List of Snake Safe Materials?

[MissterDog]

Hey all! Wondering if anyone can give me a run down of materials that can be used in snake enclosures/ DIY projects/decorations? For example if I wanted to make my own hide or basking shelf, what could I make it out of and what paints and sealers are safe? Is super glue ok to use if I wanted to attach fake plants to a plastic bowl?

I've also seen people use branches and rocks, how does one go about properly disinfecting and prepping? What home made things have you made and what did you use?

Tell me everything you know that is safe to use

[MissterDog]

Soft bump

[WastelandExotics]

Making your own decor is fun and really great when you're going for custom enclosures. Steps for making your own enclosure elements:

1. Pick your base/molding material
For base construction, I've seen people use pink foam which you can pick up at Home Depot/ Lowes. I've also seen a lot of people use air-dry clay and home made clay (recipes online for the DIY clay) with great success.

2. Paint
Most people opt to go with acrylic paint as other forms of paint can leech into the sealant and make contact with your reptiles, which is obviously something you want to avoid.

3. Seal
The most obvious choice for the sealant would be Silicone Aquarium Sealant as my logic train goes: if you can drop it in a tank full of fish and it be safe, I'm sure it would be safe for your reptiles as well. Let cure per instructions on bottle before introducing it into your tank/tub.

I've also seen people use modpodge and haven't heard anything negative on that front but why take the risk when you can go straight for "the good stuff"?

To answer your hot glue question, I would imagine that it wouldn't be harmful as long as it was cured but if you don't want to take a risk, slap some of that aquarium sealant on over the glue

For logs, you could do one of the following or both:

- If the wood will fit in your oven, clean it up a little bit with a hard bristle brush and bake it at 250-300 degrees for 1-3 hours

AND/OR

- Mix together a bleach solution (10% bleach to 90% water), put it in a container / your bathtub and let those soak for about 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with extremely hot water and let them dry for 48-72 hours.

For rocks, the soaking solution mentioned above works pretty well but you need to scrub the crap out of it with a stiff bristle brush before soaking of course.

And DON'T bake them for the love of all you hold sacred as they can and will EXPLODE.

I've also heard of people boiling leaf litter that they find but can't vouch personally for the safety of this (although the person that I got this info from keeps frogs and they're pretty delicate and they've had no issues with the leaf litter).

Also, just a side note: freezing is not as thorough as the other methods listed above so best not to waste time with freezing

*takes deep breath* That's all I can think of at the moment - I'm sure I'll be back with more ideas - curious though: what are you wanting to craft in particular?

[MissterDog]

Making your own decor is fun and really great when you're going for custom enclosures. Steps for making your own enclosure elements:

1. Pick your base/molding material
For base construction, I've seen people use pink foam which you can pick up at Home Depot/ Lowes. I've also seen a lot of people use air-dry clay and home made clay (recipes online for the DIY clay) with great success.

2. Paint
Most people opt to go with acrylic paint as other forms of paint can leech into the sealant and make contact with your reptiles, which is obviously something you want to avoid.

3. Seal
The most obvious choice for the sealant would be Silicone Aquarium Sealant as my logic train goes: if you can drop it in a tank full of fish and it be safe, I'm sure it would be safe for your reptiles as well. Let cure per instructions on bottle before introducing it into your tank/tub.

I've also seen people use modpodge and haven't heard anything negative on that front but why take the risk when you can go straight for "the good stuff"?

To answer your hot glue question, I would imagine that it wouldn't be harmful as long as it was cured but if you don't want to take a risk, slap some of that aquarium sealant on over the glue

For logs, you could do one of the following or both:

- If the wood will fit in your oven, clean it up a little bit with a hard bristle brush and bake it at 250-300 degrees for 1-3 hours

AND/OR

- Mix together a bleach solution (10% bleach to 90% water), put it in a container / your bathtub and let those soak for about 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with extremely hot water and let them dry for 48-72 hours.

For rocks, the soaking solution mentioned above works pretty well but you need to scrub the crap out of it with a stiff bristle brush before soaking of course.

And DON'T bake them for the love of all you hold sacred as they can and will EXPLODE.

I've also heard of people boiling leaf litter that they find but can't vouch personally for the safety of this (although the person that I got this info from keeps frogs and they're pretty delicate and they've had no issues with the leaf litter).

Also, just a side note: freezing is not as thorough as the other methods listed above so best not to waste time with freezing

*takes deep breath* That's all I can think of at the moment - I'm sure I'll be back with more ideas - curious though: what are you wanting to craft in particular?

Thank you so much for this! This is incredibly helpful! I was thinking of making my own basking shelf/cave with ramps. Still experimenting with design options but I definitely want something my bp could climb on or have a "second floor" to explore. Definitely prefer the natural look, so I'd probably try to make it look like tree stumps or a rock cave with moss. At some point I wanna try to make a Zelda themed hide.

Do you know if using sculpey as a base is ok? I think I've also seen other use styrofoam for there base but using grout over it.

[WastelandExotics]

At some point I wanna try to make a Zelda themed hide.

Themes are always super fun lol! You gotta post pictures of whatever you make of course

Do you know if using sculpey as a base is ok? I think I've also seen other use styrofoam for there base but using grout over it.

Sculpey shouldn't be a problem as long as it's fully cured and sealed, it's just probably not the most cost efficient material compared to other stuff you could use but I don't see it as being a problem. Also, the grout that some people use is generally the "paint" step I was talking about earlier but in the end, still needs to be sealed - it's great for getting that "natural" vibe going without painstakingly painting every little detail. Plus it adds a nice texture to things, which is always a bonus I appreciate.

Looking forward to seeing some of your projects in the near future! I always love me a good DIY

[MissterDog]

Themes are always super fun lol! You gotta post pictures of whatever you make of course



Sculpey shouldn't be a problem as long as it's fully cured and sealed, it's just probably not the most cost efficient material compared to other stuff you could use but I don't see it as being a problem. Also, the grout that some people use is generally the "paint" step I was talking about earlier but in the end, still needs to be sealed - it's great for getting that "natural" vibe going without painstakingly painting every little detail. Plus it adds a nice texture to things, which is always a bonus I appreciate.

Looking forward to seeing some of your projects in the near future! I always love me a good DIY

Thank you! Will definitely share pics!

[MissterDog]

So I've done some looking around at reptile safe sealants and wanna run them by you guys first.

So far I've been seeing;

• Water based polyurethane
• Cement sealer
• Krylon Matte Finish waterproofing spray
• Water Based Polycrylic Satin Sealer
• Mod Podge (but I heard it stays stick?)
• Aquarium safe silicone (but isn't this mainly for bonding instead of a finishing coat? Every example I see are just for mending or bonding glass)

Are these all safe and durable? Are these all waterproof?

Either way it seems the key things I need to look for in a sealer are;
Non-toxic, waterproof, water based (avoiding oil based). Low VOC.

Is this correct? I'm thinking of visiting Home Depot to check out the selection and just wanna make sure I'm understanding what to look for properly.

[MissterDog]

Small bump. Going to the store tomorrow