Help with preparing these (hides)?

[Lolo76]

My roommate gave me two of his broken flowerpot saucers, since I mentioned they'd make good hides... both have perfect-sized openings broken off, but they are quite jagged & rough. How can I smooth the edges without any fancy tools? The fanciest tool I have is an electric drill, and I'm not about to buy anything just for this purpose.

Also, what's the best way to sanitize/clean them without bleach? We don't use bleach in our household (for a variety of reasons), mostly just natural cleaning products and soap. And finally, what size BPs would you suggest for these hides? I was thinking of giving the smaller one to Vinnie, my ~130g spider, and the bigger one for Rosalind the ~440g het. Whaddya think? Here are some pictures of them:





(The small cracks are superficial)

[butters!]

those are pretty rough

[butters!]

dremel tool,hot water,soap.

or spend 20 dollars on 2 hides that dont need tlc.

[Lolo76]

It's not that I'm being cheap, LOL... I have about 5 extra "real" hides (including one that cost nearly $20 on its own), if I wanted to give them something new. I just thought these would be cool for them! Thanks for the advice, though.

[butters!]

i never said you were cheap,but to hand file those down to safety would take a bit of work.

you should really invest in a dremel tool...i had a big zilla cave but the entry hole was tiny.it took less than a minute to grind it down nice and smooth.

you will find many other uses for it too.its a really fun and handy tool

[Lolo76]

Cool... thanks for the tip. I'm always looking for projects, since I am easily bored - so maybe I'll pick up one of those tools when I get a chance. All the snakes have hides for now, so there's no rush!

[Elise.m]

i use flower pot hides, we used a dremel tool to smooth down the edges. i can ask my bf what tip thing he used to get it smooth, he's at work right now so I'll post what he used later in the day tomorrow.

dremel tools are pretty neat and uncostly. like someone else said, you could find other uses for it.

[Lolo76]

I just looked up the dremel tool, and now I know what you're talking about... always wondered what those were for, LOL.

[butters!]

Cool... thanks for the tip. I'm always looking for projects, since I am easily bored - so maybe I'll pick up one of those tools when I get a chance. All the snakes have hides for now, so there's no rush!

[Nae]

I don't like using bleach either. If you take 2 spray bottles and fill one with white vinegar and the other with hydrogen peroxide it works very well as a disinfectant. Spray on one then the other (any order) and rinse. Don't mix them directly in a container as it becomes toxic.