A pathos is one of those vine-like house plants that has tear-drop shaped leaves about 2-3 inches across. The plants can live for years as a cutting in a container of water, or they do ok with soil and once a week watering. The jar is one of those spaghetti jars that I put in the tank so it would have some sort of natural cover. The snake has been in and out of the jar (mostly in) for maybe over 2 years. She spends less time in the jar in the summer time when she's boarded out with my mother, who swears she watches TV with her in the evenings. I've yet to see any skin problems, but I keep reading about them, and then I came across your forum. Besides the openness of the hides, maybe the actual problem is the active nature of 7th graders.