How to I 'escape proof' this hole.

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Chuckface01

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Hi, I am putting my stimmo into an actual enclosure this week after being in click clacks for two years. There is only one worry, this tank has this one circular hole in it for putting lights etc inside. Since i will only be using a heat mat, only the thermostat will be comign through here. I need to be able to put the thermostat through, but also seal up the hole so that he cant get out of it. As you can see, its pretty darn big and a bit of a nuisence.

What would you recommend to fill it? but also so that I can get the thermostat probe through it. Obviously tape is a big no-no, I was maybe thinking silicone?

thanks all




hole1.jpghole2.jpg
 
yeh silicone would work well. something like selleys. make sure it cures before you put your stimmie in though
 
expanda-foam ... you spray it on like whipped cream, and it goes solid, then you can cut off excess with a razor blade, much neater than silicone, and goes off in like 10-15 minutes :)
 
Its on spring return isn't it?
I would just glue down both sides of the gate (the moving piece).
That will definitely be enough! As long as your snake doesn't get their nose into an edge or gap they won't be able to open it. :)
Silicon as mentioned would be fine to fill the small gap made by the wire for the probe.
 
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thanks guys! although, Ive never worked with silicone before. Does it come in like a tube i can just squeeze on? what does curing mean and how long does it take?

Its not on spring return, its very loose. so if i glued it somewhat tilted to fit the thermostat through and then filled in the rest with silicone? would he be able at any point to push silicone out and escape? sorry for all the questions! im terrified of loosing him! lol
 
Id be putting the probe in, swinging the cover over until its tight against the probe and putting a small pan head screw in it. Atleast its removable if the probe needs to be removed for any reason. Looking at the shape of the gap and cover it shouldnt leave enough space for a 2 year old snake to escape, but thats up to you to judge.
 
how would i screw through the plastic? i mean without cracking it and making the hole bigger?
 
Stick your finger in the hole from the outside and give the whole thing a good tug, see if it comes out. I recently bought an enclosure that had one of those and I didn't think to test it.
o_o
Needless to say I came out early one morning to find my port mac sitting ontop of my coastal enclosure. She had popped the entire disk out, I've glued it in now, but just something that I'll remember next time.
 
omg. you are a actually my savior. I just pushed on it now and a disk came out. The black circular frame is very well stuck inside the glass, but i didn't realise that part came out! THANKYOU SO MUCH im so glad that happened now and not when my snake was inside!! THANKYOU!!
 
Its hard to tell what size the hole is from the photo, but if the whole black disc is now out, I wonder if one of those stainless steel sink drainers (you know the ones, you put them in your sink to stop food scraps going down the plughole) would fit in the hole?

If so, you could pop one of those in and glue it into place?
 
hey, that's an ausome idea! thanks so much. god i love you guys!!

yeah its pretty big, i can fit my hand through it, so i reckon i can find a sink strainer to fit it. I am soooo glad i made this topic, thanks all!
 
although, i would have to cut out a slighter larger hole in the strainer to let the thermostat come through. would wire cutters work on doing that? if i made sure there were no sharp edges left?
 
Hmm, yes I forgot you said you needed to be able to put the thermo probe through.
Not sure you would be able to use wire cutters on it?

At Bunnings, you can buy plastic vents, and if you have access to a soldering iron, you could put a hole in the plastic with that?
 
or get a circular piece of wood/plastic/metal and glue + silicone it in place, then drill a hole for your thermostat that's big enough for your probe but is not big enough for your stimmie to get out of and bobs your mothers brother. you'll find it will probably look a bit better too. shellys idea is great if the size is alright and you might be able to find another place to insert the thermostat.
 
so i would glue the plastic vent/piece of plastic over the hole? would superglue be ok? and would it be better on the inside or the outside of the tank?
 
ohh sorry that took a while for me to write.. you might also be able to drill through the sink strainer with a proper drill and bit. would you have anything like this or be able to borrow one? you can always file the edges of metal work to be smoother. if you're worried about sharp edges, drill to the outside face so the sharper bits are on the outside maybe?
 
well... i have a drill, would i have to buy a specific bit to get through the metal? cause i might as well just go for the plastic then, lol. much easier and just melt a hole through that.
 
A good glue designed to bond plastic and metal could possibly be be much easier to bond the two together, and it's handy to keep around the house. Just go find a glue, glue it then test the strength. My port mac tries very hard to pop it out again and just keeps failing lol.
 
why not put the plasic plug on the inside [ and not how it is now] that way the snake cant pop it out , then silicone up the hole after u have put the probe wire in ?
 
inside i would say, but make sure you use tonnes of glue and make sure that its dry and clean before you put your stimmi in. sticking your snake to the wall of his new enclosure would be a BIG catastrophe. i had an accident with adhesives once (turned out fine, but was very traumatic for the snake) and i cannot stress enough how important it is to make sure there is no adhesive residue when the snake goes in. good luck chuck
 
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