Wiggles, the Children's Python

[Homebody]

Wiggles has two hides made out of foam sheet. His warm hide lies flat with the opening at the front. It sits under his RHP and the top serves as his basking spot (post #293). His other foam hide I keep on the cool side and this one I stood up on the back end with the opening at the top. I thought he might like this option because he likes to wedge himself between books on my bookshelf, but I've never seen him use it, until tonight.


So, if you need to place a hide and you're short on floor space, consider putting your hide on the side of the enclosure. Wiggles likes it. Maybe, your snake will too.

[Bogertophis]

Sure, why not? Great idea, & typically snakes will take a while before they use new "furniture", so I'm glad you were patient. Wiggles is so cute, peeking out like that- as if he's proud of himself for having found this?

[Homebody]

I finished my trapezoidal wedge hide, but I'm very disappointed with it. It's been sitting in Wiggles's enclosure for weeks, but I haven't seen him in it even once. He'll bask on top of it, but he won't go in it. As a result, I've relegated it to his tub with the recycled packing material. If Wiggles doesn't use it there, I'll relegate it to the garbage pale. Photos of the finished product:

https://imgur.com/ZCgeftM
https://imgur.com/yUD07lL.

My wife did such a nice job decorating the top too.

I'm not sure if was the theory or the execution that was flawed. Oh well, I haven't let it stop me from innovating. His current hide could be described as the love child of this design and my son's laptop packaging that Wiggles loves so much. I'll post about that design once I know whether it works or not.

The trapezoidal wedge hide lives!

This really made my day. Particularly because my foam sheet hides (post #293) have started to fall apart. Once the silicone dries, it no longer adheres to the foam sheet. I need to find a safe new adhesive.

[Bogertophis]

Necessity is the mother of invention- there's all sorts of creative ways to make 'furniture' for snakes, thanks for sharing yours.

[Homebody]

I'm thinking about adding pegboard to the walls of Wiggles's enclosure. Right now, I'm limited by floor space in adding furnishings and enrichment. Pegboard would open up the wall space. I've always been hesitant to screw things to the walls because it's so permanent. With pegboard, I'll be able to arrange and, most importantly, rearrange furnishings at will.

[Bogertophis]

Good idea- but you might want to coat the board with pet-safe water-proofing first, otherwise it will absorb moisture & retain contamination of all kinds.

Yeah- you can make him a real "climbing wall"!

[Homebody]

Good idea- but you might want to coat the board with pet-safe water-proofing first, otherwise it will absorb moisture & retain contamination of all kinds.

Yeah- you can make him a real "climbing wall"!

I think I'm going to skip the poly this time. I'm not worried about moisture. I don't use particulate substrate and I never mist. The only water is in the bowl. And, so far, Wiggles has eliminated on the walls. In addition, the board I'm using is formaldehyde free, so I don't need to seal that in. Coating the board with poly doubles the cost and, from experience, I know that poly can take weeks to stop off-gassing. I don't want to wait that long if I don't have to. If I'm wrong, the board not expensive, so I can redo it.

[plateOfFlan]

I was thinking about something like that when I saw some bottle-drying racks with a bunch of pegs sticking out, that they'd be great for a rat snake or other climby species. The possibilities are really endless

[Bogertophis]

I think I'm going to skip the poly this time. I'm not worried about moisture. I don't use particulate substrate and I never mist. The only water is in the bowl. And, so far, Wiggles has eliminated on the walls. In addition, the board I'm using is formaldehyde free, so I don't need to seal that in. Coating the board with poly doubles the cost and, from experience, I know that poly can take weeks to stop off-gassing. I don't want to wait that long if I don't have to. If I'm wrong, the board not expensive, so I can redo it.

Great points- (I assume you meant to say Wiggles has not eliminated on the wall?) You're right that pegboard isn't expensive anyway, & I look forward to seeing your latest creation.

[Homebody]

I was thinking about something like that when I saw some bottle-drying racks with a bunch of pegs sticking out, that they'd be great for a rat snake or other climby species. The possibilities are really endless

I will be able to mount ledges, water bowls, hides, vines at any height on any wall and then I can change the arrangement by simply unhooking the item I want to move and hooking it up somewhere else. It's the versatility that's got me so excited.