Grass and Moss?

[SnoopySnake]

Hello everyone. I take interest in Natural Vivs, I have a 29 gallon natural setup right now, working on a 55 gal. paludarium. Anyways, I am curious as to what types of grasses and mosses are safe for my two Columbian Rainbow Boa's tanks and will do good with the high humidity. Any information anyone has is helpful. :) My dad says kentucky bluegrass may be good. Rather get all of your guys' opinions :)

My brothers paludarium, housing tree frogs...
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My snake tank...
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[smy_749]

I think grass will look funny in a rainbow boa enclosure. Get a few difference species of mosses (I can't tell you which kinds)

[pdomensis]

The plants in and of themselves will do no harm to a snake. The risk comes from bug infested plants or plants that have been sprayed with harmful chemicals. So if you're going to mix wild harvested plants and your animals, I would treat them with an organic insecticide before putting them in the tank.

Under the right moisture conditions KY bluegrass will grow 40+ inches tall in a season, so unless you plan on clipping it I would stay away from it. Most mosses and liverworts will do fine under your conditions-they actually become weed-like in greenhouses when plants are over watered.

You might also consider spanish moss (technically a bromeliad) for ground cover but treat first for bugs as it often harbors chiggers etc.

[formica]

rather than grasses, i'd recommend textured ferns like Selaginella, Nephrolepis & Soleirolia, along with some Carpet moss (Hypnaceae), they are all fairly forgiving, and like low light, lots of humidity and warmth, but still grow fast. (although fast moss growth is pretty slow)

Most plants you buy will have pesticides on, so bugs arnt really much of an issue, but they should be washed gently with detergant (to kill bugs) and rinsed well with clean water to remove pesticides

also recommend investing in some tropical woodlice and springtales to help clean things up - its even more important to stabilize a living vivarium before use, 4-6 weeks should give the lice and sprintails time to establish themselves along with the plants, it can be difficult to stablize a live tropical vivarium, mold espcially can be a major issue without lice and springtales doing what they do, but plants are a great way to give a nice humid enviorment with plenty of fresh oxygen.

I'd also recomend using LED lighting rather than traditional filament or halogen, plants can grow quickly and you dont want your BRB to deciede a 300F+ bulb might be good place to relax and wrap around. you need red and blue lights for reasonable plant health, add green and/or white aswell if you dont like the color, but blue and red are essential for plant growth