Enough air holes?

[danikat]

In spite of the fact that I checked when I got them and I can't see any way their shell would fit through the hole it appears one of my baby rectics managed to climb out of their tank through the air hole. (Either that or she lifted the lid, got out and put it back which I find unlikely.)

To stop it happening again I've coverd the holes over with plastic, duct taped in place on the outside and punched smaller holes in that but now I'm concerned that not enough air will get into the tank. I've posted a picture below of one of the air holes, there are 4 in total, all the same.



(The massive condensation seen in the picture is not caused by this, I'm still trying to balance temp and humidity in there.)

Because this is a temporary solution until they grow a bit bigger I don't want to do anything permenant like drill holes in the lid, but I would welcome suggestions for letting more air in if nessesary.

I do check on them once or twice a day, which involves lifting the lid off, so that might help a bit but I was also thinking of putting some blue tak under one edge so the lid is lifted up a bit but stuck in place. Would that work? And is it safe for the snails?

[coyote]

The only thing I can think of is to open the lid periodically and maybe fan a folded-up newspaper (or something similar) into the tank, to force fresh air in. I use a small Critter Tote for my garden snails, and I use the lid for fanning the tank.

[aerliss]

Instead of plastic you could use gauze or some other form of netting?