hides ....

[LostNFound]

My new girl had a little box hide ... it's too big ... I will be getting a new one ... my questions is .... it seems he just cut it with a saw or something and the edges are rough I have found one place on her that seems to be a damaged scale or 2 / maybe a scar... I am SURE it's from her side scraping that thing. So if I get a plastic box and cut a hole HOW can I make the edges so they are not rough and sharp??

[boboso]

Not sure if you have access to a dremel type of tool which can come in handy for cutting... if you do use a x-acto or other similar type, you could file down the edges.... I have used simple hides from the bottoms of large plastic coffee containers, terra cotta with a hole/opening in it, or simple hides as those sold by reptilebasics.com.

Must have been very sharp edge to scar your girl however...

Glad to see you are keeping the hide the "right" size...

[Argentra]

It's easy: A soldering iron.

The only way to mess with plastic hides and tubs. No rough edges and quite fast.

[OhBalls]

I don't use plastic anymore but when I did, I melted the edges with a lighter.

[instinct27]

You can heat up a metal object on your stove (screw driver?) and simply move it around and melt the plastic into a smooth desired state.

[LostNFound]

thank you She is a sweet girl ... and there were just a few minor husbandry issues .... that being one of them.

[8Ball]

I have a terracotta pot that I broke an opening with a hammer and then sanded down the rough edges with sand paper. I like terracotta because it holds moisture well. Clay pots are good too and they are easier to make a nice opening with.

[Darkice]

I have buttloads of clay pot bases i get from wallmart. They are the perfect hight. Cheap and easy and the snakes love them. Be carefull though. After you whack a door opening with a hammer the structural integrity decreases immensely.

[8Ball]

Yeah; I went through five terracotta pots before I got one that didn't crack up on me because they are so brittle. So for the second hide I found a nice thick clay pot that held up well when I made the opening. I went through a lot of sand paper as well making sure that there were no sharp edges that my little buddy can cut himself on.