terrestrial gecko rack

[mlededee]

i found these sterilite drawer units at walmart and decided that they would make a much cheaper alternative to purchasing racks for my growing leopard gecko colony. i purchased two different sizes, one for groups of adults and one for individual adults and/or groups of juvies. they were about $6-8 each, so figure however many you need plus heat tape and that's it!

(i don't recommend these drawers for snakes. while i do feel that they are secure enough for terrestrial geckos such as leos i do not believe they would make a secure enclosure for a ball python or any other type of snake.)

drawer units in the 2 different sizes that i purchased:


heat tape installed down one side of the bottom of each drawer:


slot in the back of each drawer for heat tape connectors:

[IamKaervek]

I've seen these, but I've seen different types. Do you have 3 drawers there stacked ontop of eachother, or is that one whole unit? Looks like 3, but I thought I'd ask Also, would you mind posting some photos of them when they're inhabited? Thanks!

[buckdawg]

I saw those at target the other day and was thinking that they might work for balls. Are there security issues with them? I didn't really look that close.

[IamKaervek]

I saw those at target the other day and was thinking that they might work for balls. Are there security issues with them? I didn't really look that close.

There's some really large gaps between the edges of the drawers and the frames that a snake could easily squeeze through, or even use to push the drawer open enough to get out. I wouldn't recommend them for anything that has the ability to reach the tops of the drawers.

[ladywhipple02]

Do you think something like this would work for arboreal geckos (aka cresteds)? I was thinking about making a rack for the babies and breeding couples, anyway, but I saw this and it made me wonder: could I punch a bunch of little holes in these for ventilation? Also, would it ever be safe because the little guys could get on the top----and when you pull the shelf out, they'd get toes and tails stuck?

What do you think?

[mlededee]

each drawer is an individual unit and you can stack as many as you like. in these units in particular there is actually a much smaller gap above the drawers compared to other drawer units in which there is quite a large gap, and since they are completely enclosed as opposed to just a frame in which the drawer sits they are much more secure. however, i can fit my finger through the gap so i am sure that a crested gecko or any snake would be sure to wedge itself through the gap and find a way out of the unit. i have yet to find any kind of drawer unit that would work for arboreal geckos or snakes just because they aren't secure enough. these are the best i've found, but still only good for terrestrial species that won't be able to reach that gap in the top to escape.

i'll post some pics of the inhabited cages tonight.

[ladywhipple02]

Awesome... I'm interested in seeing them

[mlededee]

here are some shots of 2 of the inhabited drawers:



inhabitants exposed


sans humid hide which will be added tomorrow night


and here is a little girl who is still in the baby rack but is soon to be upgraded to one of the smaller drawers (she's saying, "where the heck is my mealworm dish?!" as i had removed it for filling . )

[ballpythonandragon]

do you plan on selling any of the oranges also i heard meal worms is bad for leos i used to have two but my buddy wanted them so i gave them to him and now they are turning pretty colors i wish i had them back. But crickets cost so much anymore do you feed yours crickets also?

[mlededee]

mealworms are a fine staple diet for leos. i feed mainly mealworms (and superworms for adults) along with crickets once or twice per week.

you can see what i have available on my site at www.cookreptiles.com/available.html. this past season i bred shtct's (the ones in the second pic are female breeders, the one in the last pic is one of the babies) and this coming season i will also be breeding patternless las vegas albinos (the ones in the third pic).