Would this work..."DIY" Hatchling "drawers"

[kouneli]

So I have hatchlings on the way (hopefully) and I'm looking for ideas on how to keep them at least until I find new homes for them. I was looking into plastic drawers....
Sterilite 3 Drawer Cart Green : Target

With a heat mat attached to the back of them (vertically) and as long as they're deep enough to prevent the hatchlings from climbing out would this work?

I'm not very handy when it comes to making stuff (such as my own hatchling rack), so if anyone has any other SIMPLE ideas, please let me know lol.

I'd rather not keep them together so that I could monitor their food intake/poops/etc. as well as keep them from accidentally biting one-another's tail (not sure how common that is in leopard geckos, but it's quite common in cresties...I know that for sure).

Also not wanting to spend hundreds of dollars on a rack at this moment since it's my first season. Maybe later on when I get more breeders and more hatchlings. lol

 

[daggekko]

Are you keeping leopards or cresteds? The link didn't work. The idea would work but adding heat can be the tricky part, esp with multi-levels. You would want to get a thermostat hooked up to the heat mat so that you don't cook the babies. Whatever you decide to do make sure to monitor temperatures closely.

 

[kouneli]

keeping leopards...I was thinking of having the heat mat (and yes, using a thermostat) attached to the back. I know that leopards require belly heat, but was hoping that a good heat mat would also heat up the plastic (and not melt it at the same time) even if I didn't have it in direct contact.

 

[T-ReXx]

Those "drawer" things by sterilite have been discussed before, they've pretty much been deemed unsuitable as it's easy for geckos to escape from them and impossible to provide belly heat. For only three babies I'd just put some flexwatt on a thermostat on a shelf and put 3 6 quarts on the shelf. No reason to use a rack for only three babies. Same technique can be used for older geckos.

And just so you know, building a rack is very very easy.

 

[kouneli]

Yeah, the rack part I'm not worried about, it's dealing with the flexwatt lol For now, I've decided to just have a heat mat/thermostat with sterilite bins (with lids and holes). Temps have been correct so far, so I'm going to leave it like that...at least until I either get the money for a good rack system or learn from someone experienced on how to do the Flexwatt. I've seen pictures and videos, but I'd rather see first hand.

 

[T-ReXx]

You can buy flexwatt pre-wired from several companies, Reptile Basics does it I believe. Simply request how many lengths of a certain size and they will wire it for you, just plug into a thermostat and use. Only installation required is taping it down and plugging it in.

 

[kouneli]

I didn't realize that! Thank you! I've always seen them for sale without being pre-wired. I'll keep that in mind for next breeding season at least.

 

[daggekko]

If you go to a reptile expo near you there is usually someone that has flex watt and will cut it on a per foot basis and can wire it for you. I bought some and used pliers at home to put it all together. Just bought all the connectors and covers when I bought the tape!

I have a 4" wide strip that is about 2 feet long and plugged it in an outlet. The tape got up around 120F!!! Make sure to use it with a thermostat!