Waterfall Ideas

[CourtneyG01]

I would like to build a waterfall for my BP when I upgrade her to a larger enclosure. I already have varying size pumps to chose from and slate stone, just need to figure out what kind of design I would like to do.

The aquarium should be a 55gal size, probably going to use an exo terra cage design. I was planing on building a ledge or two with the stone for exploring and maybe a cave and a "pond" at the bottom for soaking (and swimming while she is small enough still)

Would very much like to see what any of you guys have made for your snakes or any DIY kind of things for this.

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[Stewart_Reptiles]

Might want to do more research on BP, it's not an anaconda

Healthy BP that have their husbandry met rarely soak let alone swim.

[CourtneyG01]

Might want to do more research on BP, it's not an anaconda

Healthy BP that have their husbandry met rarely soak let alone swim.

I was going more for the enrichment aspect for giving her a water source and something to climb.

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[Oxylepy]

Don't bother. For a number of reasons.

As was stated before, Ball Pythons are not a species of swimmers. They will do it, but they won't do it often, and soaking is a potential sign of mites, as well as low-humidity.
Ball Pythons are most comfortable hiding, and with something like a waterfall, it's going to be wasted effort as the most they will use of that is the cave, and even then the snake is unlikely to use it if it has water in it.
Ball pythons tend to react to water by trying to get out of said water and into something like a rodent burrow, or other place they will be protected from predators.

That's the reasons not to do it because it's effectively a waste of time and effort. Here are the reasons to not do it because of potential harm.

Ball Pythons aren't the most graceful of climbers, and will often just plop to the ground, potentially hurting themselves.
With that in mind, the snake may well climb up the waterfall, and plop right into it, which could lead to wet substrate and potential mold issues.
That said, it could also lead to injury of the snake from falling.
If you are not cautious as to how it is built, the snake could drown.
It's probably going to poop and pee in the water if it does use it, potentially damaging the pump system.
It's something else to clean, which means it is going to just increase the effort you spend keeping the snake in a clean environment.

I would not recommend giving your ball python a waterfall, or any such system. However, if you wish to have decorative waterfalls, there are a few lizard species that would highly appreciate that, as well as species of snakes and lizards which require much higher humidity, which would appreciate that.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I was going more for the enrichment aspect for giving her a water source and something to climb.

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They are also ground dwellers.

You want to build something to get closer to there natural environment build a termite mount which is where they send 80% of their time.

Do you plan on dissembling your Pond/Cascade completely every week to clean it? Algae and bacteria which grow in ponds are not your best friend

You are more likely to cause issues with this than 'Enriched' an animals that does not have a need for either pond or cascade based on their natural behavior and habitat.

[CourtneyG01]

Don't bother. For a number of reasons.

As was stated before, Ball Pythons are not a species of swimmers. They will do it, but they won't do it often, and soaking is a potential sign of mites, as well as low-humidity.
Ball Pythons are most comfortable hiding, and with something like a waterfall, it's going to be wasted effort as the most they will use of that is the cave, and even then the snake is unlikely to use it if it has water in it.
Ball pythons tend to react to water by trying to get out of said water and into something like a rodent burrow, or other place they will be protected from predators.

That's the reasons not to do it because it's effectively a waste of time and effort. Here are the reasons to not do it because of potential harm.

Ball Pythons aren't the most graceful of climbers, and will often just plop to the ground, potentially hurting themselves.
With that in mind, the snake may well climb up the waterfall, and plop right into it, which could lead to wet substrate and potential mold issues.
That said, it could also lead to injury of the snake from falling.
If you are not cautious as to how it is built, the snake could drown.
It's probably going to poop and pee in the water if it does use it, potentially damaging the pump system.
It's something else to clean, which means it is going to just increase the effort you spend keeping the snake in a clean environment.

I would not recommend giving your ball python a waterfall, or any such system. However, if you wish to have decorative waterfalls, there are a few lizard species that would highly appreciate that, as well as species of snakes and lizards which require much higher humidity, which would appreciate that.

I see your points, and what i had in mind to build would not have been that tall so that would have limited falling injuries, also substrate would not be an issue since it would be natural with pill bugs to help clean.

Though you are right about the pump, not sure how I would easily clean the system. Would have to set up up somewhat similar to our poison dart frogs for filtration

What about a small thing with water dripping/running down into a bowl for drinking that can be climbed on and provide some enrichment and aesthetic aspect.

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[Oxylepy]

Provided the fall is less than, say 6 inches to a foot (depending on the snake's size), the snake should be able to walk away fine. The dripper shouldn't be too difficult to refill, as well as unlikely to accumulate wastes in it. So from there, it should be less potentially hazardous to the snake. It still isn't really necessary for the snake.

If you want something for aesthetics get some kind of backdrop, or decorate the exterior of the cage. Anything inside should either be disposable or easily cleaned. That said, hides are a great place to work on interior visual appeal, climbing surfaces should allow the snake to easily fall off and not be too high to where it lands. Branches are good for this purpose.

If you want enrichment, a hide where the snake feels extremely secure (yet you still have access to for cleaning, and finding your snake) would be a decent idea. A short tunnel and a nice tight space is what it wants, just be sure that you have access to the snake at all times (open bottom for the tunnel and hide if mounted horizontally for the tunnel, able to be opened up if you want it to be vertical). Another idea is adding more hides, the more your snake can thermoregulate comfortably, the better, plus it looks relatively nice.

If you want enrichment and aesthetics and want to make it slightly more difficult to clean but not too difficult, help your snake feel like an ambush predator. Hides made of fake leaves come to mind (think plastic plant, but with enough coverage to obscure the snake while it's on the ground). Extra plastic plants scattered around it can hide behind, but not knock over is a good idea too.

What you want is something where you can throw it in some soapy water and rinse it without having to reconstruct it after, or having to dismantle it to remove it from the tank.

[CourtneyG01]

Okay sorry for coming back late, busy trying to get a new job. But tomorrow I will have a chance to draw what i have in mind. It will be a small 3 teir kind of thing, base will be the bowl, 2nd will be a narrow shelf for water flow and the top will be a stone cave for hiding in and cool area for thermo reg. All made with slate stone. It will be small, do not need it taking over that much of the tank.

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[CourtneyG01]

My artistic skills are lacking today but I gave a rough idea of what I am planning with just as equally rough drawing. But the idea is to have 3 layers of slate, one for the shelf so the water can run down. Another to set up the base of the cave and prevent a curiouse snake from getting stuck under there by the outflow of water and then the cave on top for hiding, the entrance will be side facing and not over the bowl. The two pipes I have drawn (aka the crapy lines I drew) will both be going out of the tank into a bucket for ease of cleaning water out and probably will have a natural filter set up, that is where the pump will live. One tube to drain the bowl and another to go up to the pvc pipe that will put the water out. This is a design we have used with both poison dart frogs and our aquariums in the past and it works really well. To prevent substrate from getting in the bowl i was going to do a ring of slate around her bowl to help keep it clean, its what i do with my tortoises and it worked out great for mostly keeping the water substrate free.

Also just a reminder this is still going to be for in a years time, she is not big enough yet for a 55gal aquarium so the design might change over time.




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