Is the sap of a ficus tree a major problem?

[Tiny Boidae]

Hiya, I want to put in a small tree/shrub/thing that doesn't look too exotic, and a ficus fits the bill mostly. I've heard some mixed opinions regarding if they should be used because of the sap, and this concerns me as undoubtedly some branches will snap if it attempted to climb it, and if the sap got between the scales and dried there (particularly the ventral scales), that'd be a "sticky" situation I'd rather not deal with.

Of course I don't mind using a silk alternative, or a different plant entirely, but I'm just trying to explore and exhaust all of my options for this cage. I do plan on making a water area large enough for the beauty to soak in, in case it did get some sap on it and was hoping to wash it off, although I'm unsure how well an animal with no arms or legs can do this.

Also, regardless if it's live or fake, how do I keep the beauty from knocking it over? I can just visualize the snake trying to rest on some upper branches and pulling the tree down with it. It will have a month or so to set down roots before I introduce the animal to it, but I'm not sure how well it would hold up if it didn't have roots at all or just wasn't that sturdy...

[Minkness]

If you do fake, you can use glue or a nail to fasten it to a wide bottom like a frisbee or plant pot water dish thing, then cover it with the substrate you use. If you decide to go with live, then add rocks in the base under the potting soil and choose a pot that either has an equal sized base in comparison to the top, or a wider base than the top. Traditional pots have a larger top and smaller bottom and that leads to tipping.

Good luck!

[Tiny Boidae]

Minkness-

Thank you so much, that was exactly what I was looking for! I just didn't see that skinny tree being able to stay upright with an 8-foot colubrid exploring it. I've got a ton of spare bricks in the garage, I'll probably use that to prop the ficus up.