Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So it turns out I am getting my albino corn snake thursday. Now my next question is: Are home-made hides ok? Do snakes prefer non-plastic hides and such? If it doesn't matter, what do you guys make them out of? Oh yea, I have a UTH but it was recently removed from another cage, I know that "silver tape" is used in HVAC and such so it would work to reuse the UTH on a smaller tank but is that the only way? Could I use duct take or something else instead? I guess thats it for now, thanks for all your info in my previous posts.

My corn snake really enjoys a piece of paper towel and a paper towel roll. So as for which one they prefer, it doesn't really matter. If you want to spend the money on a plastic hide you can, but if it's a hatchling they like small places to hide in where they can touch the sides. I'd put one on the cool side and one on the warm side, personally.

As far as I know, it's really dangerous to reuse a UTH. The wires can get cut and whatnot. I'd buy a new one, personally. But you can do your own research on that. When you get another one, I'd attach it to a piece of glass or tile to set underneath the tank so you can move it as you like and put it under another tank.

Any more questions I might be able to ask with my limited knowledge gained from the internet? lol

LOL......I know you...........I posted this same response to you on the other site as well.
I use paper towel tubes for hides for hatchlings and shoe boxes half filled with aspen for adults.

When you get a new UTH stick the UTH on a piece of ceramic, slate or foam insulation board (can be bought cheap at Homedepot) then just set the tank on top of it. This way you never have to remove it from the tank or drag chords around when you clean the tank out.

Here is a pic of an emergency hatchling set up I had to throw together real quick. This is why the bin is sitting above the uth..........no thermostat. If you use a thermostat then you can set the bin directly on the uth. This is using foam insulation board.
Here is a quarantine bin setup for a larger sterilite. Once again I have stuck the UTH to the foam insulation board. I used foil tape as well because it is a reused UTH that was stuck on a glass tank. This one is attached to a thermostat. Notice also the black chord that is the probe for the thermostat. I do not put the probe in the cage but keep it outside the cage, next to the heat source and adjust the thermostat based on the temps I get inside the cage directly over the UTH (using a digital thermometer). I knw the manufacturer doesnt recomend re-using the uth's but I have never had a problem with it even though I only use them sporadically. I use heat tape to provide heat to my collection.