Juveniles, and possibly Sub-Adults. It just depends on the size of the snake, but the bins are easy to keep the temps and humidity up, easy to clean, and a cheap temporary option to raise my snakes in. Love your videos man!
Thank you thank you, I use to get bashed on FB groups for keeping my 3 pet snakes in 50 gallon breeder tanks and they are all Young. I Love looking at my Snakes and have their terrariums looking natural and awesome. I take the EXTRA care to keep my heat and humidity correct. I PERSONALLY, FOR 3 PET SNAKES PREFER REPTILES SAFE TERRARIUMS
Tanks can be so easily modified a many times are good as is for a lot of species. I don't know where this whole tanks are bad thing came from but I've used tanks for years and many others have as well
@@JasonsExoticReptiles , thank you and they are for me to keep clean. I love looking at GOLIATH AND NAPOLEON WHEN I GO INTO MY OFFICE AND THERE THEY ARE , I LOVE IT.
Keep the videos coming! This was such a helpful & informative video. It’s one thing to see a “review” of a product. But it’s a whole other thing to receive a nice, through, and honest lecture on not just racks & enclosure. BUT the type of racks and enclosures. So we as viewers and “students” in the reptile hobby can learn better ways to house and care for our reptiles. Overall, great job! And I can’t wait to see content!
Nice video, I'm debating between pvc and vision cages, but I do like the look at radiant heat panel. Since it seems they do a better job at ambient temperature that a uth
Solid video! You great explaining the pros and cons you personally experienced with the different methods of keeping. Really great video! Happy holidays!
CAGES !! Racks IMO are only for hatchling snakes , ball pythons and blood pythons . Maybe some fossorial colubrids as well like hognose but def we should all be striving for the best and cages are made in so many sizes you don’t even need that much space
Omgawsh thank you! I was planning on getting a plastic tank but was concerned on how I would heat. I need to do more research, but glad I wasnt just over thinking.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Brother! My first rack was made out of the Home Depot HDX 24”x36” Rack that I cut the legs to fit 2 - 28 quart tubs each level. Instead of heat tape I used the medium heat pads that were on the 8 - 20 gallon long tanks that I replaced with this rack. I use a thermostat and have to raise the set point to get the temp I want inside. My next rack I bought from a friend is a PVC with heat tape and thermostat that holds 10 - 32 quart tubs. I want an ARS 1070 rack for my boas which I will buy 1-2 levels at a time. Thanks for the great information. Once I get caught up on bills from being unemployed 5 months this year I want to get a male Nicaraguan boa like the one on your website.
thanks man! Merry Christmas and happy new year to you as well! That's the way to do it. Start with what you can then slowly build to bigger and better!
Nice job! I think it would be good to see examples of what you think are good, and bad, about available rack systems and cages. Currently, I only have a few snakes, so I like using the PVC cages so I can see my pets :-) That said, I will likely have a lot of hatchlings this spring so I will likely house them in rack systems. I'm pretty handy building, so I will likely build my own. So I would be interested in seeing what you like, and don't like, in a cage. Keep up the good work!
Keep the videos coming. I had the home made cages in the beginning until I got my first freedom Breeder rack. Man it was a life changer when it comes to snake keeping. Now Jason how’s about some more boa videos.
I recently started collecting as a hobby for myself & daughter & they are all in glass in closures with the screens with tape on top , everything is in a bedroom with radiant heat from the ceiling I can control with a humidifier, watching your vids & others inspired my daughter so we started collecting.. 8 boas 26 balls 2 blood pythons & 1 burm my house has a zoo ...Thanks!😂 Thanks for all your time & expertise
It irritates me when ppl say don’t put snakes in aquariums.. foam installation is that foam cardboard you can get at dollar tree for $.50 a piece at like 21/2 ft my 2ft.. the lids can be made to keep in some humidity with shrink wrap and tape (outside of the top only). You can make an “aquarium” look amazing and functional.. just gotta use some imagination haha
Good video man, I’m working with hand built melamine racks now, 7 32qt tub rack only cost me maybe 50-60 maybe closer to 100 after adding heat, plan to buy a few pvc racks in a few months.
I house some of my larger boas in pvc cages. At first I tried using flex watt heat tape underneath and like you said I found that it wasn't able to penetrate through the pvc to adequately heat the enclosure. I switched to radiant heat panels and so far they've been working great. As usual another great video on a good topic.
Yeah that was my problem as well. Then I found I need to set my heat panels to a super high temp to get my basking floors space nice. It just became a pain
@@JasonsExoticReptiles My cages are 4x2x1 so they're not that tall and I've found that the Vivarium Electronics 40watt heat panels work good for that size enclosure. I keep the thermostat set at 92° and they're able to keep that temperature pretty reliable.
@@megaapfel I've never had any problems with my boas burning themselves on the radiant heat panels. I use 40 watt Vivarium Electronics heat panels with a thermostat. As long as you use a thermostat the heat panels shouldn't get so hot that they'll burn your snakes. Always use a temp gun to check your temperatures even when using a thermostat
I think one thing that is commonly missed or just assumed is for people that live in cold cold areas.....pvc with heat panels are awesome versus heating the entire reptile room to 75+ for 6 months strait day and night.....also one big thing in determining which kind of enclosure is how many animals u expect to have ...eventually racks are a necessity
Thanks Jason, Looks like I'm going to be building some melamine cages, and eventually a rack for babies. I would like to end up keeping about 10 females.
Oooooh boy! You’re gonna start some internet fights by saying you don’t like radiant heat panels. 😄😄😄. That’s all I’ve been hearing about recently are the RHP. I’m really glad you made this video and spoke about the Vision Cages. I’m pretty certain that is what my girl will end up in when she gets big enough. Thankfully, I’ll have some time to save up for one as she’s only about 18mo. Great video! Great info! Thank you.
Haha! It's not that I don't like them it's more that I have to set the temperature so high in order to get my temperature at the Basking spot where I need it. I feel like it's super inefficient overall
I'm currently using a bunch of 3/4" melamine racks that I built myself, I use freedom breeder tubs and so far they are great. I really planned out the builds so that moisture or humidity won't warp the shelves, that's the biggest concern I had with melamine. I figure I'll use these until my snakes can pay for Freedom Breeder racks, honestly they are working so good now that I'm in no hurry. I would have used PVC but I live in California and you can't get that stuff here.
I have a growing collection of ball pythons. I have 2 AP T8 enclosures for my bigger girls and a rack for the others. Both have positive and negative, but I think tanks or tubs comes down to personal preference and also what works best for the snakes. I have a few really shy snakes that get stressed out in a tank, so they are in the rack. I also have a 15 month old girl who is well over 3 feet long and 1000g who loves to be out and exploring, so she is in the big T8. But if I get to the hundreds or thousands of snakes (very highly unlikely 😆) racks would make the most sense.
Absolutely! The rack certainly do safe space but you're definitely sacrificing on some pieces. Some of my larger Freedom breeder racks take up about the same amount of room as a 1 foot tall cage would. I have actually considered switching back to cages for some of my older animals but haven't quite found the right one.
very dumb question: for stuff like FB70 or V70 tubs, do you need a rack system to go along with them or do they have their own lids? i always presumed it was much cheaper than PVC but a good sized PVC with divider included is like 300, while a tub and rack system is about 500.
More just bad experience with them. I've always had to set them super hot to get the to on the floor where I want it. So for me to get a floor temp of 95 I would have to set a heat panel to let's say 110 where using heat tape I'd have to set to 100. I just feel like they are not as efficient. Maybe good for increasing overall ambient but hard for basking temps
I use mostly vivs atm but I am looking at a rack for bigger snakes (burms retics) just like the idea of being able to have huge enclosures that are easy to keep and are more ideal than multiple vivs stacked up
The problem is racks for bigger snakes is that they don't make any large enough to host super large firms and retics. You're basically stuck with cages with the larger snakes
@@JasonsExoticReptiles do you know any good makes that are reasonably priced? I've so far found one for about £1800 6 stack xl rack that can apparently house 12ft'rs comfortably
@@LankyGiraffe98 I'm assuming you are in the UK which I'm not super familiar with the manufacturers over there. The 6 ft racks in the US will be made by freedombreeder or ARS and are going to set you back about 3k USD for a 6 stack
@@JasonsExoticReptiles yeah I'm in the UK. Thanks it's good to find more info. I've had a look at the 66-6 🤔considering one when I've got the money saved tbh
Love the videos I have learned so much about reptiles and cages from your videos keep it up. I used to own ball pythons and I am looking into getting my first bcc and I am looking for the perfect cage for him not looking to own multiple snakes just one cool boa what would be your best advice as of right now cages is what I'm looking at as will prolly buy the boa in the next 4 months as I want it to be perfect first.
It really depends on what you have for space in how much time you want to spend in there. I always say go for the biggest cage you can V. If you can add some height that's great as well. There are a lot of great manufactured cage like the ones I cover in here or you can always build one yourself. It's hard for me to say what's best for your specific situation, but the biggest thing would be hitting the requirements of the species in terms of temperature and humidity. I know that did not hundred percent answer the question but it's difficult without a lot more info and seeing the actual space.
@@JasonsExoticReptiles well I'm going for a Peruvian female but as long as the snake is healthy and a boa that is all that matters to me and I always heard you need a 6 foot cage and I'm not very good at building and don't want to do some half ass job for a snake I plan on keeping forever and keeping it healthy and happy and I'm single have no kids and have plenty of size for any kind of cage really which company would you suggest and the size dimensions wise would be the best also if you have some nice boas for sale hit me up I'll definitely be looking for one once I get the cage but I know I want a female and I've heard Peruvians get a really good size is why I said that but I love any kind of boa honestly just want a good size one as I'm tired of tiny ball pythons and always wanted a beautiful big boa
Also thanks so much for taking the time to reply to me and what you said helps also I want to handle it and keep it very tame so it will be caged while I'm at work but will have it out for interactions a bit as well and believe me I will have the cage completely set up and humidity spot on before I get the snake and I know you love boas as well so that's why I asked you because I know you work with boas a lot I've never owned a boa before just ball pythons. But I've read and watched hundreds of videos on them and I'm still watching and learning also room size is a full room I'm dedicating a full room of my house for this reptile. Sorry for writing a book just trying to be as detailed as I can for you. I've been looking at a 48X24X12 or a 38X24X24 or should I go bigger but I'm stumped because I don't want the cage to be too big for it when it's little so it isn't defensive or scared. The cages I've been looking at is by apc
Most of the PVC cages are a foamed PVC that insulates really well - which, like Jason says, can make it really inefficient to get heat through. Some of the manufacturers route out heat areas but the thinner the PVC the more likely it will warp later. Some manufacturers route out an area to put a probe directly on the heat tape.... and that's not very accurate at all. Thermostat set to 95 and the cage floor is still 82. PVC caging is great but it's tough to work with and gets more challenging the larger the enclosure is.
Love ur videos Jason, Hope u had a good holiday and since it tis the season for breeding I did have a question. When putting a male with the female for breeding, is there risk of them actually harming each other. I know u have a full time job and a lot of people with large collections do as well, so it seems it would be hard to “babysit” the snakes constantly. Also seems some people house them in rack systems where u can’t even see the snakes without pulling the tub out a lil ways. Let me know what your thought are big brotha. Thanks !!
Thanks man had a great holiday. Hope you had a great one as well! There's always a small risk but I will generally put the mail in with the female and watch the reaction. Typically they are fine. Open stay in the room for the next 30 minutes or so and just listen. There's a problem you will hear some bumping in thrashing in the cage. That is usually the male or the female pushing on the other snake to get away. There may be a little bit more of a problem if you put two males in with the same female as they could battle each other but it is not usually a big deal with boa constrictors. Some species of snake will literally kill each other but I have never had a problem with boas. I have a video coming up tomorrow with basic boa care and I'm going to follow with a basics of breeding video. Hopefully the combination of these will be helpful to you guys in the future.
Sounds good man, I think the intimidating idea is just that the males are a lot smaller than the females and I have seen some pairings where the male seems significantly smaller than her but I haven’t heard reports of females eating males. Thanks for your reply
Personally I don't feel that which enclosures people decide to use is a big issue but the largest issue should be the quality of life each reptile gets in someone's care. If snakes are out of their enclosures a lot as all of mine are then they only use their enclosures to rest and to eat and digest food and to shed so mine spend more time out of their enclosures but great points :)
That's a great Point as well although just as important as the enclosure is the outside environment they are interacting in is also very important. Remember that these guys are from Super tropical places for the most part so putting a snake in a 70 degree room that's comfortable for us is like putting us outside in a 50-degree park with no clothes on. We always have to be conscious that we don't over interact with them because we sacrifice enclosure space.
My pvc cage i have heat panel.... But underneath i routed out for heat pad so it will penetrate...... So just route out the heat pad spot..... But i wish i had the money for freedom breeder or ars
That's a great way to do it as well but now you are putting manual labor into something that you just purchased. There's all different ways you can make different systems work but this was more of a purchasing right from the start. I do know if you manufacturers do wrote out the grooves but many do not
I appreciate the content of this video, but you don't make choosing very easy, lol. I agree that glass aquariums aren't good options. What rack system would you recommend if you only have about 10 snakes?
That's a difficult question because every snake is going to be a little bit different and the growth potential flash long-term requirements may be different. What type of snakes? What's your budget? How much room do you have?
@@JasonsExoticReptiles I only have three right now, but I'm going to be getting into breeding blood pythons next season. I was leaning more toward cb70 racks the house than males, and 4 foot enclosures for the females.
@@joshsmith7170 the problem with the cb70 in general is that all blood pythons are going to outgrow that males and females. Depending on your budget, you may want to look into the freedom breeder fb90 rack. Those may be nice to house males and smaller females. Then I agree that 4 foot cages and something that you would need for the larger females. If you want to stick with the rack you could go for something like the 4 foot Freedom breeders or ARS
Yep. I don’t need a rack to last for generations. Just my life. Lol. Freedom breeder is great but not practical. No need for them to last 200 years IMO
i am a bit confused. so these small plastic bins in your rack are big enough for a snake? no lights or stuff to climb on? there are so many different opinions out there, they need uv b light, heat pads are good, heat pads are bad, they burn their belly. they need space to climb yada yada...
They don't need UV lights As far as space, depends on the size of the snake and species. If it's arboreal, yes it needs room to climb. Something like a tree boa or python or even a carpet python will need some verticality My boas however do fine in FB 90 racking systems. Even as adults. They're lazy and prefer to mostly sit around. They have room to coil up and hide, or stretch out. And there's enough room to have a hot spot, warm middle, and cooler end. I had PVC cages for a while with heat panels too and they were ok, but I had a few snakes start to really bug out in them. They're all doing better in the racks now and it's much easier space wise for me.
Where does heat come from naturally ? ABOVE . make the animal move to get warm IMO heat Mat and heat tape promote being lazy and not necessarily having to move to thermoregulatw
Yeah it's more that I need to pump the temp on the heat panel way up to get the temp I need depending on how tall the cages are. I've just found the below heat to be much more efficient. And in reference to them being lazy, it really shouldn't make a difference if the what comes from above or below.
So many people say that heat naturally comes from above, although thats not really correct... Many snake species prefer heating up in the evening on rocks and similar stuff that got heated by the sun all day and guess what, that heat does not come from above
Paul-Robin Franz that doesn’t change the fact that the heat from above is what made that rock warm . Same concept . My bulbs are on timers so when they turn off , there is still 20-40 minutes of warm energy still radiating inside the tank which they can also use to get warm . In the wild , they have to worry about predators during the day so of course they won’t come out . In captivity however there is none so they can be free to bask without any predators bothering them
@@drewv3293 to appoint as well, but remember that these are nocturnal animals so they are instinctually active at night. Everything about that has adapted to come out at night rather than in the day. Either way, heat is what is important whether it comes from below or above. In actuality, species like boa constrictors would find an ambient temp where everything both above below and around them is the temperature that they need to thrive rather than a single source of above or below
It depends on which one as they have a couple of different styles for boa Master. I've never personally use them in so I can't speak on them. I've heard good things about boaphile.
