Live plants that are known to be safe for snakes?🤔

[Shadkill]

Hi all.

I am considering putting some live plants in with my western hognose, mostly succulents (such as Hen & chicks, Burro’s Tail, Echeveria and Haworthia), as well as looking for plants for a live vivarium for the garters I plan on keeping.

But I was wondering about other flowering or trailing plants, like Heather, Lavander, Orchid, Dogwood, and Hibiscus? I can't seem to find an actual answer when researching these plants

I'm not too worried about them eating the plants, cause they are carnivorous and not likely to eat said plants, though broken stems, saps, jucies and dug up roots could be a potential problem (looking at you Theda)

but I was wondering if anyone has a definitive list of non-toxic/poisonous plants that are safe for snakes, and maybe a list of what to avoid?

thanks all 😄

[toddnbecka]

Plants in a snake's enclosure are more of a consideration of something that won't get destroyed by the snake moving around than presenting a danger to the snake. I've never heard of any plants being toxic to snakes. Pothos is often recommended as being fiarly tough, requiring little light, but it is slow growing. Cryptanthus, a family of terrestrial bromeliads, should be a fair bet as well. I'd recommend placing them in removable pots so that they can easily be removed if necessary to have time to recover in case they do get damaged, or simply replaced occasionally.

[chairman]

The only plant that comes to mind is Adenium obesum, sold in the USA as 'desert rose.' If memory serves, the plant secretes mildly poisonous substances from the bark.

Other than that, a hognose shouldn't run into many plant-based issues.

You do need to be more careful with insect eating snakes. The insects can feed on toxic plants and transfer the toxins to snakes in their gut.

[Shadkill]

Originally Posted by chairman

The only plant that comes to mind is Adenium obesum, sold in the USA as 'desert rose.' If memory serves, the plant secretes mildly poisonous substances from the bark.

Other than that, a hognose shouldn't run into many plant-based issues.

You do need to be more careful with insect eating snakes. The insects can feed on toxic plants and transfer the toxins to snakes in their gut.

Thank you for the advice!

[Shadkill]

Originally Posted by toddnbecka

Plants in a snake's enclosure are more of a consideration of something that won't get destroyed by the snake moving around than presenting a danger to the snake. I've never heard of any plants being toxic to snakes. Pothos is often recommended as being fiarly tough, requiring little light, but it is slow growing. Cryptanthus, a family of terrestrial bromeliads, should be a fair bet as well. I'd recommend placing them in removable pots so that they can easily be removed if necessary to have time to recover in case they do get damaged, or simply replaced occasionally.

yeah, I have a plan in place regarding the easy removal or replacement of plants, since I know quite a few will be damaged by the resident digger snoot XD

I've just heard that a few plants can be poisonous, with sap or reptiles accidentally ingesting parts, and I don't wanna run the risk ya know?

thanks for your suggestions! I'll certainly look into these plants