Is a hide Necessary?

Are they? I'm housing a 2016 hatchling In a 6 qt tub (without a rack). I went to the dollar store and got the smallest bowl and item I could use as a water bowl. The bowl Is kinda too big to fit In the tub. I can cut the edges so it fit better, but I'd like the snake to have space to move around. Any Info is good. Thanks.

Hides are useful for both security and providing micro-climates. It is often far more humid in the hide than out( depending on hide and setup) . That being said I'm not sure if it would always be 100% necessary and may depend on other factors like your warm / cool side temps, the humidity, is there anything else in the enclosure? I feel like a snake in an open 6qt tub out of a rack would feel awfully exposed.
Pictures always help.
I would wait for someone with more experience to weigh in but I'm going to go with probably, but maybe not always.

Sent from my Z987 using Tapatalk

Ball pythons like to hide, and they like to be in hides so small that they can barely fit inside of them. A ball python without a hide would be stressed, scared and probably not eat.

In a rack system it would not be necessary do the the fact they are covered from all sides especially in gray tubs. I would say with a clear tub I would have a hide. You could always just get a little bit bigger tub.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

Depends on the snake.
Many of my hatchlings don't use a hide.

I use a rack system and I always offer hides. Almost all of mine use them, and the one who doesn't likes to lay on top of them.

My girl loves her hides. My boas really care less and my big boa usually just pushes her hide around and sometimes will put her head on top of it. Each snake is different. I would definitely offer a hide and see if he/she uses it. If they do, then you got your answer. If they don't, well, you got you answer there too lol.

Go to the grocery store and get some Hormel "Compleats" meals for about $2 each. Eat the food and run the plastic container through the dishwasher, then use a pair of sturdy scissors to cut an access doorway so your snake can get under it. If there are sharp edges at the cuts just use an emery board to smooth them out. They are perfectly sized for a baby snake and when flipped over the "top" of it will hold a few tablespoons of water so your baby can stay nice and humid without lying on wet paper.

Once the snakes get larger the rectangular plastic containers that some of the Ramen Manchurian meals come in also work as hides.

Thank you all for the Info! By the way, Is it okay to give a 15 qt tub to a hatchling?

I had a hatchling in a 15qt tub for a while. I had two small hides in it and a water bowl. It seemed to do very well.

Thanks!

You could use a 15qt... I use 3qt till about 300ish grams then move to a 6qt

When I first got my BP, he laid on his hide, and right as I considered taking it out for room, he began shed and went inside. After that, he was in love with that hide. I don't say it's necessary, but it would reduce stress, etc. I'd say use one.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Depends on the snake.
Many of my hatchlings don't use a hide.

---

I agree completly.
My smaller snakes dont use their hides, they rather hide under the paper towels. My older 500+ gram snakes rarely leave them.

In short: I've heard boas don't necessarily need them, although it certainly couldn't hurt.

Ball pythons NEED a place to hide to feel secure. It's not that they'll die without a hide, but they may go off feed or be snippy and defensive.

I use large tubs for even my small baby ball pythons and let them grow up in them, I've heard switching tub size can stress out a snake and make them go off feed, although I'm not mass producing and looking to cram in a lot of snakes. I use an ARS 7030 rack system with grey tubs and I don't have hides in any of them, makes cleaning much easier, just a tub and aspen bedding and a disposable Dixie cup for water that goes into the built in holder. None of my snakes are stressed out and all are eating well. I feed right in the tubs, the only problem I have is that sometimes it's hard for the snake to find the live mouse because he has so much room to run around. As far as hides I dig out an area in the back of the tub and just put a little bedding over the hot spot, they seem to hunker down in this little dug out spot, some even dig in the substrate and bury themselves. I really don't care for clear or semi clear tubs since snakes like to be totally enclosed, seems like if you had clear tubs you might need hides. I have one king snake in a 8018 tub with a clear front and every now and then when I walk by he freaks out and you can hear him jumping around in the tub and rattling his tail, and he isn't a mean snake at all, just gets startled from not being totally enclosed. The main thing I don't like about a hide is that when I want to feed the snake I don't want to be messing around and picking up a hide and exposing him, I've had some snakes really freak out when I do that.