How to save money & have fun

[crzy_kevo]

lol anji i have a friend that wont go near my tank cuz if she sees george she will cry

[anji1971]

And I have friends who simply won't come over at all!!

[infernalis]

And I have friends who simply won't come over at all!!

what are friends?

[Snake lover 3-25]

i have a friend that wont go near my tank cuz if she sees george she will cry

Why???? lol anji!!!

[crzy_kevo]

well you see she has a bad snake phobia

[Snake lover 3-25]

so she cries????

[Spiritwolf]

I use the ziploc plastic square shallow containers, cream cheese containers (Feisty right now is soaking in her cream cheese container version of a hot tub and looking at me), or the larger deeper ziplock plastic containers for water. With the smaller containers, I put a small rock in the center although so far none have ever been tipped over, the big swimming pool container for the adult garters has enough water in it that it's too heavy to tip over. I've also used empty plastic ice cream/sherbet containers for the adult garters (the common average size, 1/2 gallon I think is what it is). I also use cardboard boxes for dens. It was really funny when the babies I got last fall from Scott Felzer, first arrived and the boys had a large Gobstoppers box for a den and the girls had a large SugarBabies box for a den. Right now my corn girl has a Honey Maid cinnamon graham cracker box for a den. I cut a small hole in each side, one in back, and one in the top of the box too, so the snakes can crawl in and out of their dens from different directions. I have also found that the snakes enjoy cardboard toilet paper tubes and paper towel tubes. I usually cut a hole in the top in the middle of the tube or with paper towel tubes, cut a top hole in the middle and a side hole halfway between the middle and the ends, because the young snakes have a lot of fun going in and out of those holes. (And its hilarious to see a 3foot plus almost yearling cornsnake stuff her entire self inside a paper towel tube!)

I use the Carefresh bedding that I discussed in another post, it's inexpensive, soft, absorbent, safe, and the snakes love to tunnel through it. It's easy to deal with when changing and cleaning the cage and it doesn't make a big mess if it ends up in the water. I wouldn't want to see what a water dish and cage would look like after a snake crawled through dirt and water and mixed them together well!

[Spiritwolf]

Throw a towel/small blanket/sheet over your tanks when friends who are unappreciative of snakes come over. If they don't see the snakes and you don't mention the snakes, nobody will know they are there. When my mom, who is deathly afraid of snakes, came into my room one day to get online on my pcs, I covered the shelves of snake cages which are behind the pcs, with a dark colored bedsheet and she never knew they were there. If she had even suspected a snake was anywhere near her, she would have been petrified. She won't even walk into the woods because of fear of the possibility of running into a snake!

[Zephyr]

My grandpa gave me some hospital quality bed pans/medicine containers, and they are working better than anything I've used yet!

[infernalis]

More recent finds to help save money.

Tilapia and Salmon 4 oz fillet $1 at local dollar store.

Dog bowl with openings on bottom doubles as hide $1 at dollar general. Use as water bowl for larger baby snakes, 6 - 20 months. Larger size available for bigger snakes.

small water dish - free on top of each yogurt that has sprinkles or other treats on top. Best for neonates (small babies) to about 6 months, then the snake will tip it over a lot.

We just saw a giant enclosure made from an old TV, tell us how you save money....