Advice on live plants

[BIGT FROM F.B.]

I'm putting Eco Earth in my new terrarium with some leaf mulch. I have never had real plants in my terrariums, so, what is a good tropical plant to put in there that will be sturdy enough for a snake to climb on. Also, what is the best light to put over the plants? Just a regular UV, or something totally different? I want something to fit the stock fixture that came with my Zoo Med Enclosure.

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[CosmicOwl]

I'm no expert, but I've been growing a bromeliad and two snake plants in my corn's cage. He is pretty disrespectful to one of the snake plants and has nearly uprooted it twice, yet it continues to grow. You're probably going to have a tough time finding a small plant that could act as a perch, but you'll find some that can survive a beating. I'd go for something compact, with durable leaves and that can thrive with minimal light and water.

As for lights, I've been succeeding with 1 halogen bulb and 1 6500k CFL. I'm sure somebody with more knowledge can give you a better explanation of what type of lights to use, though. This is just what I've been using.

[jarich]

Plants make use of the red and blue spectrum in visible light, so no need for any UV light (which is actually somewhat damaging to leaves). They make plant grow bulbs in just about any style of light though, fluorescent, incandescent, etc.

Did you put a drainage layer under your soil?

[CosmicOwl]

Plants make use of the red and blue spectrum in visible light, so no need for any UV light (which is actually somewhat damaging to leaves). They make plant grow bulbs in just about any style of light though, fluorescent, incandescent, etc.

Did you put a drainage layer under your soil?

I'm not sure if you were asking me or BIGT, but I'm not using a drainage layer. I'm using a sand/eco-earth mix that I don't keep very wet. I think the plants pull out a lot of the water as well. If I notice any problems, I'll consider adding a drainage layer, but everything is going okay at the moment. If you had a much more humid enclosure, I could see the point of using a drainage layer, though.

[Roman]

I don't think that yout terrarium is big enough for plants which are sturdy enough to support any medium or large snake allone, so I would put in some branches for climbing and use something like Epipremnum aureum.

Jarich is absolutly right about the light, just watch for light with large peaks in the red and in the blue spectrum.

For further reading --> http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/natural-vivaria-plant-forum/103570-plants-terrariums.html

Roman