What Have You Used for a Hide + Water Dish

[jjspirko]

Ok let’s try to get a good learning thread going here.

Everyone post the different things you have used for "hide boxes" for your snakes. If you keep one or two going to the pet store for a fancy cave or log and a molded dish is no problem. I happen to breed house snake and have like 30 of them and that can be expensive. In totlal I keep over 40 snakes so to have a hide on both sides of each viv that would be 80 hides. So I have had to get creative.

Here are some creative hides I have made or adapted from cheap stuff

One - Shotgun shell boxes I tape them up and cut the bottom out and a hole or two for entry by the snake. I burry them slightly in the aspen shavings and the little house snakes and baby corns are in hog heaven. Price free.

Two - Paper towel rolls work great for smaller snakes, you can fully burry them in the substrait and it make not just a hide but a cool little tunnel for the guys. I have my wife save the rolls from wrapping paper at Christmas time as well for bigger snakes. My male house snakes even as adults use these. Price free.

Three - Plastic bottoms from plastic flower pots. You can get them at Target, Walmart or any Garden store. They come in many sizes and you just cut a hole in the side of them and they make great easy to clean hides. They have the advantage of being flat on top so you can put water dish on top of them to conserve floor space for your snakes. Cost 50 cents to a buck fifty depending on size.

Four - Using left over scrap wood you build create a box that is just high enough to provide an adaquate space for your snake. This can just be two sides and a piece of plywood for the top. Set it so it is partly burried in the substrait and you have again a flat surface for water dishes or plants or just allowing for more floor space. Cost free if you have scrap wood if you have to buy the wood it is still about a buck each

Creative Water Bowls

One - Water dishes that are heavy and won’t get tipped are like 8 bucks at Petco but go to target in the kitchen section and find a bowl they call a "Ramkin Dish". They are used for like mini suflets, dipping sauces, tarts etc. They are made from heavy coated ceramic and cost about a buck fifty. These are great for large snakes that don’t need to soak in a bowl or smaller snakes that do. There are two sizes and neither are real big but my corns and adult house snakes are served well by them and don’t tip them over.

Two - When your snakes are small you can get small dog/cat water bowls at Target for about 50-80 cents. They have space under them and if you make a hole for access to under it you get a hide and water bowl in one. Some actually don’t even need a hole Cost again 50-80 cents.

Three - The same plastic flower pot bottoms for hides make good water dishes too. Only if you use slightly larger ones and pull the substrait back and put them firmly on the bottom of the viv. Then push the substrait back around them. If they are on the bottom of the viv the water itself gives them the weight to keep them firm and not tip. I have also glued two of them back to back and cut access in only one. Fill the top one and you got a hybrid water hole and hide in one. Make the hide a bit bigger then the one for water and you get mucho stability. JUST BE SURE TO USE a non toxic glue. Cost 50 cents to a buck fifty depending on size.

I know some people use tera cota pot bottoms but the plastic ones are not just cheaper but non pourous so they can’t harbor bacteria and disease.

I will try to post some pics of this stuff later to make it more clear. But lets keep this one rolling what have you used for low cost alternatives for hides and water dishes.

Jack

 

[Bobo's Mama]

I have used all kinds of things! Right now I am using a plastic square tissue box cover. I got it at the thrift store for 50 cents. My sub-adult Amel just loves his. It already has a hole in it at the top and its like a dark cave at the bottom. I've used an upside down wicker basket with a hole cut in the side. That was 25 cents. I've used plastic butter containters, cottage cheese containers, yougurt containers. All free since you would just throw them away otherwise. For water bowls, I've used cat and dog bowls, always ceramic, because to me plastic is more tippable. I've seen that some people use Sculpy clay to make their own hides and bowls. If you use the search function here, you will find some ideas of the Sculpy hides that people have made. Also lots of people use old cardboard boxes, like the ones that frozen food comes in. Or Mac & Cheese boxes. You can just throw them away when they get pooped on. Cool thread!

 

[sbourget]

I have a pair of the store bought hides, but I've also used toilet paper rolls, a turtle ice cream box, a sour cream container with moss inside for a moist hide, A paper towel roll suspended between two of those shape-able vines (spur absolutely loves climbing up and sitting in there with a coil and his head peeking out) I've also used a couple of those plastic cereal box things with the lid on top, you just take off the smaller flip top and my Boa loved that until he out grew it.

 

[jjspirko]

I have also found that many snakes like elevated hides. This is hard to create on semi large scale breeding with rack because the tubs are shallow but I do try to provide some elevated hides for my display animals.

Good tip on the vines with the towell roll.

I find if you give taiwan beautites a choice between a hide on the floor and an elevated one they almost never choose the one on the floor. Corns seem to use both depending on their mood at the time.

I would suppose other snake species have similar preferences,

 

[jjspirko]

I have also found that many snakes like elevated hides. This is hard to create on semi large scale breeding with rack because the tubs are shallow but I do try to provide some elevated hides for my display animals.

Good tip on the vines with the towell roll.

I find if you give taiwan beautites a choice between a hide on the floor and an elevated one they almost never choose the one on the floor. Corns seem to use both depending on their mood at the time.

I would suppose other snake species have similar preferences,

 

[jjspirko]

DOH!

Sorry about the double post my connection dropped for a bit and I hit reload. :sidestep:

 

[ascottlaw]

I'm using 4-5 inch sections of PVC pipe. Its cheap and easy to clean. If you put damp moss in the warm side hide it bumps up the humidity a little.

 

[ghosthousecorns]

I've been using cheapy pet dishes from the dollar store for water, and terracotta pots cut in half for hides. I am always looking in thriftstores for stuff I can use as well.
I pruned a big apple tree in my yard and have a bunch of branches I am drying for things to climb on.
Lately I have been experimenting with lightweight plastic flower pots, the black one gallon ones are easy to cut in half. They are kind of lightweight though so the snakes move them around. My kingsnake likes to flip his over and then sit inside it like a little boat lol.
I've been meaning to get some fimo or sculpey clay and bake up a few hides, have seen a thread on here about this. My hatchlings like their tp / paper towel cardboard rolls.

 

[Bobo's Mama]

My hatchlings like their tp / paper towel cardboard rolls.

I've got a 280g Amel that STILL likes paper towel rolls! I have 2 stuck together and he will squish himself in them somehow.

 

[MrMarblz]

I have a corn that's only 3 or 4 months old and I was also trying to think of a good cheap hide for her. Since I live in a college house I looked at the hallway floor and saw an empty beer bottle. I grabbed it, washed it out and bam she loves it! So if you enjoy a tasty beverage why don't you share the love w/ your young snakes. Right now mine's hiding in a Rolling Rock bottle

 

[Blue Apple Herps]

I've used everything from cardboard tubes, scrap PVC tubing, boxes, store bought, you name it. I'm currently using these from IKEA; they double as a hide and water bowl. They're great because they're only 25¢. All of my yearlings and small adults absolutely love them; they don't even use their other hides any more.

For my adults I use the plastic water basins used to collect water from pots (basically plastic terracota (sp?)). I just use my dremel to make an opening. They're nice and low and the snakes love them.

 

[foxykitty911]

I have a paint tray that I use for water for my garter snake. Well paint trays have a deep end and a shallow end. My garter likes to dig a hole into the substrate under the paint tray and hide down there.Sometimes he will pop his head out and just watch me.

 

[jjspirko]

We just finaly broke down and got an AWESOME DSLR camera the new Sony Alpha a 10 MP beauty that I really don't know how to fully use yet but I had to take some shots right away so figured I would post some pics of the stuff I was talking about.

First here is the hides I make out of flower pot bottoms,

Ok next here is how I burry them in the aspen you can see how if makes a nice dark hide the snakes of all species just love this,

Then this is how I burry the paper towel rolls to make tunnels. I exposed the end for this picture normally I completely cover them and just leave a small opening on both ends.

Next these are the "ramkin dishes" I mentioned. These are really nice for water dishes and under two bucks. I use them for my breeding house snake females because the dummies lay eggs in the water dish if you give them one big enough to get in and of course then the eggs die.

Also while I had the slick new camera out I took some shots of some of my snakes to share.


First my male transvaal phase African House Snake. He is wild caught from the Highveld if you look close you can see what is left of a wound on his back. He is not amel or hypo this is the natural color of this phase,

Next is my stiped zululand phase female. This girl is just beautiful.

Last is my stud of a Tanzanian Red he spends his days making babies with 5 beautiful red headed gals. Life is tough for him huh?

Before the board cops jump me all the images are on my server so it is not hurting Rich's storage or bandwith,