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one way mirrored window tint in viv

KyGirl

KyGirl

New member
I am planning out another viv for a future snake and was wondering if snakes notice themselves in mirrors. The snake I currently have hides if she sees any movement in the room. I was wondering if I cover the plexiglass with one way mirror tint, if the mirror would bother her. In order for her not to be able to see out, the mirrored surface would have to face into the viv. Would she/he see themselves and think another snake was there. I used this tint on my Dad's sunroom. He wanted to sit out there and not have everyone seeing him but he could see them and watch what was going on in the world around him. It works great. I think the snake would be more active if she couldn't see outside her viv. The cat has been looking inside the viv and she really hates him. She actually struck the plexiglass a couple of times trying to get at him. I have been
moving things around to keep him (cat) from getting too close to her (snake) but even if he is across the room, she will stare him down and sometimes mock strick. If she couldn't see him, I think that would solve the problem.
 
Any kind of tank/viv will allow a snake to see out. If it was that stressful, we'd all have switched to opaque tubs long ago. I don't believe it's an issue for Corns in general. Maybe yours needs more hides and ground cover to feel a bit more secure? They will instinctively hide from "predators" like a cat - it's just a survival mechanism and is pretty normal behaviour for a Corn. Bear in mind that your babe doesn't hate the cat - she's terrified of it. However, new arrivals and youngsers are especially flighty and can settle down nicely over a few months. My Corns were never bothered by my cat. Maybe yours will eventually come to realise that the cat can't get at her.

The easiest solution is to keep that cat out of the room, or train it not to go near the tank. A couple of weeks of strategic water squirting with a plant misting gun, was enough to convince my cat that a particular action was not in her best interest. Managed to stop her clawing the furniture and curtains like that, with no more trauma to her than the odd patch of damp fur and some dented dignity!
 
I have 5 hides in the tank, 2 higher ledges, a "tree", and 2 inches of Aspen bedding at the moment. There is hardly any open area on the floor of her viv. Just around the edges. She is not a baby. She is 35 inches long at last shed. She just shed again but I haven't taken any new measurements yet. I ordered scales and some other things for her viv and a new viv I am working on. I am going to get a weight and new length measurement soon. I just thought that the one way tint would be a good idea if the mirrored surface wouldn't bother her. That way she wouldn't see movement outside her viv and would be more active. As long as I sit still and have the lights out she moves around a lot at night but some nights I work on crafts, plus I have to make frequent trips to check on my Dad and an elderly dog I have. I am working on getting my tom cat, Monster, to not go near the tank. A squirt bottle works wonders with him. LOL I am also setting up a fish tank so he has something else to distract him. My two oldest cats died in the last couple of months. One was 21 and the other was estimated to be around 17 years. Thats when he decided the snake was very interesting.

Some animals never notice a mirror and some animals do. I had one cat that would sit and stare at herself in the mirror and another cat that would attack a mirror when she saw herself. I was just curious if snakes would even notice their reflection.

I am getting another snake in few months and thought the window tint on his/her viv might make the snake feel more secure. I think I will experiment by taping the mirrored tint to the front of Pumpkins viv and see how she reacts.

I was watching a herping show on animal planet and they said snakes can't hear sound. They just feel vibration. I just always assumed snakes could hear some sound. I always make lots of noise when I am hiking in heavy cover so that the snakes have the chance to run for cover. I guess just heavy foot steps would work instead of "beating the bushes".

Again, thanks for all the help. I am ordering a few books on corn snakes so I can learn as much as possible on caring for a snake before purchasing another one. My "starter" snake came to me full grown.
 
@KyGirl, I have thought of doing the same. I have a hairless cat who is sensitive to the sun, so all our windows have a one-way mirror tint that also blocks UV.

The flaw in using this for your snake enclosure is that one-way mirror coatings do not have a set "mirror side" and "clear side", but rather are more reflective on whichever side is brighter. So during the day when it is brighter outside than inside our home, people outside can't see in. But at night that reverses, and if the blinds are not drawn, people outside can see in perfectly while inside the house we only see our reflections.

So to use one of these coatings on a vivarium so you can see in but your snake cannot see out, you'd need to light the vivarium several times brighter than the rest of your room, and such bright light would probably annoy your snake more than the original problem.
 
My snakes stay in a sealed room none of my dogs or cats can get into it. I still cover 3 sides of my Viv's with scenery cling. My snakes are never bothered in the room except by me for spot cleaning or feeding. I have 3 hides in each with ground cover between the hides. I haven't raised corns very long but have had rat snakes most of my life. My corns like the closed in looking space. I have all my snakes in 20L tanks even small snakes. With the ground cover and cling they seem to feel very secure because there out and about a good bit of the day.
 
Your right electrofusion. I never even thought about that before I set out on my experiment. Good in theory, not in practice. I wonder if two way mirrors work the same way?

I got the cat a fish tank to occupy him. LOL He has decided the fish are more interesting than the snake. Unless I get the snake out. Then I have to lock him out of the room.

I have a total of 7 hides plus 2 ledges covered with plants, a hollow tube, and lots of artificial plants. I also have around 4 inches of substrate because she likes to burrow. She used to be very active until the weather cooled. Plus we had an earthquake a couple of weeks ago and have been having aftershocks. Things have calmed down now and she started moving around more. Today was feed day so she will go back to hiding for a few days. I enjoy watching her explore. I hope she gets active again soon. I am enjoying having her as a pet and can't wait to add another one.
 
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