Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've noticed that some people knock a hole in the sides of shallow terracotta plant pots or the pot bottoms (can't think of what they're called, very tired), and use those as hides for their snakes. I'd like to try this with my BP, but I'm not sure what to use to make the hole. Do I just knock a hole with a hammer? What do I do to make sure there are no rough edges he could get hurt on? Thanks in advance.
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1.0 rescued ball python
1.1 house rabbits
1.0 significant other
2.0 house cats
0.1 rescued Am. Staff. terrier mix

......watch...alot of those terra cotta pots are actually plastic pot bottoms.......I got a few second hand...didn't think they'd really work for BIG balls...but thety actually do work ,do use them ,and don't move them all that much....defecates are actually hard to get off them even with soaking and scrubbing and all.....terra cotta/redware,would actually be harder to clean......

.....hmmmm....you DID give me an idea....I know a guy that makes redware stuff......I'll have to get him to make me some custom hides....!.....cool.........Thanxxx........

.........anyways....for small balls and all......use what you can find....ideas.?.....Nissan Foods Chow Mein noodle bowls are now in black plastic....eat and use as hide....
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.......any Dollar type store....look for black plastic bowls....I cut a hole into the bottoms , black is best, I have blue too.....and a serrated steak knife actually cuts them quite well....keep it moving in a quick and steady motion....

......use your imagination...........

.....they'd even lay under a piece of cardboard ........
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I have used both the pots and the bottoms as hides. To make the holes I have found the best method is to use a pair of pliers and slowly crush/chip away a hole in one side. Just squeeze the pliers so that they crush the clay and it crumbles away, repeat until the hole is big enough. Any rough spots I usually smooth down with a Dremel (if they are really bad) or just use the pliers to wear down any sharp areas.
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma (hidden gene?), 0.1 Yellowbelly
2.0 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

I bought some of the clay pots for hides and found with the put setting upside down on a hard level surface I could tap around the drain hole with a hammer and enlarge the hole without breaking the pot. I then used a round file to smooth the hole edges.

I still use small pots like this for hatchlings but for the bigger snakes I only used big pots before I got everything in rack systems and had some of the really old Neodesha cages. In my climate it was always a battle to maintain humidity in those more ventilated cage types. While I was washing the cage out I would soak the pot in a 5 gallon bucket of hot water with disinfectant (I use a little bleach). The pot would soak up water and help with humidity for a few days.

Be sure the hole is big enough even for a well fed snake with a bump a day or two after a big meal. Also, I don't recommend these hides for breeding when there is more than one snake that could be trying to pass through the opening at the same time.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. The file especially made it a lot easier to refine after the hole enlarging was done. The whole job was much easier and faster than I thought it was going to be. I had this fear that the whole damn pot would split like a piece of cheap plywood. It doesn't look pretty, but it is functional and I think it will make him feel safe, and I ran my fingers all over it and felt no sharp points, so that is the important part.
I have done quite a bit of pottery work myself, but don't have access to a kiln right now. If I do get reliable access to a kiln again, I'll have to remember to make a few hides for the future and set them aside in storage.
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1.0 rescued ball python
1.1 house rabbits
1.0 significant other
2.0 house cats
0.1 rescued Am. Staff. terrier mix