BIG hide ideas?

I have two large girls now (both close to 2000g and 4.5-5ft long), and I'm having some trouble finding appropriate hides for them. I read the sticky thread and made my own litter-pan hide, but Mona didn't like it... and Nerissa was sleeping on top of it, squishing herself against the lid, so I ended up flipping it over for her. She likes that, but I'm trying to think of better ideas - especially for Mona, who is now wearing her XL Exo-terra cave like a hat. :D Any suggestions, either homemade or commercial? I thought about getting some XL RBI hides, but they cost $30 + shipping, which seems a bit excessive.

Mona wearing her Exo-terra hide
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCF2903.jpg

And Nerissa's upside-down litter pan, which she was sleeping in comfortably...
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCF2906.jpg

The half size kitty litter pans are the cheapest way to go. If she is having a hard time with it in her tub it might be time to upsizer her living space.

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Originally Posted by Darkice

The half size kitty litter pans are the cheapest way to go. If she is having a hard time with it in her tub it might be time to upsizer her living space.

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She's already in a 42qt tub, so what would be the next step? :confused:

Not sure then. I thought you had them in a smaller tub like a 28 or 32. I love the CB 70 Tubs but they are just too short. Makes it so your snakes cant roost on top of the hide like some do.

To be honest sometimes they're just too big to house in tubs AND have hides, this is one reason why some people don't give bigger BPs in tubs hides.

Check your local dollar store for dishpans. I use those on occasion. Some of them can be quite heavy and are about half the height of a large tub. Just need an electric saw to cut the door if it is in that fake melamine...

Or just cheap plastic mixing bowls... I use those as well. Again, dollar store.

Or small tubs... small tubs fit into large tubs. :)

If they are too high, just cut the lip off and some of the height.

Bruce

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

To be honest sometimes they're just too big to house in tubs AND have hides, this is one reason why some people don't give bigger BPs in tubs hides.

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None of my 3kg or bigger females get hides.... was gonna mention that, but well... you did. :)

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

To be honest sometimes they're just too big to house in tubs AND have hides, this is one reason why some people don't give bigger BPs in tubs hides.

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Agreed. Lolo, maybe you should just remove the hides all together since your snakes can't fit in them no longer.

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Originally Posted by Darkice

Not sure then. I thought you had them in a smaller tub like a 28 or 32. I love the CB 70 Tubs but they are just too short. Makes it so your snakes cant roost on top of the hide like some do.

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For some reason they both ended up on top of the litter pan, and Nerissa was so squished (against the tub lid) it left small indentations on her belly. Any reason why they prefer being on top of that particular hide? Mona doesn't do that with her cave, so I'd totally get her another Exo-terra if they came any larger.

What about some kind of large flowerpot? Maybe she just doesn't like the square shape of the pan...

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Agreed. Lolo, maybe you should just remove the hides all together since your snakes can't fit in them no longer.

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I tried removing the hides, and they were both agitated all night... should I just wait it out, and hope they eventually get used to it?

Keep using the upsidedown litter pan if its working. Try it in both tubs.

hey ur snake looks like mine lol

http://i36.tinypic.com/11mg7ki.jpg

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

For some reason they both ended up on top of the litter pan, and Nerissa was so squished (against the tub lid) it left small indentations on her belly. Any reason why they prefer being on top of that particular hide? Mona doesn't do that with her cave, so I'd totally get her another Exo-terra if they came any larger.

What about some kind of large flowerpot? Maybe she just doesn't like the square shape of the pan...

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My boy Kevin loves getting squishy on top. BPs like snug tight spaces... :)

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Originally Posted by Bruce Whitehead

My boy Kevin loves getting squishy on top. BPs like snug tight spaces... :)

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So should I just flip it back over, and let her get all squishy? The indents left from the pan made me think that wasn't a good idea... but if it makes her happy, who am I to argue? :P

just gonna throw this out there...what bout a taller tub..i keep one of my boas in a 90qt(pretty sure its the same length as a 42qt tub but taller) and he often sits on top of his hide.

Are you using heat tape to heat the tubs? Have you checked the temp with a temp gun? maybe its too hot and that's why she gets on top of the hide. Just a suggestion.

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Originally Posted by jason79

Are you using heat tape to heat the tubs? Have you checked the temp with a temp gun? maybe its too hot and that's why she gets on top of the hide. Just a suggestion.

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Yes, I use flexwatt heat tape with a thermostat & digital thermometers... Nerissa is currently in quarantine, but has her own strip of heat & a ZooMed thermostat. I also have a temp gun, so I'm 99.99% sure the temps are right-on. :gj: It's actually a bit cold in their tubs (ambient), since my room/house is freezing cold all the time - so if anything they need MORE heat.

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Originally Posted by Gordon21

hey ur snake looks like mine lol

http://i36.tinypic.com/11mg7ki.jpg

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Cute little guy! I like the reduced pattern on his tail... :)

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Originally Posted by Bo_

just gonna throw this out there...what bout a taller tub..i keep one of my boas in a 90qt(pretty sure its the same length as a 42qt tub but taller) and he often sits on top of his hide.

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I've considered that, but it would mess up my rack shelving... which is already a bit off! :oops:

Btw, here's how Nerissa is now using her hide... whatever. :rolleyes::cool:

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCF2927.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCF2926.jpg

And check out what my little het did in his tub - getting creative, LOL.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCF2914.jpg

I'm too lazy to read all of the posts in this thread, but in the beginning you were asking about the next size up in tubs. I use a 66qt for my BP, here is the size compared to a 44qt.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i2...an92/cages.jpg

curiosity. We're newer to this ball python thing. We've had ours a year but why is everyone in this thread housing their pythons in tubs???? are they better than tanks or something? or just cheaper?

Cheaper, sure, but I think most people use them because maintenance is a breeze (less problems with humidity, better control over temps, etc)...especially for those who house more than a few BPs. However, with that said, I only have 2 BPs and just recently switched to tubs from a nice aquarium set-up after finding out that BPs are in their hides 95% of the time. Yeah, the set-up was pretty, but I never saw the snake! So I switched to something that was just plain easier to maintain... :)

i heard that ceral boxes work good to. Just take the cereal box and cut the bottom out and put a little whole on the side of it and it works perfect.

what about building a hide into the tub?? get a smaller tub thats just as wide when turned upside down and sideways, cutting the back and side walls off and trimming the rest to fit and hot glue or apoxy it into the coner re creating the cut out walls? I had a hide like this for my leo geckos once, completely uneccesary of me to do, but it i built some shelves and ledges into it and in a glass tank it ws cool to be able to watch them

I use big terra-cotta flowerpot bases/drain pans/whatever you call them for mine, the ones that *just barely* fit in the 41 quart tubs are a good size, even for girls up to 1800-ish grams. Nice and tight and heavy, just like they like 'em. The main problem I've had with them is since the terra-cotta is porous, they can be hard to clean.

Hi,

Just a word about the terracotta drip trays.

If you soak them they also make great humid hides when they go into shed - i just dunk it in a bucket of water for ten minutes then put it back in for an instant humidity boost. :)

You should also be able to find glazed ones however which would be easier to clean - I think a lot of bosai people use nice shallow glazed dishes that could be turned into hides.


dr del

They prefer round hides. Hands down, the best large hide ever is made from a plastic five gallon bucket. Like the ones joint compound comes in. If you can find a black one, all the better. Just cut off about 2 or 3 inches from the bottom, cut a hole in it, and flip it over. I don't use hides in my racks but all my tanks have hides like this and my snakes love them.

OP, I had my large male in a 61qt tub that measured 39"L X 17"W X 6"T. Almost the same floor space as a 40 gal breeder.

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Originally Posted by mitchball

curiosity. We're newer to this ball python thing. We've had ours a year but why is everyone in this thread housing their pythons in tubs???? are they better than tanks or something? or just cheaper?

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It was easier to maintain temps and humidity, plus the small vertical space may feel more burrough like. The biggest thing I noticed when I moved mine into tubs was that their feeding response went from "indifferent" to "highly enthusiastic"...


Rob

I house mine in the 41qt tubs, too, and I use 6qt tubs (with lids on and a hole cut in the side) as hides. Even my 2000g female squishes into hers somehow. Though, she's ~4ft and yours are longer, so they might not fit.... The snakes sometimes sit between the hide and the lid of the tub, and sometimes they scoot the hide over and squish themselves between the hide and the side of the tub. Crazy snakes. I figure as long as they manage to squish themselves somewhere comfy, they're fine.

I'm kind of new to the mommy BP thing, but we have our hatchling in a 40 gallon aquarium with a large hide rock, and hide log, and a water dish. Its still really easy to clean even thought its such a big aquarium and with the reptibark I use, the moisture stays in very well. I'm not sure about a bigger hide though. Maybe make one out of clay and bake it so that it is solid. This way you could make it perfect size for you bp's.