• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Escaping From Sterlite

manog

manog

Closet Creation Herps
I use the Sterlite 27 qt. boxes and my female normal escapes somehow. Anyone have any ideas as to making those lids escape proof? She seems to be wedging herself between the lid and box. Any prior experiences and helps would be great. Oh, my snake is about 36 inches long- not a hatchling!
 
Have you tried using black binder clips around the edges of the lid to hold it down tighter?
 
Binder clips to hold the lid on.
Elastic straps with velco around the tub and lid.
Build a rack where you don't need to use the lids.

D80

zcagebreeder.jpg
 
My snakes are in my classroom at school, so I take precautions to avoid the chance of escapee's. The chances of a snake leveraging the box out and escaping are slim to none, but I don't put anything to chance! :) It also provides me a visual that everyone's secure each day. It also makes it a bit more difficult for a box to be bumped forward or inadvertantly slid forward allowing for a possible escape.

D80
 
I have been using the Sterilites of varying sizes for a couple of years now and am just not experiencing the same daunting problems.

Black binder clips however did not deter my kingsnake from escaping for a third time. After that, I tossed out his Sterilite entirely. I still have yet to find him. But when I do, a new Rubbermaid with the locking ends will be his new home for a while.

Right now after 4 years of keeping snakes, I have 5 MIA in the past few months alone. That's more than in my entire snake keeping history combined. And all can be attributed to newer Sterilites.

Now, just about all of the smaller ones I have rubber-banded the lids down. While making it totally inconvenient for me to get into, the snakes have stayed put.

I have found:

- Sterilite lids suck, period. The newer ones are more "flimsy" than the older ones, so if they're in a warm room and stacked, they will buckle and leave gaps big enough for snakes to escape.

- Not to mention buckling, but since they're made of a softer material than before, the locking ends don't stay locked very well if pressure is applied in the right places.

- Newer Sterilite tubs aren't above this 'flimsy when heated' problem either. In order to make them more clear, the material is thinner it seems.


Hopefully after this season I can find the funds to either buy a furnished rack or take on the task to build my own. That's about the only way to negate the need for crappy lids.
 
We use 10" bungee cords on the 35 qt Sterilites and they work fine. Two per tub, or four for my Children's python.
 
I drill small holes through the lid and the lip of the container and then secure them with bag ties. I started doing this after an escape, and have not had any escapes since. Also, It helps use up all of the garbage bag twist ties that I never use on the garbage bags! LOL.
 
tai_pan1 said:
I drill small holes through the lid and the lip of the container and then secure them with bag ties. I started doing this after an escape, and have not had any escapes since. Also, It helps use up all of the garbage bag twist ties that I never use on the garbage bags! LOL.
Click to expand...
That's a great idea. I've noticed that the binder clips slip a little. Nice pyro!
 
I am still using one sterilite. I cut 1 inch strips from craft foam, (the dense stuff that comes in colors) and glued it flat side down around the ENTIRE edge of the tub. It helps fill the gaps, adds an additional barrier to negotiate, and makes the lid tighter. I used nontoxic adhesive-a fabric glue called Jone's Tones clear. I've also used aquarium silicone.

I have had weather stripping and tubing suggested as options also.
 
I believe my hatchling escaped from a geo box. My parents keep saying I left the lid off but I don't think so. Is this possible?

He turned up 3 months later a foot longer and double the width. We found him in the compost heap hence the name compost.
 
I noticed that on the larger sterlites nothing is securing the lid around the middle so it lifts from the tub. I picked up a bag of super size rubber bands from Office Depot and put one around the tub about 1/3 of the way in on each side. I don't have a rack yet so this works out good for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top