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.

[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.

[ConcinusMan]

Agreed. I lost a beloved concinnus that way. NO ADHESIVES anywhere near your snakes, period. What I don't understand is how a 50 gallon tank is going to make it faster to clean. A rack system should be so much easier and faster.

However, I have a 55 gallon long and I used a liner for a very long time. Now I have an inch of bark/coconut fiber on top of the liner. If the liner is cut to fit precisely, the snakes shouldn't get under it. At least, mine didn't. Well, not exactly true. One of the group of snakes found a way under one edge of it. I just put a rock on that spot and it never happened again. There is plenty of fake plants, moss, and places for my snakes to hide, and they are comfortable. For the most part, they aren't looking for a way out or a place to hide under the liner because they have plenty of easy places to hide.

Anyway, I still use the liner even though I have substrate. Makes it easy to just roll up the liner, substrate and all, and carry it outside to dump it. Might want to consider trying that, and also consider if your snakes are always looking for a way out or always getting under the liner, it's usually because you're not providing them with adequate cover, they aren't comfortable, or there is not enough places to hide so they go under the liner instead. In other words, give them an alternative that they like, and make it harder for them to go under it, and they will stop doing it.

Personally, I don't think they like the feel of those fake plastic grass liners on their bellies. Get something like outdoor carpet/revere rug material. It's much better and when combined with just a little substrate to cover it, you can get away with using less substrate (it won't scoot around like it does on glass) and it's easy to roll up and dump the substrate.

[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.

[drache]

definitely no tape
have you considered giving them a litter pan with something they can burrow in?
I use cage carpet in most of my cages, and I find that some snakes just like to burrow, and will find a way
many of my cages are too big to carry, so when I do use a burrowing type substrate, I get the stuff out with a small dustpan and the vacuum; after that the work is the same, because using cage carpet doesn't mean nothing gets on the glass underneath - still have to clean the tank bottom and sides, with a basic spray-soak-scrub-wipe procedure