Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just reading a post that said to give baby snakes a very small hiding spot...mine are both about a year and 4-5 months old, and I have two hiding caves for each of them in their own tanks, however they are quite a bit larger than the snake is, and i was wondering should I get a set of smaller ones for them for the tmeantime? they are both around 22-24" HTV these hiding caves (they're size medium exo terra caves if anyone knows this particular brand)...it's a Medium sized 6" x 9-3/8" x 2-3/4" high

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9752&Ne=40000&R=1479&N=2006+113494

thats a link to where they are if you wanna check 'em out.

thanks.
-chris
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

They should be ok but hides should be a nice tight spot for the snake. They feel more secure that way. I have a 33" female corn snake and I use a broken clay pot for one hide,which she doesnt really like,and a small piece of cork bark that is about 12 inches long and 5 inches in diameter that she is ALWAYS in.They like to squeeze into tight spots.

A really good hide for small young snakes are coconut shells. They sell them for like 2.99 a piece but you can buy a coconut for a dollar something and make your own hide boxes PLUS you will have TWO hides for half the price.

Paper towel rolls work really well too. That is where my corn spends all of his time. He is getting so big now that it is hard to get him out when he is in there. Makes it fun at feeding time. I just put the end of the tube in the feeding tank and he darts out and pulls the mouse back into the tube with him and I just put the tube back in his tank.
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0.0.1 Amel Motley Corn (Cosmo '03)
0.1 Baird's ratsnake (Sugaree '04)
1.1 Shephard mix (Dylan 5yrs, Porter 17weeks)

My corn and kings love the paper towel rolls. Flower pot bases are also good as well as the coconut hides. Tight, low and preferably round is what my snakes seem to prefer.

proexotics.com/FAQ_answers_Hide_Spots.html

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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"

0.0.1 Crested Gecko

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

great website thanks!

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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"

0.0.1 Crested Gecko

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

I use plastic electrical boxes with a little hole cut in them for small snakes. They work great, are easy to clean since they're plastic, and best of all they cost like 50 cents. Since you work at Home Depot, you can probable get them for .25.
Cheers!

I really was trying to avoid having stuff like paper towl rolls n such in the tank, but i think what i'm goin to do is get some coconut halves.

oh and you say i could get them for 25 cents cuz i work @ home depot...what do you think we get...some sort of discount? HA! HAHA! HAHAHA!!!
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

There are a lot of good suggestions here. The real issue is this. A lot of snakes (species and individuals) are believed to prefer hides where they can press against the sides when they are coiled up in them. Not all snakes require or need this and some do not use hides much at all. I use everything from paper towel rolls to coconut huts to a small piece of cardboard with the edges bent slightly. I also use wood shavings for most of my snakes. There are a couple tricks to try if you feel the hide is not making the snake feel secure enough.

1. Place an appropriate sized smooth rock inside the hide to reduce its internal space ( be careful not to endanger the snake) ... or

2. Fill the cavity with bedding such as Care Fresh.

Bottom line is the snake itself. If its behavior indicates it feels secure it probably does. If it isn’t broke do not fix it, however experimenting and trial and error is how we learn and interact with our hobby.

Randy