Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have noticed some pictures you have shown in the past of your BP's in their racks. I was wondering what that white board is in the back of the tub? Is that a hide of some sort? I was just wondering because i am trying to come up with a hide that will not take up too much room in the tubs.

Thanks sym
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"You can't appreciate Shakespeare until you've read him in the original Klingon."

Hey man, its really a simply hide box. But in reality, it has totally changed the success I've had with Ball Pythons. I've been breeding them since '93/94, but quite sporadically. So a couple years ago, I just thought I could do better for them. Ball Pythons LOVE tight spaces. They LOVE to feel pressure on their backs. Lots of people use no hide boxes, and so did I for a while. It still works, but when I put these little "boxes" in, they just TOOK off. From yearling to adults, ALL the problem feeders just went nuts after food. It was like flipping a switch.

All I do is take a 12x12 piece of plywood (5/8" ot 1/2" and then put 1x2 pieces for the legs. Then it creates a hide box that's 1 inch off the substrate. They crawl underneath, push all the bark chips away and make a little hole. Just like BP's live in in nature! Little holes!

It rocks! I put it 4 inches away from the back so they can go bask at 92F, or sit under the wood box at 86-88F. Works like a charm.

Works for these guys too!!!

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I couldn't figure it out..heh. All i saw was this L shaped thing in your tubs! Now i understand what you did. I'm kicking myself for not thinking of that. I was planing on taking a sheet of wood and just laying it on the substrate, but i think your idea is much more sound.

Thank you
sym
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"You can't appreciate Shakespeare until you've read him in the original Klingon."

I forgot to mention, with the hide boxes being so low, there's also NO risk of gravid or large females wedging themselves between the hide box and the roof (shelf). Therefore, when you slide the Rubbermaid out, you can't scratch/rip the he!! out of the back of the snake!!

It works on so many levels man, LOL!

Cheers,

Jeff F.

Jeff, there's one thing I noticed.. those hide boxes are not painted or anything.. when they urinate/defecate, does junk soak into the wood? How do you clean it?

I really liked your idea for hides... I also strongly believe in hide boxes, even though I know some don't use them and appear to be successfull. The problem now, is what's the best was to do this.. I'm currently using small RubberMaid containers and have problems such as you mentionned: the snake wedges itself between the hide box and the shelf. I used melamine for the rack, so most times, it slides real good and I can gently slide the container anyways without hurting them (my tubs have wheels on them to make it even smoother). I could make these hides not as high though. I also tried litter boxes for kittens, but the snakes don't appear to like it too much. I think the problem is that I purchased some that were too big...

anyways, I'll probably give your idea a shot... sure sounds like a good plan to me... does a 12"x12" and 1" high provide an adequate hide for even the largest Ball Pythons? Seems rather small? what about 12"x18" and 2" high for the larger ones?

Thanks,
Bristen.

Jeff, there's one thing I noticed.. those hide boxes are not painted or anything.. when they urinate/defecate, does junk soak into the wood? How do you clean it?

Wood is cheap. Throw it out and make a new one. They are all pretty much made from scrap wood as it is. I didn't want them any smoother than they already were, so I didn't paint or sand them.

does a 12"x12" and 1" high provide an adequate hide for even the largest Ball Pythons? Seems rather small?

This female is 3500g and almost 6 feet long. This particular hide box is 14x14. It works just fine. A 12x12 would still work as well. They don't care if a foot is hanging out. They are in a rack system that is basically a giant hide box as it is. But being able to wedge part or most of their back under something is the key.

Cheers!

Jeff F.