Planted Tank?

[ExoticEctotherms]

I've been doing a lot of reading lately and I stumbled across a guy who keeps his humidity loving pythons (Carpets, Balls, etc) in planted enclosures with a dirt substrate (Store bought, sterilized dirt). He swears by it, saying that the plants raise the humidity, especially when you water them once per day and that the snake's waste acts as a fertilizer. I saw pics of the tanks and they looked very nice....I was half expecting to see snake poo all over the place, but they were clean. To me, this type of setup seems like a breeding ground for bacteria and/or mold.

My question is twofold: Does anyone here keep their snakes in a similar fashion? and Is this guy crazy?

 

[Jfitz]

I've been doing a lot of reading lately and I stumbled across a guy who keeps his humidity loving pythons (Carpets, Balls, etc) in planted enclosures with a dirt substrate (Store bought, sterilized dirt). He swears by it, saying that the plants raise the humidity, especially when you water them once per day and that the snake's waste acts as a fertilizer. I saw pics of the tanks and they looked very nice....I was half expecting to see snake poo all over the place, but they were clean. To me, this type of setup seems like a breeding ground for bacteria and/or mold.

My question is twofold: Does anyone here keep their snakes in a similar fashion? and Is this guy crazy?

alot of people do live plants in their setups, im just not sure if this is like a big no no for snakes and not geckos.

 

[reptech]

you just have to make sure you get native plants from where they would live in the wild

 

[Ophiuchus]

I've done it before. I'm pretty certain I didn't use native plants from their natural environment and I didn't have any issues. After all, very few people do it for their fish; why should it be a big deal for herps?

I always used it for smaller snakes, as larger animals can crush/smother some of the plants. But still a very neat way of housing your animals; easy to maintain, nicer to view for display purposes, and provides a more natural habitat for your animals.

 

[ExoticEctotherms]

Are there any plants that are harmful to reptiles/snakes (obviously excluding cacti and anything else sharp and pointy)? I'm talking more along the lines of toxic plant oils....kinda like a humans reaction to poison ivy/sumac/oak.

 

[andyjs]

I kept aloe and other succulents with me leos and my house gecko setup included ficus, young rubber plants, and several others.

 

[mattison187]

i had a ball python allmost die from getting his head under a root of a plant once. he did it while i was sleeping and i got woken up by him thrashing around trying to free himself. he pulled hard enough to cause lacerations right behind his head. that was the last time i kept plants with my snakes..

 

[Ophiuchus]

i had a ball python allmost die from getting his head under a root of a plant once. he did it while i was sleeping and i got woken up by him thrashing around trying to free himself. he pulled hard enough to cause lacerations right behind his head. that was the last time i kept plants with my snakes..

I sympathize for your loss, but those kind of things are like, freak accidents.

I heard of a breeder once had a baby BP in one of his shoeboxes, lined with paper towels with just a water bowl....about as safe of housing as you can get, right?

Somehow the baby BP tipped the bowl over himself, trapping him underneath it. The water created a wet seal between the bowl lip and the paper towels, and the snake suffocated.

What are the odds?

 

[coreyweinkoetz]

Still spot clean the waste vines work well and other plants that will not be crushed by the snakes weight on them Watch how much you water make a drainage layer under the soil like two inches of gravel with a plastic screen in between the soil and gravel

 

[coura]

Avoid all things harry, spiny, sharp or simply to delicate. Good choices include Dracaena sp, Ficus sp, Sanseveria sp(my favorite, virtualy indestroctable) and Potos