So a few months back i decided to build my own snake rack for the 8 hatchlings i took on - but i was on a budget! I spent less than £60 in total!
I first took a set of shelves i happened to be given by someone, though you can buy these for around £15 in charity shops or second hand furniture sales - the snake doesn't care who it used to belong too! Mine had an open back for easy wiring, had 6 shelves, measured 58 inches high with a shelf height of 9.5", depth of 7" and width of 23.5"
I decided to use heat cable for its versatility so i placed down aluminium tape down in lines to protect the wood and reflect the heat up. I bought 10m of tape on ebay for £4. I then placed the heat cable looped on top, fixing it in place with more aluminium tape (Don't let the wire cross itself). I bought 7m for £16 through swell reptiles and it covered 3 out of my 6 shelves using 3 loops or 5 shelves using 2 loops. You could buy garden propagation cable cheaper though if you hunted around. I used a thermostat to control it that cost £19 via swell reptiles, though you could find one cheaper on ebay most likely. I bought a lucky reptile thermometer with two probes for £6 off ebay to measure temperatures with (currently around 31c in the hot end).
I then prepared the actual RUBS. I went to poundland and bought nine 7 litre Rubs (for £9 naturally). I then used a screw to make air holes in the sides and the lid. I also got 10 plastic small plant pots for £1 at poundland and cut in an entrance hole to make them into hides. You can also get 3 ceramic small ramekin bowls that make great water dishes or 4 stainless steel bowls for £1 at poundland. I use the ramekin bowls which cost me £3. I then added my tubs. They hang off the back sightly, but i dont mind this since it helps keep the cool side cool. I bought three tubs that were not as tall as the others since the lids could overlap slightly and i can fit more on the shelves. I also added once 'dud' tub that has a tight fitting hole cut in and the probes for the thermostat/thermometer placed in. This gives me a good reading of what the temperature inside is like without having to risk snake escapes! If you want you can purchase individual thermometers for each tub for around £2 on ebay. I chose not too. I also strung some string up in their enclosures through two extra air holes with a toiletroll tube threaded on to make a tube-hammock. They adore them and they spend time hiding in it, climbing on it and sitting under it. If they poop in it - its just a loo roll!
Initially for substrate i used paper towels, but now they're around 6 months i felt it was time for a substrate that allowed burrowing. I like the cardboard based substrates like finacard, but it's expensive for the amounts i'd need. Then it hit me - i have a shredder and me/my housemates buy a lot of things we need online which comes in copious amounts of cardboard. I personally only use the brown cardboard of the interior/plastic wrapped packaging and as im doing it on a personal basis i check over each piece before i shred it. The best part is i can control the size of the pieces, its surprisingly soft, absorbent and easy to clean. I offer them a space that has no card and one sheet of kitchen roll folded over and they can use that if the card bothers them at all (it doesn't - they love burrowing in it!)
But in personal opinion, the reason you didn't need to spend as much money is because you didn't choose to construct the rack itself to have shelves in equivalent height of the tubs so you can pull them in and out like drawers, and without requiring a lid.
~~My Girls~~
Linear Mode
