Hurt while escaping: advice/ suggestions?

Hey everyone,

So my bp manage to escape her enclosure by pushing the glass up and slithering out however it was so heavy she roughed up a couple scales and also seemed to gain a bump on her head. She is moving around fine and I touched he bump simply to see if it was just lifted scales but it is definitely a bump. She is so persistent on getting out and I'm scared she's going to get her head caught/ stuck because the lid is on a lip (like how the glass of an aquarium rests on that inner lip/edge). I just want to know if anyone else has had an escape artist scenario to deal with, whether I should be worried about the bump, and any suggestions for housing an adult bp. Pictures of your setups if you're willing to share might help. I'm not sure whether I need to get a whole new terrarium now. I don't want her to potentially hurt herself.

Thanks everyone, as I said any ideas, comments or suggestions would be a huge help ☺️

What do you have her in now and what are her husbandry numbers?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

if you can post a pic of the enclosure that would be awesome this way we could get a better understanding of what your working with which will help with the advice we give. thank you

We rescued our first girl and her enclosure came with a broken lid. We have weights holing it down.

Here is what her enclosure looks like:

[IMG]<a href="http://imgur.com/E3Os3h0"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/E3Os3h0.png" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a>[/IMG]

[IMG]<a href="http://imgur.com/LHHnIVy"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/LHHnIVy.png" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a>[/IMG]

[IMG]<a href="http://imgur.com/E3Os3h0"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/E3Os3h0.png" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a>[/IMG]

so that black bar bends inward and she got into that with part of her body and that's how she pushed the lid up. But when weights were on it she did the same but I suppose crushed her head a little and got the bump.

... ps. let me know if these images don't won't.

[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FE3Os3h0.png[/IMG]
[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FLHHnIVy.png[/IMG]

[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FXlAVYB5.png[/IMG]

Here we go :)

Would it be possible to add these turn buttons to the black portion so they could hold the plexi down?

My large PVC cages have these and they work great. Simple and easy. I'd put one in all the weak spots that can be pushed by the snake.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/New-York-Wi...uttons/3094755

Off subject: I'd like to ask where you got your driftwood?

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Originally Posted by WintertimeLea

Off subject: I'd like to ask where you got your driftwood?

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I actually got it at the Canada pet show in Toronto. You can order it from amazon as well. There is also a chain called All Reptiles that sells amazing drift wood, mopani wood, and cork bark

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Originally Posted by KMG

Would it be possible to add these turn buttons to the black portion so they could hold the plexi down?

My large PVC cages have these and they work great. Simple and easy. I'd put one in all the weak spots that can be pushed by the snake.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/New-York-Wi...uttons/3094755

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Thanks you for the suggestion but unfortunately I wouldn't be able to attach them. What I have now done is got two L brackets that sit under at the sides of the tank and I get some aluminum cable (thin cable) that I looped through the brackets and then weaved it through the air holes and around the center beam. It's actually holding very well. I'll upload so photos isoon. My only new question however is can aluminum hurt ball pythons. I know certain wood is toxic (I think pine) but I'm not sure about metal. I mean I didn't think so but being a mom you get paranoid lol

This may sound stupid but could you just put something large and heavy? If it is wide and flat without pressure points, it shouldn't break the glass. Like maybe heavy flooring tiles or fire bricks? Or even a big dictionary?

My arboreals are housed in vertical terrariums that don't have this issue because they open like a wardrobe and I can just lock the front of it, but my little bp is in a different display that I open from the top, and I just have a phone book on top of it... Though I can't say that will still work when she is 1600g....

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Originally Posted by Calider

This may sound stupid but could you just put something large and heavy? If it is wide and flat without pressure points, it shouldn't break the glass. Like maybe heavy flooring tiles or fire bricks? Or even a big dictionary?

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Improper techniques should not be suggested IMO. If you noticed in the pictures doing the very thing you suggested caused this issue. You would feel pretty bad if your suggestion caused harm to another's snake. If the top did break you would have not just those pieces but the weights as well falling in and on to the snake. That is a receipt for disaster.

Keeping snakes improperly is what has repeatedly given the hobby a black eye. We all need to keep our snaks correctly and be responsible owners. We owe it to each other to prevent any more dumb laws and regulations from being created.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Calider

This may sound stupid but could you just put something large and heavy? If it is wide and flat without pressure points, it shouldn't break the glass. Like maybe heavy flooring tiles or fire bricks? Or even a big dictionary?

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thanks for the suggestion but I did have books and weights and that was actually the issue. I need it to be really secure and 'tied down' because she was still able to push up, which was the start of the thread as to how she got the bump on her head. If given the ability she will still try pushing. Further I am always paranoid, as mentioned above, that with all that weight the top could collapse in and squish her. Not to mention it was a serious hassle to take her out each time.

Here are some pictures of the new closing mechanism.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FmBDyMXq.png

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FZEZjWln.png
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FBJKnvU0.png

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FrWHmbFW.png

So with the new setup I find it to be very secure. However my new question becomes, do you think the aluminum can hurt her (it is
not frayed it is smooth but still)? My other question would be if she were to stick her head in the available loop (where the wire is down from the lid making a gap) do you think she might accidentally hang herself? I mean I know they are incredibly intelligent creatures and I would like to think she would foresee that outcome and thus not do it but I figured I'd ask to see if anyone has had something unilaterally happen.

Aluminum is fine. My concern is that your climbing snake may now get itself into the wire and again but itself. A stuck snake struggling in that wire will turn the wire into a saw.

Why is it you can't do in the black to place turn buttons on it?

I don't think I'd use a screwdriver exposed on the inside but maybe changing the hardware out to some nuts and bolts of the correct size.

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Originally Posted by KMG

Aluminum is fine. My concern is that your climbing snake may now get itself into the wire and again but itself. A stuck snake struggling in that wire will turn the wire into a saw.

Why is it you can't do in the black to place turn buttons on it?

I don't think I'd use a screwdriver exposed on the inside but maybe changing the hardware out to some nuts and bolts of the correct size.

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i can't because it is made of plastic and would shatter. The concern about the wire is mine as well. but do you really think she would not realize she can get stuck until it happens? i obviously don't want her getting hurt.

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Originally Posted by Megz

i can't because it is made of plastic and would shatter. The concern about the wire is mine as well. but do you really think she would not realize she can get stuck until it happens? i obviously don't want her getting hurt.

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It's just that a snake doesn't move well in reverse. By the time it thinks it is stuck it may be too deep to get out easy.

Even being plastic a nice drill bit should make light work of it to fit some bolts through for the button tabs.