Re: Real plants rather than fake ones?
just as another idea, there was a thread some time ago where they built a sub floor in the tank and had space for potted plants cut into it. gives the plants their own pots and keeps everything level. I believe he was using english ivy in the tank. btw, the coconut shell idea sounds really cool- may have to give it a try when i finish my display tank :D
Re: Real plants rather than fake ones?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
TrpnBils
Anyone saying it can't be done is just lazy. It can absolutely be done...I've had my macklott's pythons set up in naturalistic vivariums for almost a year with no problems. That's saying something considering Macks are more susceptible to respiratory infections and eye infections than most snakes due to unsanitary conditions.
Ball pythons are obviously a more terrestrial snake than, say, a corn snake or a boa so take that into consideration when shopping for plants. You'll want to stick with something that doesn't cover a lot of ground and something that doesn't require watering every day. My suggestion would be to give snake plants (Genus Sansevieria) a try. You can find them at Wal Mart or just about anywhere else, they're cheap, and they're hardy. I've used these with large ground boas and other desert species before without many problems. The biggest thing about Sansevieria is that they tend to get pretty tall and may need trimmed, but you'll have that with any plant.
I'd stay away from something like Pothos or other common viv plants because they tend to spread out a lot on the ground and will get flattened. One other option is to try air plants or some kind of elevated planter in the viv. I've done this through the use of 1/4 coconut shells...if you silicone the shell either to the side of the viv or to a piece of wood, slate, or other flat material, you can fill the newly-built planter with some dirt and a plant. I've used this with arboreal species before, but you could give it a shot with a BP to at least get some ambience in there and make it look nice. One nice thing about this way is that your watering is contained to the planter and it doesn't make the substrate wet.
Lazy eh? I won't even make you look bad.
Anyways the your ball python will pretty much kill any plant you put in, and then remember you have to clean the real plants if your snake defecates on them. If you ever get mites, that presents another problem. Stick to fake, but honestly I wouldn't even put fake plants.
