DIY Snake Enrichment!

[jovamabob]

So Sebby loves climbing on the thermostat probe wire and while that exploring is good for him, it moves the probe which sets off the thermostat temperature alarm. You may have noticed that your snake also loves to climb things in the enclosure and likes to investigate new things. I wanted to get some of those fake vines for him to climb around on, but they’re expensive and money is short. So i got a ball of string for £1 and a pack of five suction cups for another £1 then set about making my own!
Ok so they’re not gonna look like vines, but they’ll do the same job. First i threaded all the suction cups onto my ball of string then tied off the end one.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdszq2ZQdr1ry9h3jo1_1280.jpg

Then go to your snakes enclosure, and take off the lid or open the doors. Deal with surprise snake escape attempt number 29580.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdszq2ZQdr1ry9h3jo2_1280.jpg

Then just put stretch out the string to where you want it to go and hold it in place with each suction cup. Tie off the end one and bam! Your Done! This is super easy to do, takes less than 5 minutes and you can remove it to change it around or for easy cleaning.For bigger snakes you could use thin rope and larger suction cups or even eyelets in wooden vivs. Just add a snake and observe :D

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdszq2ZQdr1ry9h3jo3_1280.jpg

[Aaron_S]

Neat. Guess you won't mind re-doing it every time it poops on the thread.

[Gungirl]

Normally people put in perches ( vines, branches ) Not many snakes are small enough that a few suction cups and some string will hold their weight.

[jovamabob]

Ah have no money so perches and vines were outta the question. I wanted to do something quick and simple to give him something to do while im having a very busy week and can't handle him as much. I suspect those screw in eyelets and a bit of rope could do bigger snakes :)

[Danimal]

If the suction cups don't work out, find a place that sells those 3M Command removable stickies and use those. I had a hammock that kept pulling loose so I went to those. Now I use them to hang just about everything. If the thread gets messy use something coated like wire, just make sure you terminate the ends safely. :)

[jovamabob]

Yeah i wanteds to use some of that washing line cable thats steel coated in plastic but i don't have anything to cut the wire so decided to leave that for another day! :)

The suction cups have been up a few days and so far are holding tight - he has a similar one on the plastic plant that holds his entire weight so i figure they'll do ok till he's in the wooden viv and i can use eyelets and rope :D

[millertime89]

cut down some small branches and soak and bleach, then let air dry for 24 hours and finally bake them at 150 for an hour to kill anything that might be on them.

[Gungirl]

Lol.. That is a lot of work Kyle.

I simply take a stick from outside.. look it over. If I don't see anything living on/in it I place it in the viv, I don't wash or bleach them.

Snakes do not need 100% sterile set ups.. Clean yes, free from mold yes but not sterile.

[Pareeeee]

I don't agree with using the sticky 3M things, IMO never ever put anything sticky in your snake's tank. A lot of people have accidents with tape or those stick-on thermometers. The snake pulls them off, gets stuck to the tape and then you have to try to get it off - damaging scales and skin.

[Sophia'sSophia]

What a neat idea!
Props on the creativity!

Definitely going to try this out with my neophytes and ribbon snakes, they'll get a kick outta this.

[SnakeyJay]

Just get a small branch, cut to size then bolt it straight through the viv... For the cost of a decent wood screw. :) I do this for all my snakes and they make good use of it.

[jovamabob]

Wanted to do this for the hatchlings, but didn't want to buy masses of suction cups or use tape. Started threading the string through and realised i have loads of toilet roll tubes! Threaded them on to the string so that they move around a little and they love them :D If they poop in them its no big deal, its just a loo roll tube :)

http://25.media.tumblr.com/c88ab72d77d3310739369813804d5fb2/tumblr_memvg3IkpM1ry9h3jo1_1280.jpg
http://24.media.tumblr.com/0a64cf2b432b85b488069eb24b8253e5/tumblr_memvg3IkpM1ry9h3jo2_1280.jpg

[stephanbakir]

If the suction cups don't work out, find a place that sells those 3M Command removable stickies and use those. I had a hammock that kept pulling loose so I went to those. Now I use them to hang just about everything. If the thread gets messy use something coated like wire, just make sure you terminate the ends safely. :)

I don't agree with using the sticky 3M things, IMO never ever put anything sticky in your snake's tank. A lot of people have accidents with tape or those stick-on thermometers. The snake pulls them off, gets stuck to the tape and then you have to try to get it off - damaging scales and skin.

I would NEVER use anything adhesive in any reptile enclosure for the reasons, however when I worked at the zoo for a short time they showed me an awesome product that saved a few lives http://theexpiredmeter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/goo-gone.jpg

Its supposedly not oraly toxic, but I would be sure not to use it anywhere close to the face/vent and any wounds. Rinse it off after.
If you can avoid using it, I would, but in a potentially gnarly situation I'd use it for sure.

We had a garter snake come in that a woman found in her yard, it was quite literally wrapped in duct tape, this got it all off in minutes.