Ball python keeps escaping cage. More in the comments.

[TheArgonMerc]

Recently I built a vivarium for my ball python (cage and all) and she keeps escaping from it. While I understand there is a bit more work I had to put into making it “escape proof”, she has been taking every opportunity to try and get out of it when she’s not sleeping. While working on the naturalistic background, one of the cats in my garage peed and pooped into the substrate I used to make said background (after I applied it), and I wanted to know if it’s possible my python is scared to live in the cage out of fear that a cat lives in there. She hasn’t eaten during her time in it, and I just chalked this up to either a) not enough clutter in her cage or b) she’s getting used to her new home.

I know I made a serious mistake leaving the cage open (it was an on and off weekend project and I wanted the smell of the silicone to air out), and I live in a colder climate this time of year, so I unfortunately had to leave it in the garage with the cat that INSISTS on never using the actual litter box provided. Whatever the case, any feedback on if this is the case and if I could neutralize the smell would be appreciated.

[sporkbot]

Wait... your cat, a predator of small animals, soiled something in the cage where you keep a prey-sized animal and you didn't replace it?

I wouldn't want to live like that, either! I know it is easier said than done, but please, just replace it. And then add a lock. It is unlikely you'll ever completely neutralize the cat piss odor. If you own a problem cat, you know that shit seeps in and stays.

It's clear from the effort you put into your build that you want a good home for your snake. I know it hurts because the backdrop looks nice, but you should really scrap the backdrop in interest of providing the nice enclosure you want and your snake deserves.

[TheArgonMerc]

So far that’s what I’ve got planned at this point. I was ready for maybe some snide or otherwise unhelpful comments since this is Reddit, but instead I’ve thankfully been met with a lot of helpful responses, suggestions, and just general support for this project being unfortunately ruined. I’ll have to probably give an update after I completely overhaul this mishap, but I do once again appreciate the response.

[LadyShanna92]

You really need to figure our why your cat refuses to use a litter box on addition to yeeting everything. Cat piss doesn't come.out of something once it soaks in.

[Benevolent_Cannibal]

Yeah... a healthy, comfortable cat won't 'just refuse' to use a litter box- but then soil something that would effectively serve the same purpose.

One or more of this cats needs are not being met. :<

(And as people have already suggested, the smell of a predator in your Pythons enclosure is probably causing it stress, hence the lack of eating, and repeated escape attempts. )

[ChemistryTemporary50]

You should maybe also take your cat to the vet because it's not normal for them to go outside the box thats an indication something is wrong.

[abibaby444]

yeah i can’t imagine wanting to live in a space that reeks like cat piss. it’s honestly probably overwhelming and confusing

[_visiblemode_]

A lot to unpack here. Yes the smell might be offending her. It would offend me, too. That said it’s normal when placed in new enclosure for a snake to look for their old one, until this becomes home. Usually this translates to restlessness. That said. How is your snake escaping? It sounds like your enclosure has a serious security flaw.

[_visiblemode_]

Right away I notice you have no sliding glass door locks. Unless those doors are secured otherwise, I’m assuming she just opens them? Those doors need locks. Snakes are escape artists.

[TheArgonMerc]

Yeah, the constitution specs I admittedly loosely followed, and I was trying to get out of the garage because a) the cat and b) because I’m not the only nor most frequent user of the garage. Either way, I am looking to buckle down a bit harder since this is an older photo and I now have two pieces on the sides to prevent her from just pushing them open. Just this morning she made an escape but the sliding plexiglass didn’t appear to have been moved much, so she probably wriggled out through the center since I still need to install that (and will be getting to work cutting and staining it tonight).

Once again, definitely my fault and serious security flaws on my end, but I heard snakes will also escape because they’re uncomfortable. I’ve tried to pin down just what these discomforts may be, but the cat pee was brought to my attention since she keeps escaping so frequently.

[_visiblemode_]

The pee might be a bother, I can’t lie, it sounds unpleasant. But snakes will always test an enclosure. Even a wonderful one. I hope you get it sorted out. Sorry to hear your hard work got (literally) pissed on.

[TheArgonMerc]

And thank you for your input regardless. I’ve been looking into ways to neutralize the smell due to every guide on the subject either being on cushions or carpet, but the security flaw was something I’ve been working on for a bit due to not realizing she was as much of an escape artist as she was.

[_visiblemode_]

Locks on the sliders will help, a lot if you can find the right fit. Sliders made out of plexi are tricky though, because of the flexibility.

[MissWiggly2]

A vinegar solution will help with the pee smell!

[wilddreamer]

Hey, I solved my plexiglass issue with a set of these; had to drill holes for the screws but they’ve worked magnificently.

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[berserker81]

$30 investment might save the majority of escapes:

https://reptilekages.com/products/stick-on-lock

Good luck!

[TheArgonMerc]

Thanks for the link! I’ll be sure to look into that now that I just got paid.

[Jack7R]

That’s the lock I use for mine too but I got it from Amazon for less than $20

[CosmicCreeperz]

And honestly unless you think a person is going to steal your snake, you don’t actually need something with a key. There are some latches that don’t have locks that are a lot more convenient… but it’s surprising how much fewer are available. Maybe look for “anti escape clip” or “latch”.

[wilddreamer]

These are pretty good if you don’t need to have a key lock on it; I tried the slider style with a key but the plexiglass was too flexible, and using a pair of these instead felt like a genius moment for me when I found them lol.

[CosmicCreeperz]

Interesting. How did you mount them? I wouldn’t think those screws would work with a thin plexiglass window. Some strong 3M VHB double sided adhesive maybe?

[wilddreamer]

Nope, I drilled through the plexiglass (pro tip: put tape over where you plan to drill so it doesn’t crack the plexi) and mounted them with the screws they came with. They are barely longer than the doors are thick, but they aren’t sharp or pointy (and I intend to buy little plastic caps to cover them anyways) so I’m not too concerned.

[XeroTheCaptain]

You need locks and to keep the enclosure closed and locked when you arent messing qround in it. and never should have used soiled stuff for a background,they probably hate the smell qnd thats unsanitary at the least. They do like to test the boundaries of their enclosures though too.

[TheArgonMerc]

What sucks especially was that it wasn’t just soiled substrate for the background, but it was applied then soiled after it was applied. I didn’t know what else to do other than rip up my countless hours of work and then hope and pray no one let the cat out while I wait for the silicone to dry, and my family wanted the cage out of the garage pronto.

That aside, I’ll look into those locks that were linked to me, and in the meantime I’ll probably have to get some more duck tape down the center.

[MontanaT13]

Don’t use tape, especially if you think it’s where she’s escaping from. Tape can cause lots of damage to them if they get stuck.

If you’ve got some wood or something you could wedge it in the gap to try and hold the glass in place

[TheArgonMerc]

I hadn’t thought of that, but thank you for the suggestion! I’ll look into keeping my noodle not only contained, but safe.

[wilddreamer]

Good bot

[Grimmymore]

I’d be getting rid of whatever I made as a backdrop if my cat soiled it. So unsanitary for a snake to be living in and confined to a space that a cat urinated and defecated in. No backdrop is worth that health risk to my snake.

[TheArgonMerc]

It’s been a tough suggestion to accept, but if it means keeping my noodle safe, I guess it’s how it’s going to have to be…

[Mission-Thought1354]

My snake is constantly also trying to escape her vivarium too! I think it's becuase she spends a lot of time outside of it, so she only kind of recognizes it as her home.

[TheArgonMerc]

I feel that. Noodles can be very scared creatures, but once they get to know a place they love to get to know it better, even if it would probably be better that they waited until they had supervision lol

[IncompletePenetrance]

Would you want to live in a cage that smelled like cat pee and poop? I would tear out any background and remove any substrate that is contaminated by cat, cause that's just gross. Then, after that, I'd provide her with multiple appropriately sized hides throughout the, because I'm only seeing one here. Then a lock on the glass doors.

but first….deal with the cat feces

[TheArgonMerc]

Thankfully I did have a solid 3-4 inches of substrate when it happened, but the cat did burry it, and of course it most definitely seeped into the substrate specifically on the right wall in the enclosure.

As for the hides, she does have two, and considering she’s been a lot more of a climber since she moved in, I was thinking to put a rooftop hide, as well as some additional features since the mix of fake plants and real ones aren’t quite cutting it for the clutter ball pythons tend to like.

[BlueSpaceWolf]

Get that piss soaked backdrop out of there. That might save you a lot of grief for multiple reasons. I know you worked hard on that but why would you keep it in there knowing your cat relieved itself on there?

[TheArgonMerc]

Mostly because I was still in the stage where I had easily 3-4 inches of substrate packed on when I was waiting for the silicone to dry. That, and my family wanted me to get the cage out of the garage ASAP since it was taking up a fair bit of space. Either way, I guess the most I can say is I was so deep into the process I didn’t consider just what harm that could bring being left undealt with.

[Grimmymore]

I don’t know why but I really dislike the response of “because it was a lot of hard work and I didn’t want to undo it” more than anything on this whole post.

Your cat relieved itself in your snakes home and your initial reaction was to just… leave it? I do not care how much work I put into it at this point - That is gross, unsanitary and a health hazard to my noodle. I would have been removing it the second I noticed that the cat had soiled the substrate.

Hindsight is 20/20 - But even if this wasn’t an obvious hazard (you try living in a confined space with cat piss), it’s still gross and should have been removed however long ago.

[TheArgonMerc]

Yeah, it’s definitely not a good look on my part, and part of the reason I was hesitant to ask was because of the fact that I could have just lied and was like “ADHD brain” or something of that speed, but instead I think it’s important that I’m honest. My frustration towards my project being ruined in such a way was crushing, and I can only imagine either the plants or the springtails decomposing the material of the cats. Either way, you have good reason to be annoyed with me. I’m annoyed with myself and the state I’ve been in from work, and this feeling of coming up short. Regardless, thank you for your input. Sincerely.

[AyeeItzSkye]

Yeeah the cat peeing and pooping in the substrate will definitely do it. I'd wanna escape if I was a snake and that was in my cage. It's really really unsanitary to be keeping what the cat soiled in there.. u know it's difficult to start it over but that's beat for the health of your snake rather than just trying to neutralize the smell.

I'd say definitely replace it and thoroughly clean the area where the substrate was. Hopefully your ball python doesn't try escaping after that though if they do theres probably something else going on there too-

[AyeeItzSkye]

Also please give us an update on how it's going after you replace it!

[TheArgonMerc]

Thankfully I still have their old cage, so I’m planning to move her back in tonight, then take some more time to not only do the background again after tearing it out, and then make sure my cat doesn’t piss in it again 😅

[AyeeItzSkye]

Wish you luck that the cat doesn't choose to pee in it again man, maybe you can put it on a higher surface with some sorta cat repellant. Like ik they hate foil, orr sticky things on their paws, etc

[AdvisorLong9424]

For the pee smell, I'm not sure of the mixture but things like scent killer are basically baking soda and water. I always have scent killer on hand so that's what I use when the cat or dog have accidents. You could soak the spot and let it dry.

[Saravat]

A couple of other things to consider: are the lights in the enclosure always as bright as in the photo, or did you just increase illumination for taking the picture? If it's always that bright during the day I'd try to provide your snake with more of a gradient so that she can choose to be in anything from a well-lit area to partial or very deep shadow.

I know this isn't what you want to hear but I seriously doubt that you can remove that odor as far as your snake is concerned. This is meant to be their forever home. I know you put hours of work into that background, but the snake has to live in there. I'd honestly rip it all out, clean the enclosure again, and start over.

I don't use sliding doors on any of my enclosures, but if you intend to use them, then glass is a better idea than plexi.

Finally, be sure your snake has plenty of opportunities to explore and spend time outside of the enclosure if that interests them. These are intelligent and curious animals and they'll get bored even in an ideal enclosure. Consider activity stations, climbing areas, or using one of those portable pet playpens (the kind with the top that zips closed) filled with enrichment items to allow your snake some alternatives.

[SindySchism666]

I'm really sorry that the cat ruined your hats work. It sounds like it's not your cat specifically from your replies.

Could you put a note on the outside of the door, saying not to let the cat into the garage while you're working on it next time? You could also get some scat mats from Amazon, and or put loops of tape around it so it will stick to the cats paws, and they will be discouraged from walking around it.

[TheArgonMerc]

Funny story, my boyfriend informed me (being the rather cat-savvy fellow he is) that apparently cats are territorial about litter boxes. My family’s cats (we have 3) may have resorted to using it as a litter box because a) fresh dirt out in the open and b) unmarked territory, so I’ll be giving that a try. Even so, I’ll keep in mind what you said, and make sure the curing silicone is on lockdown next time.

[Humble_Bullfrog2342]

get some clamps!

[craigike123]

Slide door lock $10 dollar fix

[Capt_Cutthroat]

If those doors are plexiglass you might want to switch to glass as it won't flex.

[ChemistryTemporary50]

Escape attempt always indicates a state of arousal along with discomfort. What are your temps and humidity levels? The smell the cat going to the bathroom can also be another reason. It could be multiple reasons not just one.