CB Reps
Quality Captive Bred Royal Python Morphs
Home      Racks

I use Really Useful Boxes (RUBs) to accommodate all my snakes ranging from the 5L size for Royal Python hatchlings up to the 50L size for my adult Royal Pythons in excess of 3kg. These boxes are housed in home made racks constructed from white melamine shelving and heated using Lucky Reptile self adhesive heat strips controlled by a single Habistat Pulse Proportional thermostat.

 
As I often get asked how I make these racks, here are some simple instructions to build a 5 shelf rack that will hold either 20 x 5L RUBs or 15 x 9L or 12L RUBS so it's a very flexible rack:
 
Materials:
4 x Conti Board white melamine shelving 1830mm x 381mm x 15mm (B&Q SKU 5012472200111)
4 x D shape moulding 2400mm x 21mm x 4mm (B&Q SKU 5000473021613)
2 x Planed Square Edged (PSE) timber 2100mm x 32mm x 12mm (B&Q SKU 5014957093645)
36 x 50mm x 5mm bronzed screws (rapidrive or similar are perfect)
16 x 40mm x 3.5mm bronzed screws
4 x corner brackets (Wickes SKU 164441)
5 x Lucky Reptile 22 watt heat strip 780mm x 150mm
1 x Habistat Pulse Proportional thermostat
1 x 6 way extension lead
 
Tools:
Cordless drill/screwdriver
Metal retractable measure
Glue (Wickes SKU 240052)
Cartridge gun (Wickes SKU 240696)
Pencil
Duck tape
 
The first thing to do is to get your Conti Board cut professionally as you will get a much more accurate and a cleaner edged cut than by doing it with a hand saw. I use my local B&Q who do wood cutting for free so it really is a no brainer! Ask them to cut 2 sheets at a time and to square off one end first to ensure a clean edge along all the cuts. For this rack you will need 2 x 885mm, 2 x 840mm and 4 x 810mm lengths.
 
The 885mm lengths form the sides and the 840mm lengths form the top and bottom of the rack. Make sure you have the cleanest edges all facing towards the front and then screw them together, predrilling the screw holes with a 3mm drill around 40mm deep. The side pieces need to be inside the top and bottom pieces so you end up with a box measuring 840mm wide and 915mm high:
 
 
As you can see, I use 3 screws per joint on 381mm Conti Board but if I was using 610mm Conti Board for 20L, 33L and 50L RUB racks, I would use 5 screws per joint. Make sure the back edge screws are about 50mm from the back edges of the Conti Board so you can attach the corner brackets without the screws meeting:
 
 
Don't drill the holes too close to the edge of the contiboard as if you're not careful, it can damage the cut edge. You may also want to countersink the holes so that the head of the screw is recessed below the surface of the Conti Board. This gives a cleaner finish and also ensures no protruding screw heads in case you want to stack 2 racks on top of each other.
 
Next you need to attach the corner brackets. These give some added rigidity and strength to the box and are well worth the effort. Attach them to each corner with the smaller screws making sure that none of the metal edges of the brackets protrude beyond the outside edge of the Conti Board. This ensures no cut fingers when moving the rack and no scratches to the surface on which the rack is placed:
 
 
Now that you have the basic frame of the rack, the next job is to install the shelves. Assuming they have been cut accurately to the dimensions quoted above, the 5 gaps between the shelves will be exactly 165mm. This is the perfect height for a lidded 9L or 12L RUB to fit in snugly so it won't slide about. The easiest way to install the shelves is to place the box on it's back (with the corner brackets on the bottom) and decide which end is going to be the top of the rack. Next, place a metal retractable measure from top to bottom of the rack and either mark off (in pencil so the marks can be rubbed off later) 180mm from the top, 360mm, 540mm and 720mm on each side. These marks will be for the top of each shelf and if you've done it correctly, you should have a 165mm gap between each shelf (remember, the shelves are 15mm thick). Screw the shelves in place using a single screw each side about 50mm down from the front edge of the sides of the rack frame. Once you've done this, double check all your measurements before turning the rack over (carefully rotate it on its side so the shelves don't move around) and repeat the process of marking and screwing the back edges of the shelves in place. For added strength, put a 3rd screw into the middle of each shelf and you should end up with something that looks like this:
 
 
Now that the rack actually looks like a rack, next up is installing the heat strips and the D shaped moulding that supports the RUBs just clear of the heat strips. One reason we use the Lucky Reptile strips is that they are self adhesive which makes installation a doddle, plus they are available in a 780mm size which is perfect for this particular rack. From the back of the shelf,make 3 pencil marks 55mm in from the rear edge of the shelf to mark the back edge of where the strip will go. 1 of these marks needs to be in the exact centre of the shelf (405mm in from the edge) and that marks where the cable from the heat strip to the plug will be positioned. Peel off the backing and carefully position the heat strip in place before rubbing it down onto the shelf with a cloth to remove any air bubbles. Cut each D shaped moulding into 3 equal lengths (they should be 800mm long but the length of these mouldings can vary by up to 10mm so measure twice and cut once!!). You will need 2 lengths of moulding per shelf so 10 in all. The back one goes under the heat strip cable and the front one is placed around 80mm from the front of the shelf, both are simply secured in place using a glue in a mastic gun. This can be a bit messy so do the front ones first to get the hand of it.
 
The next task is to secure the PSE timber to the back of the rack. Make marks 200mm and 404mm from both exterior sides of the rack along the back of a number of the shelves. Cut the PSE to length (it should be 915mm if the Conti Board has been cut accurately) and screw them in place lining up the pencil marks along the outside edge of the PSE. The PSE provides additional rigidity to the rack, it prevents the RUBs being pushed too far back and ensures that the RUBs line up perfectly over the heat strip under the rear third or half of the RUB. In this position, the 2 D shaped mouldings form a heat pocket under the RUB providing a gentle heat gradient under the RUB. We use small pyrex remekins placed at the front of the RUB to ensure the correct heat gradient and humidity requirements for the snake.
 
Finally position the thermostat where ever it suits you best using the self adhesive pads on the back of it. We position the temperature sensor on the middle shelf, imediately in front of the heat strip with duck tape so it can easily be repositioned if needs be. Connect up the heat strips using the 6 way extension lead, set the thermostat temperature to 84F and leave overnight to enable the glue to set and to check that everything is working. Then you are ready to add your RUBs and animals. We check on the animals both during the day and late at night to see where in the RUB they are positioned. If they are always over the heat strip, turn the thermostat up a degree or two. If they are always at the front of the RUB, turn it down a degree or two. They will find their own preferred temperature and in our experience, watching their behaviour is better than reading a thermometer or thermostat.
 
I hope this has helped explain how I keep my animals but if you have any queries or questions about making Conti Board racks or setting up RUBs, please feel free to contact me directly.
 
Chris