Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are they commercially available or am I better off designing one from scratch?? Any one have any suggestions??

There are a few husbandry reasons why most people do not use hides for adult boas. It is difficult to maneuver a large hide box in a 4ft x 2ft x 1ft high cage for one thing. But, if you provide a hide, boas will use them much of the time.

I made mine from 1x4 pine (sides of the box) and plywood (top of the box) for a 4ft boa. Easy, cheap and effective and can be replaced if it gets too damaged. Didn't even seal it with anything because I didn't have time to wait for a finish to cure and offgas. Still working fine after some time now.

unsealed pine... ehh.... not going to tell you how to keep your snakes, but I wouldn't use pine... Any ways, kinda already have a good idea for my hide boxes just wanted to hear your guys' thoughts on the matter ( and no worries here on space, my cage I'm building is going to have plenty of room for lavish upgrades ) Thanks for the input!!

I used to use tubs turned upside down krylon makes paint for plastic works great. Now I don't offer a hide but I don't light my cages either.

>>unsealed pine... ehh.... not going to tell you how to keep your snakes, but I wouldn't use pine...

As far as unsealed pine its not a huge deal, with pine it is the oil that creates the problem with reptiles. The pine is a no no when it comes to shavings not straight lumber. Kiln dried lumber has little to know oil left. Not to say its really safe but it is not what you are thinking when it comes to pine. Shavings Bad!
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.1 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
0.0.11 Red Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.3 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
0.0.1 Youth -coming soon-

ehh, ok, any time I hear pine, PINE = EVIL in my book... Sorry Mark!! any ways... was thinking of putting a shelf 8 or so inches above the subtrate on the hot side, router it, make it look like something other than just a shelf ( soft edges of course ) Going to be lighting the cage with some form of over head lighting, still tossing the spec's around on that...

I bought a plastic container/storage tub, cut a hole in the corner on one side, put the lid on and flipped it upside down so the lid is the floor of the hide. My boa seems to like it just fine.
Thanks for the paint idea Jeremy .. I'm gonna have to do that ... my box is clear plastic so its not much of a hide when she can still be seen, Lol.
Another benefit of the plastic tub is that you can put some sphagnum moss in it to increase the hab's humidity and also aid in shedding if your boa ever has a problem.

I've had bad luck with using the dried moss, it's had bugs in it the last three different places I've bought it from. So I glued a sponge to the top of the hides and wet that periodically, seems to work ok, and either of my snakes don't seem to mind it being there...

For my cages I use a tub with hole(s) cut in side for access. Also I line them with dimpled craft paper like my cages. Quite often my snakes will go in the tub and makes clean-up even easier. I lift the whole mess out of the cage with no drips and walk to the bathroom for disposal of waste....way easy!!

My BRB's need higher humidity so instead of paper, I line theirs with damp moss, they love it.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling
www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
10.22 BRB
10.15 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

m

Thanks for all your guys' input on the topic, I wanted a hide that intergrated well with the enclosure, made to look like it was ment to be there. Not sure how many plastic tub plants or garbage can lid tree they have in the rainforest of central and south america, haven't been there! I was thinking about using PVC pipe to make the skeleton of my "tree trunk" then skinning it with as much as I'd had to deal with the mess of it all, fiberglass... It's really the only thing I can think of off the top of my head that will be light weight, will hold up to humidity and not fall apart any time soon... I'd done some fiberglass faux walls for my buddy's in the past, but really hesitant to deal with the mess again... Any thoughts on the matter??