Low maintenance tank decor suggestions

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Originally Posted by Homebody

I'm glad you mentioned this. When I first got my BP, I kept him on newspaper in a sterilite tub, but, with the water bowl and hides there was plenty of décor for him to push and pull for locomotion. I still use newspaper in half my current enclosure for my Children's python. That half of the enclosure is filled with all manner of junk. That brings me to another décor option we haven't discussed, disposable décor.

If you don't care about appearances, packaging materials make great décor. Cardboard packages and shipping envelopes make great hides. Cardboard tubes serve as enrichment items. My daughter's laptop came nestled in foam. Now, my Children's python is nestled in foam.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/93MmeeU.jpg
My frozen grocery items come wrapped in insulated paper. It's textured and helps to trap heat from my UTH. It would make a good substrate.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/UayfEWx.jpg
Just be careful. This stuff wasn't manufactured and tested as snake décor, so it's on you to make sure it's safe for your snake.

The obvious upside of disposable decor is that you don't have to clean it. When it gets dirty or old, just toss it. There's always more to replace it.

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lol the bit about the foam [emoji23]using packaging is a great idea, thanks for the suggestion!

And just so you know, I often make use of clean corrugated cardboard boxes, modified for my snakes. I get a lot of things shipped to me so they're easy to come by, & my rat snakes seem to enjoy (or at least don't "mind") some change-ups. That may not be the case with a ball python, especially one that is new & not yet settled in, because of how much their wild behavior differs. BPs are ambush-predators, for the most part, where rat snakes are more active.

My rat snakes also don't require the higher heat that BPs do- always put safety first, as Homebody mentioned, any time you use things in ways they were never intended for- (ie. Cardboard & paper shreds are quite flammable, & can dry out over time, so carefully consider how they may come in contact with heat sources.)

But one of the things I do -especially in winter- is to use much larger boxes than their usual hides, cut to fit over more of the floor & with a "ceiling height" of 4-6". I use that over the UTH area, creating a larger warm "cave", & another on the cool side. The bonus of doing this is that it also creates essentially a "second floor", because of the large flat tops. I still use branches too- & fit them to hold the boxes in place -otherwise cardboard is easily pushed around by our snakes, & they don't always "get" the floorplan we had in mind. ;)

I'm all in favor of creative snake-keeping, as long as it's safe & meets the needs of our snakes. The many snakes I've kept have enjoyed great health* & longevity. I like to imitate what they'd use in nature, but it has to be practical too, & I prefer that it looks semi-natural. *If you over-complicate a snake's home, especially with features that are permanent (like those background ledges that some like to install & which admittedly look great) you won't be able to clean it adequately, & that's when snakes can get sick. So that's what goes thru my mind in considering "furnishings"- either it must be cleanable, or disposable. Stick with practical. ;)

As I once saw someone say in another forum for different reptiles I also have, a good tank would be one that you would put down in their natural habitat for them to live in for potentially 30 years. I think that makes sense.