Natural vivarium for kingsnake

[TxScarlet15]

So I've been cruising around this section and am very intrigued by all the natural set-ups people have for their snakes. It's so much more pleasing on the eyes than shavings and it seems to be better for the animal too. I would love to do this for my kingsnake, however, I have absolutely no clue where to start. So what can you guys tell me about it? I want to know all the ins and outs of a natural vivarium. Are there any sites or resources you can refer me to to get the information I need? I really want to do this but I don't know where to start.

[poison123]

First lets start with the substrate.

Monitor Lizard Forums - Bio Active Soil (http://www.varanustalk.com/forum/index.php?pageid=Dirt)

[poison123]

A lot of people use topsoil/ play sand for bioactive substrates but if you wish to add live plants than I would use Miracle gro organic choice/ playsand. I would also suggest adding charcoal to prevent the substrate from compacting and allowing moister to drain. With that being said also look into false bottoms. A false bottom is a system that allows moister to drain out of the soil and prevents plants from drowning and bacteria build ups from standing water. There are a few different ways to setup a false bottom but the most common way is to lay a few inches of gravel at the bottom of the enclosure and cut window screen to fit over the gravel. The screen separates the substrate from the gravel. Then lay your substrate over it.

[TxScarlet15]

I read the link that you gave and it sounds fairly simple. I have a question though, and it may actually be a rather silly one, but is there any worry about the bugs from the soil, logs, etc. getting out?

[Pirarucu]

They probably will get out from time to time, the real question is whether you would need to worry about it at all. Unless you bring in something like termites or roaches (unlikely) then I wouldn't worry about it.

[poison123]

As, Pirarucu said. They may get out from time to time but they will not last long outside of a controlled environment.

[TxScarlet15]

I recently got a suggestion from someone to put some earthworms in also to help with the decomposition of the fecal matter. Has anyone tried that before? What would be the downside to using earthworms?

[CosmicOwl]

I threw about 30 earthworms into my corns soil. I can't say I've noticed any positive or negative outcomes. Also, I would suggest using a nice, heavy water bowl. It seems like a lot of my custodians like to congregate on the water bowl, as it stays moist.

[poison123]

Earthworms are huge decomposers. I use them in all of my cages.