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Tape - Had an Emergency Today b/c of it

schnebbles

schnebbles

New member
I know I've read not to tape down thermostat probes & stuff in the viv. I used aquarium sealer to hold all of that stuff down

I have a small snake I had in a kritter keeper that I had taped the top so she couldn't get out. The kritter keeper was sitting in the viv with another small snake.

Today I had a guy coming to pick up some mice and he wanted to see the snakes and I opened up that viv only to find my baby who lives in the actual viv, stuck to tape that was on top of the kritter keeper. I didn't think of him getting tangled in it. I had taped it and thought it was safe.

Thank God this guy arrived! He was so nice, helped me get my baby un-stuck. i hope he's ok - everything is looking good but now one eye looks like it's blue. I hope that on his next shed it will be ok. He had it stuck on his head, middle section and tail section. It was awful. We just put the whole thing in some water in the sink and he was the one who worked the snake free.

It was very scary, so I'm reminding everyone DO NOT USE TAPE! I was afraid it wasn't going to come off of him without ripping his skin but after probably an 45 min at least, the guy got him all free.

I put him back in his viv to get unstressed and he came out and got some water so that was a good sign. I put the other snake in a tupperware bin that is safe. I feel so bad. I don't know how long he was stuck and it would have been longer b/c tonight is feeding and I wouldn't have opened up the viv until then. Talk about perfect timing.
 
Great timing! And nice that you had an extra pair of hands to help. Don't beat yourself up too much I'm sure we all have and will do things we probably shouldn't but this was a happy ending! :) I like happy endings!
 
Poor baby!

For future reference, any kind of cooking oil or baby oil will help get tape off of a snake.
 
Nanci - I wouldn't have known that or thought of it but it makes good sense.

I was so scared, when I first saw him I thought he might be dead. He's moving all around so I think he'll be fine.

This guy was so patient too, I was really glad he was here.

No snakes of mine will be anywhere near tape again.
 
Yeah I have a piece of tape in my snake's tank...
I went a little overboard when I first got my snake decorating his tank. I had these vines, and I wanted to attach them to the roof. So I stuck a piece of wire through the screen to secure the vine.
I did this at another section too, but once he pulled on the vine too hard, and the wire ripped through the screen. (heh never underestimate the strength of your snake)
So I have a small piece of duct tape where the hole is, on the ceiling of the tank. I'm probably not gonna worry about it, but you think he might be able to peel the tape off and hurt himself on the frayed ends of the screen mesh?
 
7legion77 said:
Yeah I have a piece of tape in my snake's tank...
I went a little overboard when I first got my snake decorating his tank. I had these vines, and I wanted to attach them to the roof. So I stuck a piece of wire through the screen to secure the vine.
I did this at another section too, but once he pulled on the vine too hard, and the wire ripped through the screen. (heh never underestimate the strength of your snake)
So I have a small piece of duct tape where the hole is, on the ceiling of the tank. I'm probably not gonna worry about it, but you think he might be able to peel the tape off and hurt himself on the frayed ends of the screen mesh?
Click to expand...

Yes, he probably can pull the tape off, or more likely get caught on it. Duct tape is notorius for degrading and peeling along the edges, making it easy to snag on. Even if the tape is outside the viv (sounds like inside from your description), things like the OP's story might happen. You don't think about it, you let the snake crawl on the lid for whatever reason, and ba-da-bing! stuck snake. Why take the risk?

And once the tape gets loose (duct tape is not permanent), you absolutely run the risk of the wires either a) hurting the snake because they are pointy, or b) providing a vulnerable point in the screen the snake can exploit to get loose. Wire mesh isn't very strong once it's broken, and it's pretty easy to work something like a marker through it. More likely, you'd have a combination of both a and b, with a snake trying to escape and getting injured in the process.

In conclusion, I would replace the duct tape with hot glue or caulking or something ASAP. I have a similar thing where I poked a whole through my wire screen top, and I sealed it with caulking. It's a tiny whole, and the connection is at least as strong as the screen, and soft so it won't damage an adventurous snake. Even if he is on top the screen for whatever reason.

Remember, Murphy's Law: anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Why take the risk when it's easily preventable.
 
I posted this today to warn/remind people. I wouldn't have tape in my vivs anymore.

I was so scared we were going to rip his skin off trying to peel him off of the tape. Definitely not worth the risk. He was miserable and hurting, and I don't even know when it happened. He could have been there for hours and hours. All night.

I would remove tape! I have my thermometers held down with aquarium sealant. That would probably work for your application. It's easy to remove too.
 
I've used Blu Tak in my vivs for years - it's the only sticky stuff I'll let anywhere near them, as you're right, it doesn't stick to the snakes. It's mainly for holding stat probes in place, although I also use it for blocking up small wiring holes when I have youngsters in residence.

It does eventually go hard and get covered in wood debris (I use bark chip substrate) and so needs replacing now and then. But it's never given me a moment of concern as far as hurting the snakes goes.
 
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