Best hide rock size. needing advice please

[Ripsnortstafford]

We have a giant URS hide rock for our Diamond. I hear you saying, that's a mighty large rock...and yes, if I'd seen it in the flesh first I would have said man, that's way too big. But as I bought it online from URS, I just kind of figured out the dimensions and thought that'll do. After all, he is a 7 ft snake. LOL.
Yes, I'm a newbie and that first paragraph simply screams that out loud. How was I to know that a 7 ft snake curls up into a relatively small coil....poor man is lost inside his hide rock. We could fit three of him in there.
So, with that in mind and I have a credit at URS burning a hole in my pocket, can I get some advice on which would be the more ideal size for our snake. I'm leaning towards the medium going on the dimensions and actually seeing the product at a pet store....but I 'hae me doots' as the Scots would say.
Some advice would be excellent.

Oh and if you know anyone in the market for a secondhand, but relatively new, giant URS hide rock located in Deniliquin NSW at a decent price....scream out.

cheers
Elise.

 

[arevenant]

If you can, go into a shop that sells them. Just about every store Aus wide that sells hides sells the URS range.
My rule is; about what you think your snake will fit into then just a bit smaller - they love tight spaces.

 

[Chris82]

They do like to feel snug within a hide eg the outer coils touching the sides of the hide chosen. Why not just make one or prior to buying another get a bunch of card board boxes from bunnings or Coles etc trial which ones suit him the best, or just keep using the boxes, once they get soiled throw them out put a new one in!

 

[Fil_14]

I made a few hides out of terracotta pots. My snakes love em. I had the pots already, so the price was right. But if you had to buy one, I'm sure that they're no where near as expensive as a URS one.


Fil...

 

[arevenant]

I use half terra cotta pots for hides for my adult snakes.

 

[ronhalling]

If your Diamond gos in the hide and stays in there whats the problem, unless it is taking up too much space....why don't you cut down a box or a pot and put the entrance to the box/pot at the entrance to the hide, then as it grows you will still have the big hide for it. ...........................Ron

 

[Bluetongue1]

In nature snakes often need to conserve moisture and heat. So a tight-fitting refuge is often used. The snake coils around to reduce its exposed surface area which in conjunction with a close fitting refuge help to reduce heat loss. Each breath out is 100% humid and the difference between the humidityn of air breathed in determines the water loss due to breathing. So in a confined space where humidity has an opportunity to build up, a snake will lose les moisture through breathing.

In captivity we provide both heat and water on an ongoing basis which means that the tight hides of nature are no longer critical. However, a snake will benefit behaviourally from a closer fitting hide that it would normally choose and that affords a greater feeling of security when at rest.

To convert your existing hide into a more suitable size for your snake you can use a foam fillers or even paper mache to form a smaller cavity.

Blue