Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was thinking about making a hide box out of a cheap paper mache hat box from Hobby Lobby. I was going to "kick it up a notch" with some spackling putty and textured paint to make it look like a big rock. Do any of these materials sound like they could be a health hazard? (For my snake... I don't care about me Or, does anyone have any better design ideas? I appreciate any info. Thanks in advance...

-JH

Probably one of the best hides for a ball python by far is the bottom of a clay plant potter (I'm referring to the saucers they sit in). Most people make the mistake of getting the actual pot, but those actually make terrible hides because snakes like to feel the cieling of their hidespot and the sides. So you just have to find the right size that you think your snake could comfortably squeeze under, and then you take a hammer and in one fluid motion just gently whack one of the inside edges to make an entry hole. There's much more about it at proexotics.com in the faq section.

I had actually thought about using one of those, but all that I found were too flat. I'm talking like an inch tall, even for the bigger 10" pots. If my BP tried to crawl under that, it would just look like he was wearing a sombrero. I had a look at the ProExotics site, and apparently I just haven't found the right thing yet. Those definitely look like something they will work. I'll keep looking around. However, if I want to "pretty" that up with some textured paint, would that be a health issue?? Either way, thanks for the help.

-JH

yeah, I haven't found any of the right height at home depot or anything, but then I went down the street from my house to a farm market that opened recently and they had a huge assortment of them there.

As for making them look nice, I know some people have made rock walls and stuff using styrofoam, tile grout, sand, etc. If I find any of the sites I'll let you know.

Well, it was too rainy to get to my local garden center today, but I'll try tomorrow. I've seen some suggestions on here using tile grout, like you metion. But, I've used tile grout in the past (for laying tile of all things), and I remember it being a real pain. I was just wondering if spackling compound could have the same effect with less mess and without irritation to my animals. If I had a house, I wouldn't worry about mess, but doing anything in an apartment is next to impossible. Thanks for all the help.

-JH