Natural decor but not bioactive?

[embrit345]

So I ordered some nice new viv stacks for when my balls get bigger ( I am a girl btw lol )

I have gone for 36x15x22 high and have the space etc to upgrade again at a later date.

I want to make the vivs as natural looking as possible but don't want to go down the bioactive route. I also want something that won't mame husbandry impossible to , ain't a in ( at present I use paper towel and spot clean when necessary do full clean once a week )

I have ordered a huge lot of fake foliage but hope to add some live foliage in there to aid with humid ty, maybe some ferns or similar that can tolerate minimal light to prevent adding day glow bulbs etc.

So the questions I need answering really are.....

What wood would be safe for , y snakes. I live in the middle of a forest area and have friends wo are in the tree and wood trade. I can get oak freely but is that okay?

Substrate wise, what would be , y best bet to keep is natural but easy clean and aid with humidity without causing excessive damp etc

Has anyone got pics of their natural enclosures to give me inspiration please

Thanks in advance xxx

[KMG]

I have some pics in my profile of some cages I have had over the years. The pics labeled "Current Tanks" and in no way current and only has cypress mulch in it. the pics labeled "Aru GTP" has a the mixture I am about to describe but I started adding more cypress to the mix than what is in that pic. I need to update my pics, those are old.

I like using a mixture of cypress mulch, eco earth, and repti bark. I mix each in a big tub adding the right amount of each until I get the desired look. Mixing them makes them appear much more natural. It also helps eliminate issues like the dustiness the eco earth can cause when used alone. And will hold moisture like a champ. It may not be the cheapest method but I like its appearance.

Oak is fine to use.

[embrit345]

Thanks KMG

I have some time to get it right and would rather spend the money doing so straight off instead if swapping and changing a few weeks into it lol.

I shall get to work on some oak today. Is there a preferred way to clean it? Bark on or bark off, diluted bleach? Xx

[KMG]

This is more of the mix I use now.


I mix it a bit different depending on what cage it is for. My GTP has more eco earth and repti bark while my BP is more cypress based. While my Hoggy setup is more eco earth bases as she is a digger and the eco earth offers great ability for her to create tunnels.

[Slim]

I always laugh a little when some one uses "ball python" and "natural looking enclosue" in the same post. Honestly, unless you plan on creating a termite mound in the cage, it won't be natural for the snake. Lets not lose perspective on the fact that we build these "natural" environments for ourselves, not the snakes.

I urge you to keep cleaning in mind for each item you add to the tank. Ask yourself how hard it's gonna be to clean poop and urates off of anything you put in there, because sooner or later you'll need to do just that.

[distaff]

A quick search on Google "Images" and Pinterest will yield hundreds of naturalistic vivs, for both snakes and other animals. Some are very beautiful and impressive.

I use wood and bark and rocks from my yard in my vivs - no problems so far, and I don't expect any either.

[Coluber42]

I doubt I'll ever getting around to doing this (there are so many intriguing projects that fit into that category, like building a ship in a bottle...) but I think it would be really fun to build a creatively implausible "habitat" for a snake. FOr example, something like this in the background:

and then hides made to look like crashed tie fighters and x-wings. Or a background with an erupting volcano, and a water dish made to look like a lava pit. Or a background that looks like the cockpit of an airplane, and hides with controls and dials on them. Or use a background like a gothic cathedral and hides that look like cathedral furniture. Or a Sponge Bob habitat. Or the bridge of the Enterprise. Or a cityscape where the hides are food trucks and similar - making the snake look giant. Maybe Capitol Hill? Hides that look like the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the nearby congressional office buildings, and a reflecting pool water dish? So many possibilities!

[distaff]

I doubt I'll ever getting around to doing this (there are so many intriguing projects that fit into that category, like building a ship in a bottle...) but I think it would be really fun to build a creatively implausible "habitat" for a snake. FOr example, something like this in the background:

and then hides made to look like crashed tie fighters and x-wings. Or a background with an erupting volcano, and a water dish made to look like a lava pit. Or a background that looks like the cockpit of an airplane, and hides with controls and dials on them. Or use a background like a gothic cathedral and hides that look like cathedral furniture. Or a Sponge Bob habitat. Or the bridge of the Enterprise. Or a cityscape where the hides are food trucks and similar - making the snake look giant. Maybe Capitol Hill? Hides that look like the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the nearby congressional office buildings, and a reflecting pool water dish? So many possibilities!

I think about that stuff too. I really don't have room right now to fool around with foam, and plaster, etc. for these expansive projects. They may come to fruition some day (and I've posted here previously about a few of those ideas) - I still want the vivs beautiful, however, not kitsch.

[KMG]

Thanks KMG

I have some time to get it right and would rather spend the money doing so straight off instead if swapping and changing a few weeks into it lol.

I shall get to work on some oak today. Is there a preferred way to clean it? Bark on or bark off, diluted bleach? Xx

I don't find it hard to clean. The movements from a BP are tiny and I think very easy to clean up. Now my Blood pythons are a different story and being such they have much simpler cages.

When my BP goes I remove all the soiled substrate to the bottom of the cage and a very generous area around it. I think clean the bottom of the cage. After it has been cleaned and then rinsed with water I replace the area with fresh substrate. Pretty easy.

If anything else is soiled I simply remove it, clean it, and place it back in the cage. Not hard.

[embrit345]

I doubt I'll ever getting around to doing this (there are so many intriguing projects that fit into that category, like building a ship in a bottle...) but I think it would be really fun to build a creatively implausible "habitat" for a snake. FOr example, something like this in the background:

and then hides made to look like crashed tie fighters and x-wings. Or a background with an erupting volcano, and a water dish made to look like a lava pit. Or a background that looks like the cockpit of an airplane, and hides with controls and dials on them. Or use a background like a gothic cathedral and hides that look like cathedral furniture. Or a Sponge Bob habitat. Or the bridge of the Enterprise. Or a cityscape where the hides are food trucks and similar - making the snake look giant. Maybe Capitol Hill? Hides that look like the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the nearby congressional office buildings, and a reflecting pool water dish? So many possibilities!

Oh my word I hope my son doesn't see this. He is 11 and Star Wars crazy lol

I do appreciate that "natural" I'm the truest sense of the word is non achievable but natural to some degree, as in do 100% of bps live in termite mounds may be some what doable for me. Xx