How to block gap by heat panel

[plateOfFlan]

My ~2yo female is in a PVC enclosure with a heat panel on the ceiling. Where the power cord comes in to connect to the heat panel has a very short gap between the cord connection to the panel and the ceiling (I hope I'm explaining this well, I can draw a picture). I assumed she would be unable to get in there and wouldn't want to mess with it, but I caught her twice the other night with her head threaded through the gap and six or so inches of her neck forced through. She backed out in a hurry both times and seemed uninjured but if she tries to squeeze any farther she can potentially be stuck. The sides of the heat panel are cool so she's not burning herself by touching the side but I don't think being in such close quarters to the panel and jamming her head into this little gap is a good idea - does anyone know of something I can plug the gap with that will stick to the PVC and still allow me to unplug the panel if I need to? I like this enclosure a lot but she's been relentlessly messing with the thermostat probe and panel and is stressing me out.

[Homebody]

My ~2yo female is in a PVC enclosure with a heat panel on the ceiling. Where the power cord comes in to connect to the heat panel has a very short gap between the cord connection to the panel and the ceiling (I hope I'm explaining this well, I can draw a picture).

I'm not seeing it. A pic would be a big help.

[jmcrook]

A nylon cable clamp and a short pan head screw to hold the cord in a tighter/smaller gap against the ceiling should do it.
I have these holding all my RHP cables against the ceiling where needed and also use them to mount thermostat probes once I settle on the best placement for them.
https://www.google.com/search?q=nylo...hrome&ie=UTF-8
Can see an example of what I'm talking about in this thread
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...nd-Accessories

[plateOfFlan]

I drew a very scientific diagram for you - this is a cross-section with the back of the tank on the left. The plug sticks out of the back of the heat panel with a very small clearance above and to the side, the blue circle in the pic. The cord is tightly secured against the ceiling and she's unable to move that part of it but rests her weight on the plug, and if I interrupt her she squeezes herself sideways out of the gap. I don't like her jamming herself into such a small space or spending time that close to the heat source.




Here is a very scientific diagram of what it looks like from the front of the tank when she's stuck in there


She's been in the enclosure for around 2 and a half months and seems to mess with the heater/thermostat probe more when she's bored or hungry, so I've been making sure to get her out for exercise. She's being fed today so I don't expect issues while she digests at least. I'm hoping I can superglue a rubber stopper or something to the ceiling above the plug to make that gap inaccessible but I was curious if other people had had to plug similar spots, and what I need to be careful of to not disrupt the heat panel function.

[plateOfFlan]

(replying to jmcrook) Really helpful pictures! My plug looks almost exactly like yours, the cord is actually even more secure. Because of her very goofy head-to-body ratio she's apparently able to squeeze her head into that little gap and force some of her neck through. Once she's fully grown I think (hope) her head will be too big to fit and I won't need to worry about it.

[Homebody]

Sorry. I've got nothin' worth sharing. I have the same gap. When I had a bp in there, he never messed with it. The Children's python I currently have in there can easily fit his body all the way through it.

[plateOfFlan]

My gap looks just like both of those. She left it alone for months and started messing with it a day or 2 before feeding day, which is when she's her most agitated. I think I'll wait and see if she does it again before her next feeding or gets over it, I was worried she was doing it every night and I hadn't noticed but it may have just been the 2 times.