Future enclosures - earth??

[Lankyrob]

Being totally skint at the moment means i am spending a lot of time dreaming about what i would like my animals to live in in the future.

Now i really love naturalistic looking enclosures and am wondering whether a topsoil/sand mix would work for all snakes.

I am thinking for ground dwelling snakes they could have enough soil to burrow with leaf litter covering it and some small plants/bonsai trees growing. And for arboreal snakes have a similar floor with a taller enclosure with larger plants/trees.

Just dreaming for now but what pros and cons can we come up with :)

[Gungirl]

My thought.... They live on dirt/sand in the wild so I can't see it hurting. As long as you clean out all the dirt around the poop and what not simply replace as needed. Just make sure you get chemical free dirt.

[Lankyrob]

Am thinking in a perfect world of having a ecosystem in each viv where there are insects that will break down the poo and help the plants live too, no idea if it is possible but i like the idea :)

[Gungirl]

Hrmm... I understand what you mean now. I think that each viv would have to be fairly large to create a balanced system. I am thinking more or less 3x4 times what they actually need, In order for them to not destroy the plant matter and stuff needed to create the balance. Although I could be way off..

[Donnie]

I suppose as long as you provide the correct environment for both the snake and the plants in there, which I suppose should not be to hard (my level of gardening is cutting grass and clipping the hedges so not sure about the plant side of it) it would be a great enclosure.

[Slcburm]

ORRRR you could just let me stay outside.. lol

[JustBitten]

Am thinking in a perfect world of having a ecosystem in each viv where there are insects that will break down the poo and help the plants live too, no idea if it is possible but i like the idea :)

There are whole forums dedicated to people doing this. Not sure if I'm allowed to point you toward one here without getting in trouble? Anywho, I've been looking into it myself for months and it really appeals. Big downside for me though is the frequency of buggies escaping and repopulating your house. As long as you don't mind leakers escaping the viv, you're good to go. People who keep dart frogs and certain geckos tend to be at the forefront of the living viv game.

[infernalis]

Bio-active (natural substrate) is effective in any enclosure.

I can practically watch my monitors poop dissapear inside their cage.

Others are starting to use it in snake enclosures as well.

[Lankyrob]

Must admit wayne your monitor enclosure started the thought process, i dont even care if i rarely see the snakes i just think the enclsures would look amazing :)

[Gungirl]

So if I wanted to do one for my GTP I could essentially do it in his viv now? It is a fully sealed 3' x 2' x 3' viv.. What do you add to the soil? I know the basics on drainage with screen and stone but as far as bugs go..

[infernalis]

if you just go out to that cabin, and take a shovel with you, everything you need will already be in the soil.

I didn't add a thing to my dirt as far as bugs or bacteria go, just good old country sod.

[Gungirl]

hrmmm.. ok I might just have to give it a go. At least if it doesn't work right for me I just dump it out , clean it and refill it with something else.

[beardeds4life]

Will the bugs get out? Or will they stay in the soil? I know how to do it that is the only thing holding me back. You can do it in any enclosure from a 30 foot viv to a 3 inch viv you do it the same.

[CDN_Blood]

Earth can mold quite quickly, so I don't recommend it at all. As has been mentioned, there are specially designed substrates that are a lot safer. If all else fails, peat moss is dirt cheap (haha), it's sanitary, easy to clean and hold humidity really well, but it can be messy.

[Gungirl]

Todd that is what I am afraid of. Mold.. I sealed my vivs super well to avoid having to deal with any at all. I want to do something to vamp up my GTP's viv but I am scared of making him sick due to my wanting a nice looking viv.

[CDN_Blood]

Yeah, it's actually pretty wild how quickly earth will mold and how fast it spreads. It can be deadly to the crawlies :(