Need Plant Suggestions.

[SnoopySnake]

So, I'm going to pick up a 125 gallon tank today, and I will be making it a bioactive set-up. I need suggestions for plants to use, as my last ones didn't work out very well. These plants need to do well in low-light conditions, 90%+ humidity, and shouldn't be so delicate that my snakes are going to tear them up. Anything you guys can list that you've had success with? Any advice on soil would be great, too. :)

[UwabamiReptiles]

My favorite plant to use is pothos. Can't really give you a live plant that won't eventually be trampled by a snakebut pothos are pretty hardy. I've had them with gonyos and Japanese rats with success. They do really well with low light and high humidity. I plan on putting these in with my gtps and atbs when they get their pvc cages. There are more choices but these are always my first choice and they come in a couple different variations so you can have different colored leaves.

[CosmicOwl]

I'd suggest dwarf schefflera and ficuses. Creeping fig could work really well if you used perches like trellises. In high humidity, they'll probably throw aerial roots and be even stronger.

[SnoopySnake]

Thanks for the suggestions.. Those were all actually things I was considering. Funny you mention creeping figs, in my current bio-active set-up, my creeping fig was doing great, but then all the sudden it shriveled up and died, and now my ivy is perishing as well. I think something may have gone wrong with the soil, but next time I'm going to try the variegated creeping fig. Do you guys think orchids would do alright, or are they too delicate?

[CosmicOwl]

Thanks for the suggestions.. Those were all actually things I was considering. Funny you mention creeping figs, in my current bio-active set-up, my creeping fig was doing great, but then all the sudden it shriveled up and died, and now my ivy is perishing as well. I think something may have gone wrong with the soil, but next time I'm going to try the variegated creeping fig. Do you guys think orchids would do alright, or are they too delicate?


I don't know much about orchids. If your snake is a burrower, it's probably going to take out a few plants regardless of what you do. I know my corn has ripped out several plants with his excavation work. the only non house plants I've experimented with are oxalis plants(which are doing okay) and grass(which has yet to succeed). Other than that, my schefflera, ivies and on pothos are doing well.

[SnoopySnake]

I may just end up planting them in the tank inside of their pots, since we're supposed to be moving in February and the tank will have to come down, so I figure that would make it easier and less likely for my plants to die. I want some type of small tree-like plant as well, any one have any suggestions for those?

[Carl Spackler]

Baby tears are great

[Roman]

I think most of the suggested plants will work.

Have a look here --> http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/natural-vivaria-plant-forum/103570-plants-terrariums.html

Photos (Epipremnum aureum) and creeping fig (Ficus pumila) would probably work out best, they are not delicate and can absorb some damage. The Ficus doesn’t deal well with dry conditions. I lost a really good growing plant because it didn’t have enough water for a few days and couldn’t recover.

Orchids need good lights and can’t deal with the damage a heavy snake crawling over it repeatedly will do, so I would not use them with large snakes or at least put them somewhere “out of the way” of your snakes usual path.

But the key element for successful plant keeping is your lighting. So depending on how “low” your light situation is you might need to add additional lighting, especially light which provides the “red” and “blue” part of the spectrum, these are the lights that plants need for photosynthesis and growth.

Roman

[SnoopySnake]

I believe that's what happened to my Ficus as well. So far, the list of plants I've come up with is Ficus Pumilla Quercifolia, Lysimachia-Creeping Jenny, Philodendron Cordatum-Heart Leaf Philodendron, Pilea Depressa-Baby Tears, Epipremnum Aurem-Marbled Queen Pothos, Spathiphyllum Wallisii, and Schefflera Arboricola-Dwarf Schefflera. The lights I currently use are 6500K 32 watt t8's that were labeled for plants. Do you think these plants should work, and will be compatible? Also, what would you suggest I use for soil?

[Roman]

I prefer to leave the plants within their pots, if you need to replace them it is much easier to just grab the pot instead of digging out the plant itself. You could also use some replacement plants, if you see that the plants in your enclosure need “some rest”, swap them with the spare plants and give them a chance to recover, then swap them back and so on.

I use “Repti Bark” as substrate for my enclosures as I mentioned in the other thread. The tendrils of the plants do nicely in it, but for the plant pods I use the standard soil they come with.

The light might work, if the plants don’t grow add some additional light, there are bulbs especially for growing plants with just the right spectrum of light.

Roman

[SnoopySnake]

I prefer to leave the plants within their pots, if you need to replace them it is much easier to just grab the pot instead of digging out the plant itself.
...
I use “Repti Bark” as substrate for my enclosures as I mentioned in the other thread. The tendrils of the plants do nicely in it, but for the plant pods I use the standard soil they come with.

The light might work, if the plants don’t grow add some additional light, there are bulbs especially for growing plants with just the right spectrum of light.

Roman

Thanks for the advice.. Makes much more sense about leaving the plants in their pots, then I could use my heat mat as well. How do you go about hiding the pots? I also think I may need the additional lighting as when I make the switch there will be an extra 2ft of tank left out of the lights. When leaving the plants potted, would I still be able to use springtails and isopods with no problems?

[Roman]

Thanks for the advice.. Makes much more sense about leaving the plants in their pots, then I could use my heat mat as well. How do you go about hiding the pots? I also think I may need the additional lighting as when I make the switch there will be an extra 2ft of tank left out of the lights. When leaving the plants potted, would I still be able to use springtails and isopods with no problems?

In my Spilotes enclosure I placed two pots within the large cork tubs, the other pots are hidden behind the large cork trunk. As your plants will grow all over your enclosure within a short time, there will be roots everywhere, so go ahead and set it up as a bioactive enclosure.

Roman