Warning about duct tape in your snake tank/ viv

Stevothompson22 · 05-04-12, 02:12 PM

Hey guys I noticed this thread has already been posted.
But I think this is one thing that people should not forget EVER!
Due to the damage this can do to snake.
I recently discovered my 13 month old corn snake in the bottom of my vivarium
Covered in duct tap that i had recently used to hold up some wires for my blue and green LED tap light I had installed in my vivarium.
The corn was covered in it and was in a bad way she had struggled to get free and made this hundreds of times worse for her self
I had to use warm water and patrolium gelly to free the snake from the tape
At 1st I thought she was going to die due to the state of her I got her free of the tape and she is now missing alot of scales and and colour on her left side
She is now ok and feeding well and is still a pleasure to handle i will post a photo as soon as I can.
So for anyone who has any type of INDUSTRIAL TAPE in the viv / tank remove it
As soon as you can before this happens to you and try and find a diferent way to stick things
Because the feeling you get when you see your baby in that state and it's all your fault is not a good one and is very upsetting for you and your reptile

infernalis · 05-04-12, 02:15 PM

I had to euthanize a snake once because it escaped the deli cup during shipping, when the box arrived at my house the tape had already pulled off half the snake's skin.

StudentoReptile · 05-04-12, 02:40 PM

I had something similar happen with masking tape. Had a baby snake out trying to assist feeding, and I wasn't paying attention to the tail. It somehow found a flap of masking tape sticking up from something and it ended up tearing a sizable portion of scales off the snake's posterior. I ended up losing the snake.

marvelfreak · 05-04-12, 03:45 PM

Had a buddy with a albino ball python that got out of it's cage. In the process it got wrap up in the duct tape he had use to hold the lid down. The tape was wrap around it's head and upper body. It fought so hard to get away it ripped almost all it skin off. When he found it it was dead. It was nothing but flesh and blood. Poor thing was literally skinned alive.

Skumbo · 05-04-12, 05:42 PM

I keep any tape or adhesive NOWHERE NEAR my snakes. Even around/near/as much as possible within the room the snakes are in. Just in case. Not worth the risk!

Brently · 05-04-12, 06:49 PM

The only adhesives I use in my viv is non toxic caulk and I do have two strips of adhesive velcro for a battery operated light. The velcro is quite strong and won't even pull free when I pull on the light so there is no issue there. And since I have to take the light down every couple of days I get to check and see if it begins to pull up. I am sorry to hear about the tape problem. One of those things that you just wouldn't suspect until it happens I guess.

Skumbo · 05-04-12, 07:39 PM

Oh! I figured id add in case someones looking to see if tape is ok..

I asked on this forum and was given the idea of hot glue, since it'll be fine when its not hot and poses no issue to the snake if they dislodge whatever its holding down

Charlie64 · 05-04-12, 07:46 PM

This thread is going to give me nightmares! :O, That makes me wonder, will hot glue stick to glass? Because my probes have suction cups on them which always fail, leaving dangling temperature probes.

jaleely · 05-04-12, 10:12 PM

I saw on another site, i think, where someone used hot glue to glue something for their snake cage and dripped hot glue on the snakes tail...which then thrashed around and got bedding stuck to it as well.

Stevothompson22 · 05-05-12, 12:06 AM

A Hot glue gun would work if you obviously took the snakes out of the tank 1st
And gave time to dry before putting them back in the tank.
And for anyone one wanting to light there tanks up as a display try using LED tap lighting its great for vivariums it's light weight bright and when you mix different colours and place them correctly they look great shining down a rock background creates shadows bright spots and dull spots I have blue and green and it's look great at night with the plants I have also LED tap lights come with an adhesive backing so no need for tape or glue and what keeps your snake happy and alive lol they can not be pulls off easy atall and it is water proof and are very cheap to buy £15/$20 ish for 15 meters but you can also find it for cheaper and that would do about 20 tanks lol
Best place to find this is eBay

Skumbo · 05-07-12, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlie64

This thread is going to give me nightmares! :O, That makes me wonder, will hot glue stick to glass? Because my probes have suction cups on them which always fail, leaving dangling temperature probes.

This is what i used hot glue for, gluing the suction cup down.

I (obviously) moved my snake to a different enclosure (i put it in a bin and fed it, i normally dont use feeding bins but i figured hed be distracted instead of freaking out wondering why hes in a bin) then let it cool completely before putting him back. anyone using hot glue near a snake is:

A. Stupid

or

B. Negligent

or

C. Negligently Stupid

DeesBalls · 05-07-12, 05:39 PM

what would force anyone to put tape near a snake in the 1st place... just doesnt make scence to me.

CDN_Blood · 05-07-12, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeEuGi

what would force anyone to put tape near a snake in the 1st place... just doesnt make scence to me.

Force? No-no. That's ignorance and nothing more.

Skumbo · 05-07-12, 09:00 PM

I think breeders should start putting "dont put tape anywhere near a snake" in all the general care packets, online things, etc.

Skits · 05-08-12, 10:53 AM

I used duct tape once in my ball pythons tank, I used it to hold up a plant decoration and would have never expected him to get to it. He climbed up the plant and got himself stuck on it, luckily I found him right away. I was able to slowly peel it off with a wet q-tip. It took about 2 hours to safely remove it off him but he was fine. It really taught me to be extra careful with snakes and to never use tape around them! I was very lucky.