planted terrarium for balls

[Bsixxx]

is it possible to use real plants or real soil in my balls setup?
i let them cruise around my house and they like to climb in my plants in the house. and was wondering if there are any safe plants or soil i could use in there terariums?

 

[Z Trip]

As long as the plants are thick and strong like a tree then it will be fine. However, small plants will get crushed and killed.

 

[Bsixxx]

ok but what kind of soil can i use? just normal planting soil?
and any sort of plant or what

 

[Mike D]

i would use a mix of screened top soil and sand.

make sure you get regular topsoil, make sure it has no chemicals added to it.

 

[whippet]

I would not recommend it. The dirt and dust from the soil will get inbetween the belly scales and can cause some issues. Stick with the aspen and go for nice climbing decorations instead. Besides which, BPs are ground snakes and while they will climb...do not do it usually in the wild.

 

[Bsixxx]

I would not recommend it. The dirt and dust from the soil will get inbetween the belly scales and can cause some issues. Stick with the aspen and go for nice climbing decorations instead. Besides which, BPs are ground snakes and while they will climb...do not do it usually in the wild.

so aspen bedding and just a branch or so? no plants or real soil?

 

[whippet]

no. I would not recommend real plants and soil. For the health of the snake. Sure they live in the wild on real dirt...but not for as long as we want our pets to live.

 

[Bsixxx]

no. I would not recommend real plants and soil. For the health of the snake. Sure they live in the wild on real dirt...but not for as long as we want our pets to live.

gotcha

 

[Louie]

Having tried real plants years ago I agree with what everyone has said. You could try a clay pot with a sturdy plant if you like the real plant look .

This contains the soil in a pot but chances are with heavy set snake like ball python it will be squished at min knocked over .

I had planted terrarium as a kid for ringeck snakes as you know tiny compared to most snakes .

 

[Rass]

Another concern with planted tanks is that they are usually high humidity. Being from Africa you wouldn't want the humidity to be "tropical". Your snake will eventually run into respiratory issues. In other words you will need to get plants that need the same environment as the snake, and most plants labeled as terrarium plants are tropical.