Rubber hide OK?

My snake outgrew his hides some time ago. I found some rubber dog bowls at WalMart that seem like they are made out of recycled tires or something. They smell like a tire, anyway. Is this going to be O.K. to use as a hide? I put one in the cage and he hasn't gone into it in the 36 hours it's been there.

This is an old thread, but no one has responded. I have some heavy rubber bowls made for horses and wondered if they could be used as hides. The size is what I need, but they do smell like tires. Is this harmful to a BP, and would they avoid it because of the smell?