Safe to use as a hide?

[kiiarah]

The other day at work I noticed some cardboard sitting by the trash that looked perfect for a snake hide. These are the end caps that they use to hold large printer cartridges in place in the packaging. I trimmed them so only the moulded part was left. They even had the shape for the entrance already built in. So my question is would these be a safe material for a hide. My only concern had been that since they are some kind of reconstituted and dried cardboard they are softer and "dustier" than normal cardboard. I am not sure how sensitive ball pythons are to airborne dust and particulates so I thought I would run the idea by everyone here. I realize these would have to be temporary since they couldn't be sanitized, but I thought it may be a good test hide. The ones he has now are half logs, so they seem really exposed. He uses the ones he has now and seems happy enough, but I thought maybe the added security of more of a cave style hide might be good for him. I was hoping to throw these in his tank at some point and see if he seems to prefer them. If he likes them I may invest in some cleanable hides with only one entrance. http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABAAAAAQCAMAAAA oLQ9TAAACOlBMVEXq6e3Lx7SrpHqknXi8uazi4ujr6u65qVTAq jLWvkXjy1jdxlrArUiSgi56cUHh4ejj4NbMtDX03VT//XH//3n//3r/+3z/8nv54nfFslhyZSXMysvr6uvYvzf/8mL//3/2+H3//5L//5X474D/9YXPvGduYSfg3+XPu07/61iNj00AAABHRzD//6f//6lOTjaKgk3/9ImxoVlvZDrq6OXpz0D//mv//45QUDIGBgz//63//7EODBFJSjH//5nXwnV9bjXe3eDb1K744E///3D//4v8+5GUlFze3pH//7T//7Xi4ZiTkmD6+5n//5bn0H2XiE62sKPJu3L95ln//3T//4r//6D//6///7D//7j//6z//5fr1IGml1+QiGfFuHb23lb//3bd3XTZ2X///6b//6r//6vT1IXm24Ht14SjlV2UjW3TzrDfxkP//3LCxGAmJR7//6T//6X//7IhIxzTwHThzYCRgk27tqno5+m5pS/532D//4RfYTRkZD///65WWTpyZ0H/9JO6qW18bTfi4eSgk0fKtkH96Gn//4NwcTo0NiNwc0hvcUgyMyJ+cUX/9ZDPvHWShFF9c0fq6vCIehzFskjw2Wb//4Dx4HK0pVm1pFvu2Hr/7YjJuHCYilZrXivp6O/d3N9yZReikjXJtlnfymft2HHo1HPPvGuunl6BdkBiVibc293s7 PWDfl5jWBd7bimNgD+JfEFwZC9YTh+Be17s7PTs7PbCwL6Zlom YlYjFw8L////hVcG3AAAAvnRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8Ak7DThgAAAJdJREFUGNNj3MsABM6MILADxGQECngywsA6sEAw IwIsAgrEg1lAKTCYxsLAw/iNG8z+wwqSYDQBsT/zAYn3QiAmC4jJyA8iBMDqWCAU4yNZsCqgAC/ETO2vMp/4EAKvxBlPWEojqeBbH6T9RQqiee9JRmSgxcLAhyLAwMKg+RSJL wAUYJD+COezMYAEGPgZfoN4v9lA3gcAFH4a30cXTbEAAAAASUV ORK5CYII=

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee277/tarynt_gryph/SAM_1059_zps41ff2390.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee277/tarynt_gryph/SAM_1061_zpse345b8fd.jpg

[pdomensis]

I like them. I would guess the dust wouldn't be a problem. You could spray them with a lacquer or mod-podge to keep the dust down and make them last longer. You could also coat them with grout if you wanted something more durable and rock-like.

[kiiarah]

I like the grout idea, is there anything I would need to know before doing that. For instance, do certain types of grout contain harmful chemicals or anything? It would be neat to be able to clean them and use them regularly. I couldn't believe just how rock like they looked on their own. Not bad for some scrap cardboard. What do most people use as a material for building hides?

[pdomensis]

I followed this guys instructions, and after a few tries got pretty good at it. Fake rock for the beginner (http://www.lizard-landscapes.com/Fake-rock-wall-beginner.html)