Time

[bkhuff1s]

Ok so as you guys know I have 7 Puget garters. Five of them are in a rack system. Two in a twenty gallon aquarium. In order to condense my cleaning time, I'm moving the five into a fifty gallon aquarium. I bought a huge fake grass outside patio mat, and cut out a piece to fit into the aquarium. I was going to use Velcro to keep them from getting under it and making a mess. I can't figure out how to hold it down.

If not Velcro any other idea's on how to keep them from getting under it?

The aquarium is heavy and I'd rather not carry it down the stairs to clean it out every week.

[bkhuff1s]

Thoughts?

[guidofatherof5]

Please don't use any kind of tape or sticky substance. It's a death trap for snakes.
Maybe if you place the water dish and hide, rocks or other items as weight to keep the edges down on the ends. Snakes naturally look to get under things.
Best of luck.

[Kevinh583]

Those adhesive magnetic strips might work. Should secure it tight enough to keep snake from slipping through and would be easier to keep clean than a velcro strip.

[guidofatherof5]

Those adhesive magnetic strips might work. Should secure it tight enough to keep snake from slipping through and would be easier to keep clean than a velcro strip.

I would have to say No to those. They have a adhesive back.
"There's no way that a snake could get stuck to one of those, right?" Don't count on it. I'd try to come up with something else. Just my opinion.

[Kevinh583]

I would have to say No to those. They have a adhesive back.
"There's no way that a snake could get stuck to one of those, right?" Don't count on it. I'd try to come up with something else. Just my opinion.

You're right, I hadn't thought it through. I was just thinking that it would work for applying to the bottom of the tank. He would definately need something else to secure it to the bottom of the carpet, an epoxy glue might work there.

Unless there is also a problem with toxicity of adhesive tapes/glues, in which case I need to reevaluate my own setup since I have secured a couple items to the glass using double sided tape.

[drache]

You're right, I hadn't thought it through. I was just thinking that it would work for applying to the bottom of the tank. He would definately need something else to secure it to the bottom of the carpet, an epoxy glue might work there.

Unless there is also a problem with toxicity of adhesive tapes/glues, in which case I need to reevaluate my own setup since I have secured a couple items to the glass using double sided tape.

why would you want to glue something like that to the bottom of the tank?
it'll be impossible to clean at all
this is something like astroturf, right?
regardless
I cannot see how you would glue any kind of fiber product on the bottom of your tank and not end up with problems

[bkhuff1s]

After caring for a larger group of snakes I'm going to have to do something to cut down on the amount of time I've been spending, cleaning out the rack system is a big part of it. I've got to much on my plate next semester to do everything.

[oki-inu]

I agree 100% with Steve, don't use any kind of tape or adhesive. My son built a hide and used a little duct tape. I didn't think anything of it because it looked solid and no loose ends. The next morning he brings me a snake stuck to the tape. The snake would not pull off without killing it. I was able to remove it by using a little nail polish remover on a q-tip, no harm to the snake but I will never make that mistake again.

[guidofatherof5]

I agree 100% with Steve, don't use any kind of tape or adhesive. My son built a hide and used a little duct tape. I didn't think anything of it because it looked solid and no loose ends. The next morning he brings me a snake stuck to the tape. The snake would not pull off without killing it. I was able to remove it by using a little nail polish remover on a q-tip, no harm to the snake but I will never make that mistake again.

For future reference, removing a snake or any scaled animal from tape is easier(I didn't say easy) if you pour olive oil(cooking oil) on the affected area. Then you take your fingernail and carefully scrape between the adhesive and snake body. You may lose a few scales but it's well worth it considering the alternative.