Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I am reading a lot about corns, and am noticing their apparent escape artist abilities. I was wondering, what sort of locking tops/sides did you fashion, to keep them contained? i dont really think the typical locking ones you buy at a pet store work, since they are just plastic tabs... any suggestions?
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You'd be surprised at how well those little plastic or metal clips hold the top of the tank down. Still, my favorite is a brick placed right in the middle of the screen top. It's a lot easier to remove than those clips. If your snake is still a baby, you probably wont even need anything that heavy - just a small rock or book - anything that weighs more than a pound or so. I haven't had any escapes or problems so far - but, then again, I haven't been keeping snakes for very long...
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2.0 Anerythristic Corns
1.0 Sunglow Corn
3.4 Leopard Geckos
3.1 Crested Geckos
1.0 Peacock Day Gecko
0.1 Gold Dust Day Gecko
1.1 Giant Day Geckos
4.2 Cats

i have the metal clips on the lid...i havent had any problem so far. actually if you're going to be keeping a newborn i would reccomend actually a kritter keeper. those newborn snakes are so minute, they can get out of many spaces you wouldnt think. then if you need to heat it, place this inside of a 10 gallon tank and attach the heater to the tank.

what i did on my 10 gallon was put o na screen top, attach it to the back flush with hinges, and put some silicone around the top to fill in the gap between the tank and the screen top, then4 fill in the corners of the screen top. those plastic tops DO NOT WORK...you need the "tuff-top", the one that has metal screen and metal frame. then i used 4 clips, one on each side. this was my setup for my baby bairds. neither escaped
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

I agree. Metal "tough tops" with the medium mesh are far superior than the plastic tops.

I also use 2 pairs of clips on each lid. This really helps keep these lids locked. I personally would not use a brick or any other object to hold down a lid. Snakes can locate the smallest opening and usually this means the edges. The clips make the edges securely clamped.

I've not tried the silicone on the tank lip but I do use a similar approach to blocking this exit point. I say exit point because once a snake can get his body on the lip of the aquarium he can use its body to open the lid enough for escape. Any weakened edge will aid in its escape. I use square wood doweling. I cut it to the length of the tank lips, paint it black and glue it to the tank lip. Viola! A snake escape proof aquarium.

Ken

funny you would ask that; about ten minutes ago i walking into the "pet room" and found the lid to the new tank i had set up for one of my albino corns pushed back about an inch and she was gone. after a few panicked moments i realized to my great relief she was inside the wire mouse cage chowing down on my pet mouse (sad but worthy sacrifice for keeping my girl distracted long enough to find her). Now her tank is all taped up, and i've found duct tape to work extrodinarily well in these types of situations. so there is my advice, no matter what there is a good chance you'll have some problems, duct tape can be a snake saver!!

ps. the type of lid i was using was a plastic, and i have had trouble in the past with all kinds of plastic lids. the best thing that i've found to use by far are the metal wire lids, with a couple of heavy books or rocks put on the corners, where they don't bend the wire cover inward.

-spangles
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Pets:
1.1.0 Albino Corns
0.1.0 Normal Corn
2.0.0 Green Iguanas
0.0.1 Florida King Snake
0.1.0 Rat Snake

I'm curious how the tape was used on the tank. Duct tape and snake's skin certainly wouldn't make a good mix. But I'm sure you've made certain the sticky side isn't available to your snake.

Ken

I have some tanks with built in sliding screens.You can even put a padlock on them if you dont want people messing with your snakes when your not home.I also have normal screen tops but you have to be careful because one corner will have a slit in for electrical cords.On those I always make sure the corner isnt behind the edge of my tanks.I also use phone books as screen weights because there bigger and distibute the weight on the edges instead of on the screens themselves.I also stack tanks on each other with books inbetween them...Paul

I have a 29 gallon tank with a metal/screen top. I have two of the metal clips situated close to two of the corners and two bricks on the other two corners. My snake is 2 years old and has never escaped, and I have seen him try. The bricks are sitting on the frame of the lid/tank, not on the mesh itself.
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1.0 Normal corn, "Mulder"

1.1 cockatiels "Farley" and "Snickerdoodle"
and 1.0 mutt "Logan"