Home made hides???

[sleuthsayer]

what is the most efficient/cost effective homemade BP hide you can come up with?? For a juvenile.. female, I think, aah, i don't know how much she weighs but she's around 4-5 months and eats consistently,, I'm looking to bring her home soon, but I want to make sure she has safe, appropriately sized hides that won't cost too much and are easy to clean,, I'll have pictures of her hopefully by tomorrow, if that'll help with size. She's my first BP and I want the best for her. Help much appreciated!

[Sunnieskys]

Deborah has a hide post that is awesome. Let me see if I can find it.

[Sunnieskys]

Ok it's a sticky post by Deborah called my hides. Check it out.

[the_rotten1]

You mean this one? https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...0-Hides-my-way

That's pretty neat. I use the plastic Walmart bowls too, but I use Reptile Basics or LLLReptile hides instead of the Zilla ones. I can't seem to find ReptileSupply.com or Zilla Creature Cubbyholes anywhere. It is a 9-year-old thread though.

You can also use cardboard boxes of just about any shape or size. Just open one end or cut an entry hole. I've used empty shipping boxes, frozen dinner boxes, qtip boxes, and tissue boxes for my snakes. You can't clean them well, but they are conveniently disposable.

I also use empty Pringles cans. I cut the bottom off with a can opener, sand down the sharp edges, and wipe all the salt out. The standard sized cans are good for snakes from 500g to 1000g and the mega stacks can take a little more. I have a several girls from 1000-1400 that like to squeeze into those.

So it really depends on her size. I can't recommend anything specific if I don't know how big she is. I can take pictures of some of my homemade hides in the morning next to a quarter though. Would that help?

[sleuthsayer]

Yes, thank you! I also have another question- I have a 34qt tub with dimensions of 26.5 x 16 x 6.6 (inches) lying around already and i was wondering whether I could use that for a younger BP that could probably easily fit into a 6-12 quart still, if I maybe give her more hides or some hangout spots (like, a larger rock that she can sit on if she wants to)/climbing branches to take up space? And how long do you think a tub that size would last her??

[sleuthsayer]

Um, I made a reptile blog on tumblr specifically to post pictures for this website lmao, so here's pics of the tub in question??

https://snakesavvy.tumblr.com/post/1...-a-ball-python

[bcr229]

what is the most efficient/cost effective homemade BP hide you can come up with?? For a juvenile.. female, I think, aah, i don't know how much she weighs but she's around 4-5 months and eats consistently,, I'm looking to bring her home soon, but I want to make sure she has safe, appropriately sized hides that won't cost too much and are easy to clean,, I'll have pictures of her hopefully by tomorrow, if that'll help with size. She's my first BP and I want the best for her. Help much appreciated!

Empty paper towel tube.

[hollowlaughter]

• dollar store bowls. cut a hole.
• rodent igloos, if you can find opaque ones.
• small tupperware or takeout containers.
• dog bowls. some have an open area with side handles that'll allow the snake to slither right in and under the bowl. later on, you can cut out the bowl area and turn it into another, larger hide.
• tortilla holders.
• plant saucers from the home improvement store.

[rlditmars]

I found black 1 gallon buckets at the dollar store. I cut the bottom 3.5 to 4 inches off, flipped it over and added a mouse hole cutout. It works great for snakes up to about 1000 grams. After that it gets a little tight.

[the_rotten1]

Picture time!



This is my 15qt setup for snakes from 200-500g, modeled by the lovely Illiana. The blue hide is a plastic bowl with an entrance hole cut in it. You can get them in packs of 3 from Walmart for 99 cents. They're super cheap, easy to make, easy to clean, and reuseable. The water bowl I got at Petco and the bamboo hide was from a local pet store. I wouldn't recommend wood hides though. I'm slowly phasing them out because they're a :cens0r: to clean.



I cut the hole with a soldering iron, but if you don't have one you could probably use an exacto-knife or razor. It'd have to be something heavy duty and very sharp. Regular old scissors won't cut it. This is a little loose on 200g snakes, and gets tight by the time they reach 500, but you want it pretty tight anyway.

Here's one of my 28qt setups. I use these for snakes from 500-1500g.



I usually use medium RB hides for these, but this guy grew faster than expected, so I Macgyvered a cardboard box for him.



I tore a hole in this one with my bare fingers. He doesn't seem to mind.



Here's a more typical 28qt setup. I don't use identical hides, but I definitely recommend them if you're starting out. You can do two plastic bowls for smaller snakes/15qt tubs or two cardboard boxes for larger snakes/28+qt tubs. A 34qt should only be a little bigger then this, so if you want to clutter it up it should be fine, but I'd keep the smaller tubs around just in case.



The snake in the last photo was just fed and hugging the hot spot, so here's Genevieve enjoying her Pringles can. She's about 550g, so there's still plenty of room at the other end. I could probably get away with a single hide if I stuck to these. If you place them perpendicular to the heat source the snakes will usually let their coils hang out the cool side to cool down and switch to the hot side after a meal/when they want to warm up. But I use the RB hides too because I like to clutter up the tubs and give them options.



Here's a pic of the bottom. As you can see, it's perfectly smooth. Sand paper does wonders. There is a little rust, which happens after awhile if you keep the humidity up, but if it gets bad you can just toss it and make another. My snakes usually soil theirs well before rust sets in.



Here's a bigger snake in a can. This boy is over 900g, so he fills it out more.

The bottom line is that you can use just about anything, so long as it fits the snake. There are a lot of good ideas in this thread. I may try the bucket thing myself at some point, and I already use small cat bowls with cutouts as water dish/hide combos for my hatchlings. I've even seen a lady use a wicker basket turned upside down with a hole cut in it. Not the best idea imo, but it worked for her.

All you need to do is find something the right size for your snake and make sure there's a way to get into it. As long as the materials are safe you're good to go.