Reptile & Amphibian Forums

has anyone built hide boxes? what type of wood would be good to use? i have a 6ft jungle carpet python. she has a couple of carboard boxes for hide boxes but they just get messed up after a while. i was wondering if i could make something and out of what. also she manages to move the boxes around so was also hoping a wood box would be heavier so she couldn't move it as much. thanks anyone.

well what do you have? If you dont have any wood, i'd probably opt to go with just whitewood... they sell it as trim in home depot and it's the cheaper of the woods.
-----
-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Monty)

...........disenfect,you might consider plastic.have fun!

what kind of plastic? could you cover the wood with the plastic? guess i'll just go to HD and see what I can find. thanks

prime the wood and paint it with 2 coats of a semigloss paint and you'll be fine. one coat will really be okay.
-----
-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Monty)

erm... semigloss or a satin paint... either will do nicely.
-----
-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Monty)

>>prime the wood and paint it with 2 coats of a semigloss paint and you'll be fine. one coat will really be okay.

Why bother? Buy melamine is a lot easier to clean than painted wood. Probably cheaper, too.

i have no idea what they are for a jungle carpet python. if there is little to no humidity, yeah melamine would work great. wasnt really thinking of that. then you can take some of that iron on edging to finish it off with.
-----
-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Monty)

>>has anyone built hide boxes? what type of wood would be good to use? i have a 6ft jungle carpet python. she has a couple of carboard boxes for hide boxes but they just get messed up after a while. i was wondering if i could make something and out of what. also she manages to move the boxes around so was also hoping a wood box would be heavier so she couldn't move it as much. thanks anyone.

Rather than trying to build something out of wood, I'd strongly suggest you just buy some cheap plastic hide boxes. It's what I do! And I've got the tools to build just about anything I want... If you want the boxes to look more natural or be heavier, use a hot glue gun to attach some rocks or cork or something.

I agree with sstorkel, just buy one. Plastic would be easier to clean and there are many sizes and styles available, and most don't cost too much. You could also just use a rubbermaid container or something similar. You could buy a couple and put some moss or something in one to make a humid hide for your python. This would be good for when your snake is shedding and for anytime, since jungle carpets need a fairly humid environment. You can make them look more natural if you like with fiberglass, foam, or even cement. You can make them look like a rock or very oddly shaped log. If this is something you would be interested in doing, I, or others on this forum can help you. Even if you did make your hide boxes out of wood, you snake would still probably be able to move them around. Carpet pythons are very strong! You will need to anchor your hide boxes, but the method of anchoring will depend on your cage. jrbl

i see i have different options. i would rather buy something vs. making something. lately it seems my JCP wants nothing to do with her hide boxes except move them around. so i don't know if she would use a humid hide. she does go into them at sheding times. maybe i should just take them out unless she is in shedding mode? i don't worry about humidity much except at shedding times. she does have a big water bowl in the middle of her tank. it's an 80 gallon tank so trying fasten down a box through glass won't work in my opinion. unless i were to glue it to the glass....thanks again for some idea.

This is a humid hide I made for my geckos. You can do the same with a bigger tuppaware.Just some hot glue and rocks.

-----
Leos
1.0 Blizzard "Mr.Freeze" AKA " SID VICIOUS"
1.0 SHCT Baldy "Thor"
0.2 Tremper Albinos "Betty & Pinky"
0.1 SHCT Baldy "Lemon"
0.1 Hypo Tang "Sherbert"
0.1 Hypo Golden "Dott"
0.2 juveniles " Spot & White Stripe"
0.0.4 hatchlings wooo hoooo
Boas
0.1 Nicaraguan "Peaches"

Domestic Livestock

0.1 WIFE "PAM"
0.2 Daughters "Haleigh & Chloe"

Canines
1.0 Beagle "Chance"
0.1 Pit rodesian ridgeback mix "Missy"

hey, that looks cool. looks like you just took and glued the rocks to the box and cut a hole in it. i like that. it looks more natural. thanks for idea.