Reptibark, Plants

[hellosugaree]

Just curious what you guys think of Zoomed Reptibark as a substrate. I'd like to hear about your experiences with it, good or bad. I really like the look and feel of it, and hoping my 8 months old carpet will like it too. If you like it, tell me why. If you abhor it, why, and what do you use for a substrate instead? I have him on newspaper now, so at least aesthetically anything is an upgrade!

On another note, I am thinking about trying a few live plants to make the habitat more natural. What substrates have you used for plants? I know the plant part could go in a more appropriate section, but the two questions are sort of intertwined. Please note that the plants are secondary--if they fail I'm not going to be heartbroken. I am more concerned about getting a substrate that looks good and helps maintain appropriate conditions for my little (for now... he loves to eat) guy.

Thanks

[theapexgerman]

On the reptibark I love it I use it for all my reptiles almost it can even be reuse a few months ago when I got my dumeril I forgot who mention I should use reptibark but ever since then reptibark is best I found and on live plants I can't help there

[lady_bug87]

I use reptibark and its alright I had my BP and Boa on it and I just changed over to aspen and now its just my bullsnake on it

for my GTP which has live plants I use coco Husk it stays moist and the plants grow well. I now use black earth (fertilizer and pesticide free) for my lacertas

[alessia55]

I use ReptiBark for my ball pythons and it's great for helping me keep the humidity levels up. :)

[Lankyrob]

All my snakes have reptibark, the corns like to burrow through it and its great for the guys that need higher humidity, i recommend it to anyone that asks about substrate :)

[Strutter769]

I use repti-bark on top of Eco-Earth. Gives a nice, natural look and of course is great for humidity.

[jarich]

Ya, I use bark as well. It looks great and holds humidity really well. If youre putting plants in with a carpet then is recommend just keeping them in the pot and bury the pot under/in the reptibark. It'll look like its planted and yet it's easy to remove during cleanings or if it dies.

[marvelfreak]

I use it for most of my snakes. It works great and can be belched, rinsed, dried and reused. It also help keep the order when they poop.

[theapexgerman]

I use it for most of my snakes. It works great and can be belched, rinsed, dried and reused. It also help keep the order when they poop.
It was you who reconmened to use reptibark awhile ago its some great stuff

[marvelfreak]

It was you who reconmened to use reptibark awhile ago its some great stuff
Yep it was me. I love the stuff works so good.

[millertime89]

I love the repitbark, however as soon as cyprus comes back "in season" at menards/home depot/lowes I'll be buying it from there because its WAY cheaper. 3ish dollars for the same amount as a 20 dollar bag of reptibark.

[theapexgerman]

I pay like 24 bucks for an 24 dry quart bag of repti bark but I dont got that many snakes so a bag last me for ahwile

[marvelfreak]

I have reptile bark that is over a year old in some of my cages. That why i like it all you have to do is follow the directions on the bag and you can clean it and reuse it over and over. As far as the price i get e-mails telling me when it's going on sell and with my Pet Smart card i get the 24 guart bags for $15.99 a bag.

[theapexgerman]

Wow arnt you lucky I don't mind paying that cause I bought only 2 bags so far all I need easy to reuse

[snakekid6996]

For live plants you could put a couple inches of soil on the bottowm of the tank and put the plants in that, then pt a layer of the bark over that. You just have to make sure that if you buy soil that there's nothing in it that will ahrm the snake. If you dig up soil I would recomend heating it up to 250 degrees for a few hours to kill off anything that might harm your snake.

[hellosugaree]

For live plants you could put a couple inches of soil on the bottowm of the tank and put the plants in that, then pt a layer of the bark over that. You just have to make sure that if you buy soil that there's nothing in it that will ahrm the snake. If you dig up soil I would recomend heating it up to 250 degrees for a few hours to kill off anything that might harm your snake.

Recommendations for a commercial soil that is safe and not too messy?

[snakekid6996]

I have no idea what i used. I just went to walmart and found a huge bag of it for only 2$! just make sure there are no pesticides, fertalizer, or anything else harmful in it.

[jarich]

There is quite a bit more to it than putting two inches of soil down and having your plants grow successfully. If you want to put in soil, then you need to first layer pebbles or sand on the bottom, then some charcoal, then a fine mesh or moss, then the soil. You'll also need to have quite a bit more than 2 inches, otherwise it will very quickly use up the nutrients in the soil, or dry out, etc, etc. If you go that route, you need to buy soil with no perlite or vermiculite in it as those are harmful to your reptile. The organic soils are best as you don't have to worry about the harsh fertilizers. They usually use things like worm castings.

However, if you do this for a snake enclosure Id recommend also getting some earthworms, grubs etc to put in there so that the bioactivity of the soil is increased. Your going to be taxing it a lot by having an animal in there with all its wastes. Its not impossible by any means, just takes more work. So depending on how much work you want to put into it, let that decide on whether you put in the soil or just put the plants with their pots in the reptibark.

[snakekid6996]

There is quite a bit more to it than putting two inches of soil down and having your plants grow successfully. If you want to put in soil, then you need to first layer pebbles or sand on the bottom, then some charcoal, then a fine mesh or moss, then the soil. You'll also need to have quite a bit more than 2 inches, otherwise it will very quickly use up the nutrients in the soil, or dry out, etc, etc. If you go that route, you need to buy soil with no perlite or vermiculite in it as those are harmful to your reptile. The organic soils are best as you don't have to worry about the harsh fertilizers. They usually use things like worm castings.

However, if you do this for a snake enclosure Id recommend also getting some earthworms, grubs etc to put in there so that the bioactivity of the soil is increased. Your going to be taxing it a lot by having an animal in there with all its wastes. Its not impossible by any means, just takes more work. So depending on how much work you want to put into it, let that decide on whether you put in the soil or just put the plants with their pots in the reptibark.
oh sorry i didn't know that. I have a 10 gallon with all live plants in it that only have soil. Why do you need the pebbles, charcol, and mesh?? I just got a red tail boa and I want to set up an all natural vivarium for him so any information you could give me would be helpful.

[jarich]

No problem, just wanted to make sure they get it set up right as soon as possible. The pebbles/sand are drainage for the water, just like the holes in the bottom of flower pots. If there is nowhere for the water to drain off, then eventually the roots will rot and the plant dies. The charcoal on top of that will soak up odours and also is a bio active media. The screen/moss on top of that keeps the soil from washing down into the pebbles over time. For a tank I'd recommend an inch of pebbles, a thin layer of activated charcoal (1/2 inch thick), a layer of fiberglass screen then at least four inches of good soil. I can take a picture of the side of one of my vivs to show you tomorrow.

[lady_bug87]

I recently bought Vigaro black earth black earth no pebbles or perlite just beautiful moist black earth my lacertas love it

[snakekid6996]

No problem, just wanted to make sure they get it set up right as soon as possible. The pebbles/sand are drainage for the water, just like the holes in the bottom of flower pots. If there is nowhere for the water to drain off, then eventually the roots will rot and the plant dies. The charcoal on top of that will soak up odours and also is a bio active media. The screen/moss on top of that keeps the soil from washing down into the pebbles over time. For a tank I'd recommend an inch of pebbles, a thin layer of activated charcoal (1/2 inch thick), a layer of fiberglass screen then at least four inches of good soil. I can take a picture of the side of one of my vivs to show you tomorrow.
thanks, but will the snake be able to feel the heat from a UTH with that thick of bedding between it?? That's like 5 and a half inches so how do you heat the tank??

[hellosugaree]

I can take a picture of the side of one of my vivs to show you tomorrow.

This would be very nice. Also, how do you heat it?

[Gungirl]

With that much sub-straight you would have to use a Che, RPH or lights as a heat source. Heating with a UTH from the bottom would not be very useful.

[jarich]

Absolutely true; yes, I heat with a CHE or a spotlight in all my planted enclosures. Here is a picture (crappy phone one, sorry) of the side so you can see the levels.
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff412/jrichholt/photo10.jpg
For this particular enclosure I have a layer of sand at the very bottom that you can barely see, then charcoal, then pebbles, then fibreglass screen, then soil. You can just do sand or pebbles in the bottom, both arent necessary.

[snakekid6996]

Absolutely true; yes, I heat with a CHE or a spotlight in all my planted enclosures. Here is a picture (crappy phone one, sorry) of the side so you can see the levels.
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff412/jrichholt/photo10.jpg
For this particular enclosure I have a layer of sand at the very bottom that you can barely see, then charcoal, then pebbles, then fibreglass screen, then soil. You can just do sand or pebbles in the bottom, both arent necessary.

Thank ya. And are worms all I need to throw in there to start a bioactive substrate?? Also do you know of any good ways to build a small pond in a tank??

[jarich]

Worms will get you started yes. You can add other bugs in there Ive heard, but Ive never put in more than worms. Just make sure you are getting worms that thrive at the temperature of your enclosure. For instance Canadian nightcrawlers (the worms in most bait shops) need cooler temps to thrive.

For the pond, how big of an enclosure are we talking here? And what animal? If the enclosure is not big, its usually better to just have a tub that gets cleaned out regularly. Otherwise you are talking about putting in a piece of plexiglass with some silicone to separate it from the soil area. Then making sure to have the proper filter and cleaning it out every few weeks.

[snakekid6996]

Worms will get you started yes. You can add other bugs in there Ive heard, but Ive never put in more than worms. Just make sure you are getting worms that thrive at the temperature of your enclosure. For instance Canadian nightcrawlers (the worms in most bait shops) need cooler temps to thrive.

For the pond, how big of an enclosure are we talking here? And what animal? If the enclosure is not big, its usually better to just have a tub that gets cleaned out regularly. Otherwise you are talking about putting in a piece of plexiglass with some silicone to separate it from the soil area. Then making sure to have the proper filter and cleaning it out every few weeks.

What worms will work?? And I have a Red tail boa and I'm going to set up a 30 gallon long. I'll have to upgrade eventually obviously, but do you have an idea for the 30 gallon??

[jarich]

Honestly Id probably stick with just a water tub for a snake that size. All it would take is one big poop and you would kill the nitrogen cycle of the water.

If all you are using them for is the activity of the soil then Id go for red wigglers or something like that. They like the ground warm (they are good composting worms) so soil temperatures up to 80 degrees are perfect for them. They dont require deep soil either as they stay towards the top.

[snakekid6996]

Honestly Id probably stick with just a water tub for a snake that size. All it would take is one big poop and you would kill the nitrogen cycle of the water.

If all you are using them for is the activity of the soil then Id go for red wigglers or something like that. They like the ground warm (they are good composting worms) so soil temperatures up to 80 degrees are perfect for them. They dont require deep soil either as they stay towards the top.

How hard is it to change the water?? And what about for a corn snake??

[millertime89]

I heat from the bottom with a UTH/flexwatt with substrate, but I keep my room warmer than most people do so the UTH is simply used for a hot spot. What temp do you keep your room?

[jarich]

Its not hard to change the water, but if you have a snake that goes once or twice a week, and your changing the water that often, then you are overtaxing your bacteria growth pretty hard. Like is said, its not impossible, but its pretty tough unless you have a really large water feature.

Just thought of another bug to put in there. Woodlice. They breed pretty easily and take care of a good bit of stuff for you. Plus theyre a great feeder item

[snakekid6996]

Its not hard to change the water, but if you have a snake that goes once or twice a week, and your changing the water that often, then you are overtaxing your bacteria growth pretty hard. Like is said, its not impossible, but its pretty tough unless you have a really large water feature.

Just thought of another bug to put in there. Woodlice. They breed pretty easily and take care of a good bit of stuff for you. Plus theyre a great feeder item

What if I had a little filter in it and I just scooped out the crap whenever he decided to poop in his water?? And were can I buy woodlice?? Do they sell them at petstores??

[jarich]

Nope, you go look under some wood outside. They are the little grey ones that roll up into a ball when frightened. Also called rolly polly bugs. Shouldnt have a trouble finding them in the warmer weather.

As for the filter, thats why I say you need a large water feature. Cleaning out the poop when you see it is only part of the problem. All the urates that come out as a liquid that you cant remove are the bigger issue. A small filter just wont be able to hold enough media to contain enough bacteria. A large filter with a large water feature is about the only way to go with a large reptile.

[snakekid6996]

Nope, you go look under some wood outside. They are the little grey ones that roll up into a ball when frightened. Also called rolly polly bugs. Shouldnt have a trouble finding them in the warmer weather.

As for the filter, thats why I say you need a large water feature. Cleaning out the poop when you see it is only part of the problem. All the urates that come out as a liquid that you cant remove are the bigger issue. A small filter just wont be able to hold enough media to contain enough bacteria. A large filter with a large water feature is about the only way to go with a large reptile.

How big of a filter would I need?? And how would I fit a big filter in a Tiny little pond?? And you should have just said rolly Polly :p I know what they are now I can get some

[jarich]

Sorry, wasnt sure if that was just a thing from my childhood or if it was common use. ;)

As for the filter, it would need to be both a big filter and a big pond, thats the kicker. The only way I know of to do this is to have an external filter and pond. Basically, if you had the enclosure on a stand, you would keep a separate 10 gallon tank with a canister filter under it. The pond inside the enclosure would be connected to the 10 gallon tank via a tube and then the exit tube of the canister filter would run back to the enclosure pond. That way you have enough water and filter to compensate for your snake.

[hellosugaree]

How big of a filter would I need?? And how would I fit a big filter in a Tiny little pond?? And you should have just said rolly Polly :p I know what they are now I can get some


As for the filter, it would need to be both a big filter and a big pond, thats the kicker. The only way I know of to do this is to have an external filter and pond. Basically, if you had the enclosure on a stand, you would keep a separate 10 gallon tank with a canister filter under it. The pond inside the enclosure would be connected to the 10 gallon tank via a tube and then the exit tube of the canister filter would run back to the enclosure pond. That way you have enough water and filter to compensate for your snake.

Snakekid, have you ever kept fish before? And I don't mean a feeder goldfish you won at a carnival and kept in a tank of brown water swimming upside down. Think of how many fish you can put in a 20 gallon tank... not that many. What is the most common reason (keeper fault) that aquarium fish die? Overfeeding. Why is this? Leftover food and extra waste breaks down and fouls the water quality. How much do the fish weigh that you can successfully keep in a 20 gallon tank. I would say less than the weight of the snake you are trying to keep. In addition, to keep even that small amount of fish, you have to do regular water changes and have a decent filter.

Listen to jarich, he is right. The filter size is not the only consideration. The total volume of water is also important. You can hook up the world's biggest filter to a 5 gallon tank, and it will still only be a 5 gallon tank. The type of filter he is suggesting is similar to what people use in large aquariums, especially marine. The filter (often called a sump or refugium) consists of basically a smaller aquarium underneath where people put usually a filter media with lots of surface area to house necessary bacteria to break down wastes. Water is trickled over the media so it is not submerged, that way there is enough oxygen for the bacteria to do their magic. In aqauria, often people also put plants/algae/live rock to add additional bioactivity. The filter also serves to essentially increase the water volume of the tank. Water usually falls down through an overflow system made by drilling holes in the glass and allowing water above a certain height in the tank to fall via gravity into the filter. The water in the filter is pumped back up from the tank so the water cycles.

This would be very complicated to do in a small tank without either flooding your tank, flooding your floor, or being insufficient. I would take the earlier advice of jarich and stick with a water dish :) Leave the ponds for the zoo or your backyard. :)

[snakekid6996]

Snakekid, have you ever kept fish before? And I don't mean a feeder goldfish you won at a carnival and kept in a tank of brown water swimming upside down. Think of how many fish you can put in a 20 gallon tank... not that many. What is the most common reason (keeper fault) that aquarium fish die? Overfeeding. Why is this? Leftover food and extra waste breaks down and fouls the water quality. How much do the fish weigh that you can successfully keep in a 20 gallon tank. I would say less than the weight of the snake you are trying to keep. In addition, to keep even that small amount of fish, you have to do regular water changes and have a decent filter.

Listen to jarich, he is right. The filter size is not the only consideration. The total volume of water is also important. You can hook up the world's biggest filter to a 5 gallon tank, and it will still only be a 5 gallon tank. The type of filter he is suggesting is similar to what people use in large aquariums, especially marine. The filter (often called a sump or refugium) consists of basically a smaller aquarium underneath where people put usually a filter media with lots of surface area to house necessary bacteria to break down wastes. Water is trickled over the media so it is not submerged, that way there is enough oxygen for the bacteria to do their magic. In aqauria, often people also put plants/algae/live rock to add additional bioactivity. The filter also serves to essentially increase the water volume of the tank. Water usually falls down through an overflow system made by drilling holes in the glass and allowing water above a certain height in the tank to fall via gravity into the filter. The water in the filter is pumped back up from the tank so the water cycles.

This would be very complicated to do in a small tank without either flooding your tank, flooding your floor, or being insufficient. I would take the earlier advice of jarich and stick with a water dish :) Leave the ponds for the zoo or your backyard. :)
Yea lol our whole house is full of tanks, because that's what my parents are into. We have 8 or 9 tanks in our house and most of them are saltwater. My step dads 65 gallon and moms 125gallon both use filters like that. I was just woundering if I could glue some plexiglass in the tank to devide it into two sides (one side covering about 1/4 of the tank the other covering 3/4). I could fill the smaller side with water and the larger side with substrate. I would change the water whenever it was dirty. I don't understand what the difference is between doing that and putting a bowl in??

[jarich]

Mostly just ease of cleaning. To get the water out of a part of the tank like that is kind of a pain in the butt. If its just a tub, then you pull it out, wash it out and youre done. You can definitely do it the way you were talking about, its just more work.

If your parents already have that many tanks (and saltwater at that!) then they are pretty well up on biological filtration for water systems. They could probably easily help you set up a system like the one I was talking about. Its more effort at the start, but in the long run I suppose would be more natural. I mean, if its just a snake you are putting in there anyway, then to be honest it shouldnt be as taxing. Snakes dont often crap in the water so if its just the normal soaking of a snake then a small fluval tucked in the corner and a couple gallons of water should be fine. Youll still need to clean it often, but your parents should be able to show you how often and all that. They already have the test kits for things like nitrite/nitrate levels and pH Im guessing, so you can stay on top of those things easily. I would say though, it might be more fun to get a slightly larger tank if you are going to do that. Just a thought.

[hellosugaree]

Yea lol our whole house is full of tanks, because that's what my parents are into. We have 8 or 9 tanks in our house and most of them are saltwater. My step dads 65 gallon and moms 125gallon both use filters like that. I was just woundering if I could glue some plexiglass in the tank to devide it into two sides (one side covering about 1/4 of the tank the other covering 3/4). I could fill the smaller side with water and the larger side with substrate. I would change the water whenever it was dirty. I don't understand what the difference is between doing that and putting a bowl in??

Here is the difference illustrated in 2 scenarios.

Scenario A--Water bowl: Your snake takes a huge crap in the water bowl. This crap is of epic proportions like nothing you've ever seen. Being a keen snake keeper, you don't panic. You simply remove the water dish from the tank, and dump the contents into the toilet. Flush and its gone. You wash the dish with soap and water, refill it, and put it back in the tank. Total time: 2 minutes. Good for your snake? Yep, you removed the dish and washed it so the snake isn't drinking it's own feces/urine traces.

Scenario B--Divider in tank to make "pond": Your snake takes said crap in the pond. First you need to remove the solids. You grab a net, or use your hand, and then you try to find a way to get it to the toilet/trash without dripping poop water onto the carpet. Once the solids are gone, you now need to change the water. You get out the trusty home depot 5 gallon bucket and your siphon tube. If you're smart you have a bulb to start the flow. If you're like me with my fish tanks, you use your mouth to start the flow and hope you don't get a mouth full of tasty fish water (snake water in your case). then once you siphon the water out, you dump it. Now you go rinse out and fill your bucket up with clean water. Then you carry the bucket back over to the tank, dripping all over the floor. Now you have to get the water into your "pond." Keep in mind if you want to siphon it the bucket has to be higher than the tank. So you either put the bucket on a high shelf, hold it up above the tank, or you have to pour the water into the tank. In either case it's a pain and a mess. Hopefully you get more water in the water side than on the dry side of the tank or better yet, the floor. Also, with the divider you can't wash it like a dish. Not quite as sanitary.

Make sense?

[snakekid6996]

So it's really just how much work I'm willing to put into it??

[jarich]

Ya, essentially.