Plastic rubbermaid racks

[Byrns149]

Can you house geckos in these efficiently? I cant really afford to buy a real rack right now and im not good with electrical heat tape wiring and stuff like that so i cant really make one. A few people have said those white plastic rubbermaid racks but i was wondering how i would heat it.

 

[Fencer04]

There have been many escapes from those drawer systems that don't happen in properly built racks. I would recommend keep them in bins with the top on and air holes drilled in or just use a glass tank with a screen lid. It will be much easier.

 

[Byrns149]

Im going to be keeping and breeding multiple geckos. Glass aquariums will not suffice anymore. Im thinking of just stacking tubs with heat pads under each one.

 

[Russellm0704]

Im going to be keeping and breeding multiple geckos. Glass aquariums will not suffice anymore. Im thinking of just stacking tubs with heat pads under each one.

If you can't afford to buy a rack, then you can't afford to keep several geckos and care for all their babies. Each female can produce up to 18 babies or more. People always say that they can't build a rack(I used to say it every day). Well that's just a false statement. Go to YouTube and watch videos
On how to build a rack and how to wire heat tape. You can do anything if you just try

 

[LZRDGRL]

Maybe your father can help you build a rack? I wouldn't recommend a 14-year-old handle a saw and heat tape (electricity) all by himself. I always had my father help with such things. I did the fine art parts, such as painting, and making things look pretty, but I wouldn't fool around with cables, and so on :main_yes:

How many females are you breeding? If just one or two, you could stick with 10g glass tanks, and put them on shelves, such as these. You can put up to four/five hatchlings in one (although they might nip each others' tails when kept together). If you sell/give away the babies really soon, that will suffice. I don't have any racks, and I have about 200 hatchlings each season. I have 48 glass tanks and several wooden enclosures, and I'm doing reptile shows every few months and sell what I have.

I would look on flea markets for used (but sturdy) shelves, and just put glass tanks on them.

Given that it's Christmas soon, maybe you can convince your parents to buy you a used or new rack? Here's a link from kingsnake.com about companies/private breeders who sell racks.

Just make sure that whatever you get is not wobbly, and is fireproof.
Good luck!

Chrissy

 

[T-ReXx]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLDxk2yp2Vs

I built this rack to house ball pythons and it can be modified fairly easily for terrestrial geckos. It costs about $150 to built and requires minimal tools. If you aren't comfortable wiring you can order the heat tape prewired from a place like Reptile Basics, just tape it on, hook up to a thermostat and you're good to go. It's less efficient than a premade rack due to the space of the shelves themselves taking up room that could be another level or two, but it gets the job done and is easy to put together. Took me about an hour. If you have any questions on it PM me.

 

[sunshinegeckos]

I have 2 of the racks that t-rexx built and I use heat pads on one and cable on the other. Both work great. I also have a melamine rack and 2 racks that are made out of pvc material. I do have lids on my 2 that are like t-rexx. I really like them. It is cheaper to go heat tape or cable instead of heat pads.