Snake terrarium

babyxfce · 10-31-17, 01:17 AM

Hello, hey, I’m new here. Not sure how this works but I’d like some advice. I’m getting a surprise snake soon because my boyfriend is getting me one for Christmas 😊 and he already ordered his home and it’s a table terrarium? Doors in front and of course, we’re going to rig it up to have clasps and everything the lil guy needs but I’d really like to add live plants into his home. But with it being glass and not having much of a dipped in bottom, I’m not sure how I’d manage to keep the plants alive. Please, no hate. Any advice is welcome about anything! Thank you so much guys

JRLongton · 11-01-17, 06:31 AM

I'm no expert, but I think live plants will be a problem. Snakes poop, and you're going to need to clean it up. Eventually you'll end up disturbing the root system, which from your description will be quite shallow already.

Added to that is the consideration that the plants will need sunlight. You'll be amazed how quickly the temps can rise a glass tank can get in the sun!

I understand that some people do vivariums (living eco systems) but that gets very involved and is complicated to maintain, from what I've heard.

What kind of snake are you getting?

DJC Reptiles · 11-01-17, 07:43 AM

Hello there,
So exciting to see you are receiving a new snake! I am thinking this snake will be tropical so I am going to give some suggestions on plants you can use. Sadly plants with root systems don't seem like they would do to well in your terrarium considering they won't have too much space. You can try to plant ferns, and other types of non toxic weeds that grow rapidly, and that might work. I suggest planting vines instead though, just make sure you have some sort of rocky/textured background for the vines to grab hold of. Some suggestions I have are Split-leaf philodendron (Monstera deliciosa); pothos (Epipremnum pinnatum); ivy (Hedera spp.). I would recomend Josh's Frogs as a site to get live plants, they are very reliable and have tons of options. If you need any more information please contact me directly. Below I have linked a REPTILES Magazine article that should help you as well. Please keep me updated on the type of snake as well (if you can), as some of these plants crave a high humidity environment. Additionally lighting for the plants can be easily provided by using red and blue light (please ask if you have any questions).

Plants For Reptiles And Amphibians

Hope this helps!
-DJC Reptiles

dannybgoode · 11-02-17, 01:08 AM

Plants work just fine in a viv. All my vivs are planted to some extent - it's a case of matching the plants to the species and it's requirements.

So my L olivaceous have some arid grasses and not much else, my P regius has a full blown planted tank with a variety of tropical species (not all locality species I'm afraid which was my original intent).

My Natrix natrix will be fairly easy seeing as it is native to the UK

.

Quote:

So exciting to see you are receiving a new snake! I am thinking this snake will be tropical

That's a bold assumption on basically no further information whatsoever

. Given the op is in the States it could also be the case they are getting any number of lock species which are far from tropical.

Would it not be better to ask the species before proffering advice?

DJC Reptiles · 11-02-17, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannybgoode

Plants work just fine in a viv. All my vivs are planted to some extent - it's a case of matching the plants to the species and it's requirements.

So my L olivaceous have some arid grasses and not much else, my P regius has a full blown planted tank with a variety of tropical species (not all locality species I'm afraid which was my original intent).

My Natrix natrix will be fairly easy seeing as it is native to the UK

.

That's a bold assumption on basically no further information whatsoever

. Given the op is in the States it could also be the case they are getting any number of lock species which are far from tropical.

Would it not be better to ask the species before proffering advice?

Regardless of whether or not the snake is tropical, most species of plants are more suitable for boas and pythons. Yes it was a little bit bold of an assumption, but with the amount of information provided it is a safe assumption. On the point I was wrong, I provided a useful website for them to research more suitable species. But you are right, any more information would vastly help, these types of vivariums need weeks to start off right, because you need time for healthy bacteria buildup and for the plants to start to take shape. Without this, your plants could easily die when your snake comes in. And the waste from your snake would not decompose. I highly recommend including springtails, and small insects into your vivarium to allow decomposition to take place. The point is, you need to know the kind of snake you are getting, as this will determine what types of plants you get. Hope this helps!

TRD · 11-02-17, 04:58 PM

Just remember that plants need proper lighting, and most can't withstand high temperatures, need moisture, need oxygen to also reach the roots, and some require airflow. Then there's the topic of animal waste that has to be cleaned up - though little bugs can eat that - but eventually you'll have to replant it every 2-3 years unless you can flush the whole place with water to wash out buildup of salts and other nasties.

For plant lighting you'll need some strong 6000-6500K LED lights, 2000lm or so for each ~2ft of floor space, assuming it isn't a tall terrarium (>18" light to plant). Jungle Dawn LED lights work fine in most cases and come in 11, 13, and 22W variations (800, 1000, 2000 lm) and the 11/13W variations can be placed into Exo-Terra (not Zoomed) terrarium hoods for easy setup. LED lights don't give off (much) heat, or UVA, so you still need to provide a proper incandescent or halogen heat light.

As said, you need drainage layers, just like when potting plants. Clayballs with a protection layer over that, like mosquito net, so that the snake can't dig into it, and the substrate layers over it. You could also simply work with plants in pots but that may not be that visually appealing. You'll need to be able to at the very least have 6-8" of substrate for most plant species so they can root. Substrate can be any mixture of sand, clay, organic topsoil, leaves, fir/orchid bark, depending on plant species... do not mix in things like pine bark, cypress mulch, ..

MuppeTron · 12-01-17, 09:23 PM

I agree with DJC Reptiles, vines might be a good direction to move at first. Pothos is a great plant when you want live plants with your reptiles. But they do have a big root system and grow big pretty fast. They actually do well with higher temps too, but not above 90. I used to have pothos plants with my tree frogs years back. But be aware that it can be toxic to your snake if ingested. Just have care during feeding if you feed it in the tank.
Also a side note you might want to think about what KIND of snake you're getting. Some snakes can't handle high humidity, and live plants definitely add to that. Food for thought.