Interesting challenge, need advice

Fri Sep 18, 2009 8:02 pm

Hey Y'all,
I need some advice. I am setting up a vivarium for one of my snakes. I am trying to get away from the boring water, hide, and woodshavings set up. I am going to try this out with one of my snakes and if it works out well I will move onto the others. I am setting up a more desert-like terrarium this time and I got some succulents from a local nursery. I wanted to see what plants people think would be good for the other snakes?
-Mexican black king snake: this one is being set up first go around.
-California king snake: Likely needs a more temperate set up
-Spotted Python: Arid set up
-Ball Python: This one is a little more challenging. This snake will get heavier than the others and will crush plants. temperate set up.
Interested to see what people say

Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:54 pm

I haven't kept a snake since my son was 8 years old, over 30 years ago. He caught a baby garter snake and wanted to keep it, so we did. :lol:

Anyway, I don't know much about keeping snakes. We used a fish tank. Is that what your snakes are in?

If your snakes are in glass-walled tanks, then think the primary difficulty you're going to face is one of humidity. Desert plants don't particularly like humid air. It might be problematic to provide sufficient air circulation, unless you can install a whisper fan, or other type of ventilation assistance. JMO.

Good luck in your endeavor! I'd like to see pictures of the habitats you develop.

Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:18 pm

Thanks! I'll post some pictures soon. I actually ended up having enough substrate for two enclosures, so I did both of my king snakes. But I only have one planted for now. I'm going to try and get the other going in the next few days. I'll try and get some pictures up soon.

Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:20 pm

I forgot to answer your question, yes they are in fish tanks. I was hoping that having mesh tops would allow enough circulation. I'm really excited about this. If this works out I get to combine two interests of mine into a sort of art!

Sat Sep 19, 2009 1:14 am

I think it's a great idea, myself!

I'm not certain there will be enough air circulation for succulents, even with the mesh top on the tank. Do you think it would be possible to position a very small fan in such a way that it blew across the length of the mesh top? That would encourage a good exchange of air in the tank, to prevent moisture from accumulating, but I don't know how it might affect the residents. The well-being of the snakes certainly has to be a major consideration.

Sat Sep 19, 2009 5:44 am

One of the beauties of snake keeping is that many species are very hardy and require very little upkeep. I don't believe that the fan would do anything, at least once the snakes got used to it.

Sat Sep 19, 2009 5:57 am

The air moving across the mesh top should create a very mild vacuum effect, pulling the air out of the tank and allowing fresh air to flow in. I don't think it would be strong enough that the snakes would even notice a draft, or do they have sensors on their bodies that register changes in pressure from air movements? Still, as you say, they should be able to adapt without much difficulty.

Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:16 am

A PC cooling fan should do nicely. I remember somegeek using that for his seed starting set up.

I don't know anything about snakes, but won't the vibration bother them though?

Also, what about lighting? -- I mean for the plants. There's been some discussions about lighting for indoor plants in other threads.

Sun Sep 20, 2009 2:11 am

The vibration would be a concern, there is a good chance that the snakes would adjust to it relatively quickly though. As for lighting, all of the snakes have lights for basking. The light for the pythons is warmer, ~90 F at the center.