Plants

I want to get some to up the humidity, and I've also heard that it's possible. But in my very first post, and I was advised against it because the snake will destroy the plants, and that potting soil can harbor harmful bacterias, so I've got a couple of questions. Thanks.

1. What (if any) are some durable plants?
2. Is there any way to clean the potting mix, such as baking it like you would a substrate?

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Originally Posted by olaf

I want to get some to up the humidity, and I've also heard that it's possible. But in my very first post, and I was advised against it because the snake will destroy the plants, and that potting soil can harbor harmful bacterias, so I've got a couple of questions. Thanks.

1. What (if any) are some durable plants?
2. Is there any way to clean the potting mix, such as baking it like you would a substrate?

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Potting mix is fine, just get the type that doesn't have fertilizer. Most commercial potting mixes will be sterilized. I actually kept one of my Balls in potting mix for a few months because that was the only thing that would get her to eat. As far as plants, try to get a durable one such as a Cast Iron plant (Aspidistra elatior) or one of the philodendrons.

One of the major issues with Ball Pythons not being very good "vivarium" inhabitants is that plants need light, and ball pythons hate it. If you are trying to bump humidity up, simply placing a pot full of moist soil (plant optional) will help do that.

So it's more of the soil that helps humidity, or the plant?

Soil. You can even moisten some substrates such as cypress, but you have to be careful that it's not too moist because your snake can develop scale rot or if mold/mildew start growing, your snake can develop a respiratory infection.

Whats nice about using containers of moist substrate is that its a lot less mess than filling the tank with it, and is easier to remove and re-moisten then if it were just layed down on the floor of the tank. If your hosue is really really dry, you may want to think about just switching to all humid hides, it'll just simply your maintenence routine.