Mesh Lid Issue In An Otherwise Great Enclosure

[ra94131]

I have a nice enclosure setup for my new Jungle Carpet Python that is holding temperatures/humidity great, gives the little guy plenty of room and some to grow into (and plenty of hides to compensate for the extra space), and looks pretty nice as well. The one issue is the mesh lid that is made of metal and really worries me.

Although I haven't had any nose rubbing issues yet, I feel like the material could cause a problem really quick if the snake did start "nosing" around up top. Being a semi-arboreal snake (more so as a baby/juvenile), he spends a good amount of time in the top half of the enclosure and its been progressively worrying me more and more. (Once again, despite the fact that to this point he seems to have little/no interest in rubbing.)

My question is: does anyone have any suggestions for a material I could attach to the bottom of the mesh lid that would still allow good light/heat/etc. transfer, but providing a less abrasive surface? (If you've done this before, any tips on attaching the fabric would be great as well.)

I was thinking of looking around for some smaller, non-metallic mesh similar to a window screen, but I know there are normally a lot of good ideas around here so I thought I'd see what you guys thought.

Thanks!

(And here's a quick picture of the little guy, my Jungle Carpet Python named Ivan. He's definitely eating F/T rat pinkies like a champ.)

http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u416/ra94131/vlcsnap-2012-08-05-00h22m37s200.png

[ra94131]

I thought I'd post a reply myself since I found a pretty good solution to this problem. (Ideally, do not use any sort of mesh in the first place, but this is a great fix that definitely gives me some piece of mind.)

I found a product by Phifer called PetScreen that is used for screen doors to prevent tearing/damage from dogs and cats, but it is a nice soft plastic w/o sharp edges that I tightly attached below the screen. This surface is MUCH less abrasive and I don't feel nervous about the little guy rubbing up on it a bit at all.

It was about $13 at Home Depot for way more material than I needed. You can order smaller sections online as well, but with shipping it is probably better to get it from a local hardware store if you have that option.

A few notes of caution:

-Ensure it is TIGHTLY attached to the mesh, because you would not want to risk your snake getting trapped between the PetScreen and metal mesh
-This does block a good amount of UV light, so for animals that need this type of light it would not be a good choice
-Nose rub injuries are definitely still a possibility if your snake is stressed or feels cramped. I wanted this to ensure there would be no accidental injuries from normal behavior.
-While heat resistant, I do not know how good this would be for very high heat lamps. The highest it is exposed to in my enclosure is 100 F.
-I would like to re-iterate that if creating a cage from scratch, I would suggest not using metal mesh at all, but if you have an otherwise good enclosure this is a good workaround for you and your snake.

So many times I search for a solution only to find someone else with the same problem, so I wanted to make sure anyone searching for this finds a solution, too.