Homemade Hides

I was wondering how to make a hide out of the rubbermaid containers. Does the plastic lip around the rim have to be removed? And also I'm not sure how to make the hole for the entrance.

You don't have to remove the rim, but it can get dirty pretty easily. Just pop it in the dishwasher or soak it if you can't scrub it out. For the entrance just cut a semi-circle anywhere along the edge. If you have a larger container, you can cut a hole directly in the bottom. Your snake will figure out how to get inside. ;)

For the one I'm using now in a 6" tall 41qt tub I had to remove about an inch off the bottom, including that lip, to make it fit. For the opening, I just soldered out a nice large circle on one side of the front (that ended up as a arched opening once the inch was removed).

Now that I've decided to go with 90qt tubs instead of 41 (same dimensions, twice the height) I won't have to cut anything off the other ones. :D

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Originally Posted by xdeus

You don't have to remove the rim, but it can get dirty pretty easily. Just pop it in the dishwasher or soak it if you can't scrub it out. For the entrance just cut a semi-circle anywhere along the edge. If you have a larger container, you can cut a hole directly in the bottom. Your snake will figure out how to get inside. ;)

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I also melt the cut areas with a lighter in order to smooth out the edges. If you decide to do that, make sure it's well ventilated.

I am completely tool ignorant here.

What do you guys use to cut these holes in hard plastic?

I use a cheap soldering iron to cut my holes. I actually found a dollar store near my office that sells them for a buck. I would never try to solder any metal with it, but it works well for cutting holes in plastic... :gj:

Soldering iron. Mine is a bit better quality, so it melts pretty fast, but it's the best way to do it cleanly and smoothly. Just make sure the area is ventilated when you're melting. :)

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

I am completely tool ignorant here.

What do you guys use to cut these holes in hard plastic?

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I use a snipping shears that looks kind of like this

http://www.whimsie.com/snipcut.jpg

JonV