Parker won't go in his new hide, but he is too big for his old one

[jarobin]

Hey everyone. It's been a while since I've been on here. Just a little background, Parker is about a year old now, and not too much bigger than he was when we first got him. This is largely due to the fact he is very picking and finicky, and spastic at times (drops his food by accident, misses when he strikes, and then doesn't want it anymore). He also spent most of the winter refusing to eat. He is up to eating 2 hopper mice a week and is otherwise healthy. He may not have grown much, but he has grown enough that he is starting to be too big for his favorite hide. I have 2 hides, non-identical, and he has always preferred the one, no matter which side of the enclosure I put it on. It's an army tank from PetCo. He refuses to go in anything else, but his body now sticks out of the tank hide. I bought another one, a basic log, and it's the perfect size. However, after I removed his favorite out of the enclosure, he refuses to go in ANYTHING. He just sits under a branch, out in the open, day and night. He doesn't like either of his other options, so I actually put the old hide back in when I fed him the other day so that he would digest properly on top of the under tank heater. I don't know what do to. I feel like he would rather freeze to death than give up his army tank. It's like he has no instinct to do what he needs to in order to survive. Any suggestions? I haven't been able to find the army tank in a larger size and it seems like no matter what type of hide i try, he doesn't want it.

[KMG]

When you say basic log do you mean a half log with an opening at each end? More of a tunnel than a hide. If so, he probably doesn't feel secure in it. You need something with only one opening. I got a hide that looks like a rock from petco and even though it is a tad big my bp uses it just fine. I did add moss to the inside to help make it feel secure, makes the hide seem smaller. Plus during the shed I keep it damp to help humidity.

The big box stores don't have very good options for smaller snakes, already not around me.

[loonunit]

My guys love cardboard shipping tubes from FedEx. I'll buy one or two tubes and cut them into 12" segments with a hacksaw. They're not ideal: I have to push the snakes out, rather than simply picking the hide up off of them. And the cardboard gets dirty, so I'm constantly having to throw the tubes away. But the ball pythons LOVE them. I think the snakes feel a little more tight and secure than they do in the half-logs.