I need new hides?

[AkivaSmith]

Hello all,

I have had fluffy for 17 months, (he is now 19 months old). He has gone through two sets of hides (at various sizes.) However, something new is happening.

Most of the time he slithers in and everything is OK, but lately he has been slithering in the hide then flattening out so that the hide pops up and the outer coil is exposed.

What gives? I know that he fits in the hide 'cause I see him in there snug as a bug in a rug most of the time.

Is he trying to tell me something?

Where would you recommend I get new hides and just how much bigger (2in dia, or 4in dia)?

Thanks for the input (in advance!)

[West Coast Jungle]

Mine do that all the time. You could try a bigger hide but she is probably fine.

[NightLad]

Salzedo just started doing that. His DOB is Sept/22/2007 and he is growing like a weed. I plan to pick up new hides at an upcoming reptile expo, although I know that some snakes prefer the smaller ones and don't mind 'popping' out of the sides. A friend of mind had a large snake (forget the species) who'd refuse to use the new hides, so she'd curl up into a big ball with this little hide just covering her head. Salzedo has also recently started moving the hides around while he is inside. Maybe he dreams of being a turtle?

[hana]

If you're going to get new hides don't spend money on ones from the store. I needed new hides for two of my BPs so I cut an archway out of some large delis and melted the edges so there wasn't anything sharp, then I painted them all nice and pretty with acrylic paints. That way I have something nice to look at when they're hiding, and they've got a nice dark no longer see through hide. If I counted up the bit of paint I used and how much the delis would have cost me, I might have spent $2.00 for each hide.


hana

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I can't really tell you how much bigger your hides need to be but this is what I use depending on my BP's size if that helps.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ighlight=hides

[RogueStar]

Here's another way of making do-it-yourself hides, with a naturalistic look. You need shredded newspaper, toilet paper, wallpaper paste, paint and varnish. It'll cost as much as the wall paper paste used, paint and varnish are optional. The varnish will make the cave much more durable though.

This is a great way to save some money on a large growing collection of bps. Especially if you have kids to do the work.

1. I made a mold out of a metal net (you can use all kinds of bowls and dishes as molds too). Covered it with the shreads of newspaper dipped in wallpaper paste and let dry.

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2. Mixed some toilet paper to the wallpaper paste and the mixture became a bit like pulp or wax. I tapped it onto the cave to make the surface look nicer.

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3. Paint and varnis. Voilá.

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