Newbie questions and myth curiosity...

Welcome to BP.net :)


1) False. They will grow to their adult size regardless of if they are in a 10 gallon tank or a 100 gallon tank.


3) I would imagine so, if they have no rough/sharp edges, and you clean them before you put them in the enclosure.


5) I wouldn't put her in a 100 gallon yet. That could stress her out a lot. They like snug areas more :)

6) Infrared heating bulbs have a higher wattage than the red lights at walmart, I believe, since they are designed specifically to put out heat. :]
Shellie

4)

I use riverbank-collected driftwood (scrubbed very clean and then oven-cooked at 200*F for 6 hours) in terrariums. So far it hasn't molded.

I also use Mopani wood, and it is FAMOUS for being mold-resistant. Zoo-Med is one of the big commercial suppliers of Mopani for use in reptile and amphibian vivariums.

Grapewood is notorious for molding in particular, stay away from that for wet conditions (which you don't want for your snake), but I have used it with success in most snake enclosures.

In my tropical terrariums where humidity is kept fairly high (70-90%), mold can occur. I have seeded springtails in my substrate to eat mold. They are a pretty popular vivarium insect for controlling mold and small feces deposits, particularly in dart frog terrariums. The dart frogs even will snack on the springtails as a nice supplement to regular feeding. They basically reproduce themselves, do no harm to animals, and spend their livelihood cleaning the substrate and surfaces of the terrariums.

There is a huge difference between "bacteria" in general, and "bad bacteria" that cause infections.