Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm going to use two bigger then shoe box smaller then sweater box Sterlite plastic tubs to house two new corn snakes. Got the air holes drilled, already have the heating lined up. Here's my delima. I know the lids of these lock on but in the middle you can still pull up the side of the lid enough even with the locks in place to get a snake through. Now I don't know if the snakes will figure that out but I did and am worried that they will find it as an escape route. I already tried the screen locks but they just slide right off with nothing to really latch on to on the top of the lid. How does everyone else who uses the plastic containers keep their snakes from slipping out? Rocks on top? Loop and latch a belt around it? Also how much pressure or PSI can a corn exert when it's a small yearling? I already have 8 screen locks on my other snake cage so YES, I do worry about the escape factor. Not because they'll scare anyone in the house, but because I have 5 cats that would love to play toss the snake and I don't want to have to rip apart my house trying to find a 21" b/w corn snake.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks
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Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.4.0 green anoles
2.2.0 green tree frogs
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake "Popcorn"
2.4 Domestic house cats
1.0 Rottweiler
1.0 Husband (who loves all my critters too)

You bet your butt they can escape from those things. I lost a hatchling to my cats that way and I had the lid secured in the center and the box with lid was in a rack. Here's what I do for my yearlings though...I buy heavy duty rubberbands and place enough of them around the box that I don't think the snake can push it's way out. It works for my yearlings and older but not for hatchlings. I swear hatchlings can teleport. For hatchlings now I use another kind of box, that has a longer lip (First Phillips) so when you band it down the lip prevents escapes. I do know a local breeder that keeps all his babies in the slightly larger than shoebox size tub and never even uses anything but the built-in side locks and has only had like one escape out of hundreds of babies. I guess maybe I have bad luck but I have heard others say they had this trouble too.
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Anna

Corns
1.0 Snow - Cornelius
1.1 Ghost(pastel) - Eek & Boo
1.1 Amel - Parker & Scarlet
0.1 Hypo - Nikko
0.1 Anery - Missy
0.1 Hypo Hurricane Motley - Cordelia aka Cordy
Boas
0.1 Columbian (BCC) - Bella
Lizards
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko - Leo
Rats
0.1 Dumbo - Dirt
Cats
1.1 Siamese - Blue & Fiona
0.1 Gray DMS - Druscilla aka Dru
Horses
1.0 Thourghbred (Hunter/Jumper) - Morgan's Majesty aka Cody

I wonder if a several bungie cords snugly strapped around boxes would work the same? It's either that or a 25 lb. 12x12x1.5 paving brick on top of each box.

And my husband DOES call me paranoid. He complains that it's easier to get into Fort Knox then it is my aquariums. But I'm also happy to say that none of my animals have yet to escape with the exception of those damn anoles when I'm cleaning out their cage and they run up my arm and jump onto the curtains.
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Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.4.0 green anoles
2.2.0 green tree frogs
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake "Popcorn"
2.4 Domestic house cats
1.0 Rottweiler
1.0 Husband (who loves all my critters too)

To experiment with new techniques you could place the Sterlite box inside a larger tub that the snake can't reach the top of. That way if they escape then it will just be into the larger container. I think the bungee cords will make the box tilt unless you use more than one. The bricks might cave in the top. Try the heavy rubber bands and use like four across the middle. It will keep any snake bigger than a pencil (without teleportation abilites) inside the box.
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Anna

Corns
1.0 Snow - Cornelius
1.1 Ghost(pastel) - Eek & Boo
1.1 Amel - Parker & Scarlet
0.1 Hypo - Nikko
0.1 Anery - Missy
0.1 Hypo Hurricane Motley - Cordelia aka Cordy
Boas
0.1 Columbian (BCC) - Bella
Lizards
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko - Leo
Rats
0.1 Dumbo - Dirt
Cats
1.1 Siamese - Blue & Fiona
0.1 Gray DMS - Druscilla aka Dru
Horses
1.0 Thourghbred (Hunter/Jumper) - Morgan's Majesty aka Cody

...They should work to hold the sides on

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-audri
Webpage/Pics

Hey, I thought about that too but never tested it. What size do you use?
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Anna

Corns
1.0 Snow - Cornelius
1.1 Ghost(pastel) - Eek & Boo
1.1 Amel - Parker & Scarlet
0.1 Hypo - Nikko
0.1 Anery - Missy
0.1 Hypo Hurricane Motley - Cordelia aka Cordy
Boas
0.1 Columbian (BCC) - Bella
Lizards
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko - Leo
Rats
0.1 Dumbo - Dirt
Cats
1.1 Siamese - Blue & Fiona
0.1 Gray DMS - Druscilla aka Dru
Horses
1.0 Thourghbred (Hunter/Jumper) - Morgan's Majesty aka Cody

NOW THAT...is a solution I can handle . I work for an office supply company and the binder clips didn't even cross my mind. Thanks for the suggestion I'll snag a few boxes and see how they work tonight (I get um at cost anyways).

THANK YOU
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Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.4.0 green anoles
2.2.0 green tree frogs
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake "Popcorn"
2.4 Domestic house cats
1.0 Rottweiler
1.0 Husband (who loves all my critters too)

But I don't know of anything that is. I have had a corn escape a sterilite with Binder Clips. I have to admit it was one of my super escape artists and I have a few other corns in the same type of container he is in WITHOUT any binder clips that have never escaped. However, he just wouldn't give up and he popped of the lid regardless of those binder clips. He now has a 10lb weight on his lid! The best escape proof caging I have used is Sterilite tubs with the lids on, in a rack. I have even had some escape those if I don't push them in all the way as well. Little pain-in-the-butts.

Well I went home and tried the large binder clips and then the medium ones, while they looked like they might work, I was still able to pop them by putting pressure on the lid. So I don't think I'm going to trust those.

I tried the bungie cords and those work pretty good....except when you have a water bowl inside it tends to spill when you're trying to manuver the cords around and get them hooked.

I think tonight I'm going to try those darm 12x12x1.5 landscaping bricks on top of them, each one weighs about 15 lbs. I'm not really worried about them collasping the boxes because they are designed to be stacked up with weight and the general design of them prevents crushing by anything less then 50 lbs. (This is not tested weight, just an estimate). Plus the weight is spread out over the entire lid, not just in the middle. Of course I'm trying all of these methods BEFORE the snakes go in the boxes because I don't want them escaping or crushed for that matter. I think I'll work on building a rack next.

One more thing.... is 1/8" air holes small enough to prevent escape?

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.
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Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.4.0 green anoles
2.2.0 green tree frogs
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake "Popcorn"
2.4 Domestic house cats
1.0 Rottweiler
1.0 Husband (who loves all my critters too)

I don't remember the brand name, but I found a line of storage boxes at the local office supply store that are just about perfect. They're made of a plastic thats ALMOST as clear as glass (including clear tops). And the tops have a vertical edge that makes them very stiff. They have a shoebox size with a snap-on lid that I don't think a brahminy blind snake could get out of and a size that's close to a ten gal aqarium with a snap latch at each end that I'm sure no corn could get out of (unless you forgot to latch it). I'm thinking of replacing all my 10 gal aquariums with these. The shoe boxes are $1.69 I think and the larger ones are $4.00 or so. A bit more than the sterilite, but FAR better for keeping snakes in.
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Larry D. Fishel
Side effects may include paralysis
and death but are generally mild.

Post the brand name if you can.
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Anna

Corns
1.0 Snow - Cornelius
1.1 Ghost(pastel) - Eek & Boo
1.1 Amel - Parker & Scarlet
0.1 Hypo - Nikko
0.1 Anery - Missy
0.1 Hypo Motley - Cordelia aka Cordy
Boas
0.1 Columbian (BCC) - Bella
Lizards
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko - Leo
Rats
0.1 Dumbo - Moon
1.0 Rex - Pluto
Cats
1.1 Siamese - Blue & Fiona
0.1 Gray DMS - Druscilla aka Dru
Horses
1.0 Thourghbred (Hunter/Jumper) - Morgan's Majesty aka Cody

n/p

Paul

The brand name is Iris. For the record, after going back and looking at them, I probably overstated how clear they are. They are significantly clearer than the clear sterilite boxes, but there is a noticable "frosted" effect. The good news is it's also much more durable plastic that the "crystal clear" boxes I've seen (which will actually shatter if you drop them).

Also note that they make a wide range completely unsuitable containers too so look closely. The larger ones I'm suing are 16 quart "buckle up boxes" (model BCB-16). I already removed the labels from the shoe-box sized ones so I don't know the model number.

Iris
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Larry D. Fishel
Side effects may include paralysis
and death but are generally mild.

Thanks for the information, Larry! I actually bought 4 of those (shoebox size) a while back but have lost them in my storage closet of doom. I purchased them from Office Depot. You're right, they are not "crystal" clear, but they are less opaque than rubbermaid or sterilite. I need to buy more of those, or clean out my closet...It looks like I'll be shopping! LOL!

Paul

I drilled two holes - one on either side of the middle of the lid and tub - then tied a shoe string though them on both sides. That snugged down the top and made it feel more secure to me.

I just use duct tape.

Depending on the size of the tub, either one or two on each side.

Aside from the tubs, I use Neodesha cages, and no need for clips or tape with those
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Axe
The Reptile Rooms