Authentic Grass for BP

[boomfala]

Hey all!
I'm just getting ready to set up a new enclosure here. I saw some really nice looking photos of a terrarium set up with a grassy spot that looked really cozy.
Anybody have any info on types of grass that would be appropriate and/or authentic for a BP in the wild?
Thanks!

[sapphire_moon]

repticarpet maybe, I've never seen anyone using real grass in their enclosure...

[Big Mike]

It would be hard to clean.

[mykee]

Real grass would be impractical. In my opinion, as impractical as the fake stuff. If you're going for the natural look, try bark chips.

[Auskan]

Snakes tend to be really hard on live plants and the plants don't survive for long (learned from hard experience LOL).

[boomfala]

I know this is going to open up a whole can of worms that i really don't wanna see crawling all over me but.....
I know a lot of you have animals in Rubbermaid with newspaper that truley thrive and are wonderfull specimens. And that is great! But for me the enjoyment in keeping an animal rests equally in maintaining the physical/mental health of the animal AND creating and maintaining an ecosystem, similar to it's wild one, that it will thrive in.
The practicality of cleaning is not an issue for me. Although i understand it will be a huge undertaking when cleanup time comes around. I have chosen to keep this wild animal captive and with that i was prepared and dedicated (as we all must be) to keeping it and it's environment healthy.
Man... there is nothing cooler than coming home in the evening and finding one of my Pythons or frogs just hanging out on a branch or peaking out from behind a misted leaf. I just dig that kind of thing.
You should all know that i respect all of your husbandry skills and i have learned extensively from everyone here, and surely will continue to do so. So again, i means this as NO DISRESPECT to the Rubbermaid fans. This is just how i dig keeping my kids.
By the way... check out the pic our new boy in my photo album.... aint he cuuuute?

[Auskan]

Boomfala, I don't think anyone was suggesting that there was anything wrong with wanting to provide a natural environment. Its just that from a practical point of view, live plants and snakes don't go well together. In the wild, they are constantly roaming, so a leaf or plant or blade of grass can withstand being slid over once while the snake is on its way somewhere. In an enclosure, that same plant is being trampled repeatedly, and I don't know of any plants that are able to survive that kind of treatment. I applaud you for wanting to create the most natural environent possible (I keep my corns in Rubbermaids, but my BP has a much more "natural" looking environment), but it may be necessary to compromise and use fake plants that look good but can withstand the treatment of a snake.

[Big Mike]

I agree with Auskan. There is nothing wrong with wanting to give your animals a natural habitat. I don't know of anyone who has done enough research to prove which is actually better for the animal.

If you do want to give them more natural habitats then go for it. There are issues that have to be taken into account. Sanitary conditions are one...captive animals are just that, captive. They do not have the free range that they would have in the wild. It therefore our responsibility to make sure that the habitat they do have...is clean. Nature has a way of cleansing itself while enclosures will tend to compound problems with unsanitary conditions.

I think that most keepers that use newspaper or other simple substrates do so with the best interests of the animals in mind...not just laziness on their part. It is often advisable for new keepers to use something simple so that they get into the habit of regular cleaning. The harder it is to clean, the more likely that it will get put off or even ignored.

With that in mind, I wish you all the best with giving your animals a natural home. Just remember to keep the animals health in mind when thinking about how you want it to look.

[sapphire_moon]

Originally posted by boomfala
I I have chosen to keep this wild animal captive


It is not a "Wild Animal" unless you caught it yourself or did you consciencly buy a wild caught animal?

Other wise it came from a breeder (even if it is a farm breeder). I'm not saying that it is bad to keep a natural habitat for your snake. But I am saying that it may be impossible. Do you really have something big enough to keep a LARGE water dish complete with fish (they have them in the wild), the TYPE of grass they live on in the wild, PLUS have a "tree" stong enough for it to climb on? Do you have something big enough to keep the different grounds that it would encounter in the wild, from grass to dirt, large rocks, holes and tunnles, and (please don't use it) but sometimes sand.

If your snake defecates/urates in a enclosure that has dirt in it the liquid urate will seep down and create bad molds and such..
(^^^^^just my opinions^^^^^)

It would probably be so much easier to keep them on some kind of bark (like repti-bark, eco-earth, or bed-a-beast) with proper hides, water dish, climbing sticks, and some fake plastic plants that can be disinfected.

Good luck, and if you decide to do it post some pics, it would be interesting to see.

[mykee]

As owners of snakes, it is our responsibilty to provide the BEST husbandry that we can for these creatures. Whether you chose to have a pretty aquarium or a utilitarian rubbermaid/rack system, as long as we do everything that we can to meet it's requirements, it doesn't matter. It's about the snake first, then about aesthetics/space requirements.

[Linds]

I personally keep almost all my animals in ugly ol' funcitonal setups, but I applaud anyone who is willing to put fortht he effort to provide their animals with a more natural setup :) They aren't from lush areas, and I am fairly sure that those are the only kinds of grass-type areas that would thrive in a viviarium without an extensive setup including a lot of UV lighting.

Originally posted by sapphire_moon
repticarpet maybe, I've never seen anyone using real grass in their enclosure...

Artificial carpet and turf has no benefit to the animals, only the keeper. It would also completely defeat the purpose of a natural habitat ;)

[SerpentLust]

I keep all my animals in natural habitats. The only times I use newpaper or paper towel is for sick animals and I would if/when I start breeding for hatchlings. My animals enclosures I treat almost as a showcase, but still keeping in mind the needs of the reptile. I for one am willing to throw in that extra bit of time to maintain a natural habitat, however, I do have to point out, I only have two snakes! lol

Jenn

[mykee]

Jenn, and I think you hit the nail right on the head. For those of you who have fewer snakes or are newer to the hobby it's almost a given that the 'natural' look is what you'll gravitate towards. Until of course, your hobby gets out of hand and you have 15 snakes, and just the idea of maintaining 15 'natural' environments is enough to make you cry.

[sapphire_moon]

you got that right mykee! but I never really gravitated toward the "natural" look. All I wanted was something that looked nice, like aspen shavings.
Trying to clean 4 natural enclosures would make me cry! I have 3 other cages that would need cleaning also (rats and rabbit).

[marisa]

Yeah I tried the tanks and natural stuff at first. but it's WAY to hard to keep up on in the way I'd like.

What we do now is have most of our stuff in rubbermaids....but we will have a set up for one of our snakes so we can view him, and we keep things like leopard geckos and my cham out in natural set ups so we have a balance.

Marisa

[rip_this_joint]

I know reptibark can be expensive...I go to garden shop and buy a big bag of natural fir bark nuggets...then i boil them for 20 mins (just to be sure they are completely sterile)and lie them out to dry...and then they are ready to go. They are so inexpensive that once they are soiled you can just toss them, and by another bag. The catch is inititially sterilising. I reallly like the way the bark absorbs moisture by misting, especially when the snake is in shed. I think I paid under ten bucks for a huge bag.