Natural decor but not bioactive?

So I ordered some nice new viv stacks for when my balls get bigger ( I am a girl btw lol )

I have gone for 36x15x22 high and have the space etc to upgrade again at a later date.

I want to make the vivs as natural looking as possible but don't want to go down the bioactive route. I also want something that won't mame husbandry impossible to , ain't a in ( at present I use paper towel and spot clean when necessary do full clean once a week )

I have ordered a huge lot of fake foliage but hope to add some live foliage in there to aid with humid ty, maybe some ferns or similar that can tolerate minimal light to prevent adding day glow bulbs etc.

So the questions I need answering really are.....

What wood would be safe for , y snakes. I live in the middle of a forest area and have friends wo are in the tree and wood trade. I can get oak freely but is that okay?

Substrate wise, what would be , y best bet to keep is natural but easy clean and aid with humidity without causing excessive damp etc

Has anyone got pics of their natural enclosures to give me inspiration please

Thanks in advance xxx

I have some pics in my profile of some cages I have had over the years. The pics labeled "Current Tanks" and in no way current and only has cypress mulch in it. the pics labeled "Aru GTP" has a the mixture I am about to describe but I started adding more cypress to the mix than what is in that pic. I need to update my pics, those are old.

I like using a mixture of cypress mulch, eco earth, and repti bark. I mix each in a big tub adding the right amount of each until I get the desired look. Mixing them makes them appear much more natural. It also helps eliminate issues like the dustiness the eco earth can cause when used alone. And will hold moisture like a champ. It may not be the cheapest method but I like its appearance.

Oak is fine to use.

Thanks KMG

I have some time to get it right and would rather spend the money doing so straight off instead if swapping and changing a few weeks into it lol.

I shall get to work on some oak today. Is there a preferred way to clean it? Bark on or bark off, diluted bleach? Xx

This is more of the mix I use now.
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...024_115037.jpg

I mix it a bit different depending on what cage it is for. My GTP has more eco earth and repti bark while my BP is more cypress based. While my Hoggy setup is more eco earth bases as she is a digger and the eco earth offers great ability for her to create tunnels.

I always laugh a little when some one uses "ball python" and "natural looking enclosue" in the same post. Honestly, unless you plan on creating a termite mound in the cage, it won't be natural for the snake. Lets not lose perspective on the fact that we build these "natural" environments for ourselves, not the snakes.

I urge you to keep cleaning in mind for each item you add to the tank. Ask yourself how hard it's gonna be to clean poop and urates off of anything you put in there, because sooner or later you'll need to do just that.

A quick search on Google "Images" and Pinterest will yield hundreds of naturalistic vivs, for both snakes and other animals. Some are very beautiful and impressive.

I use wood and bark and rocks from my yard in my vivs - no problems so far, and I don't expect any either.

I doubt I'll ever getting around to doing this (there are so many intriguing projects that fit into that category, like building a ship in a bottle...) but I think it would be really fun to build a creatively implausible "habitat" for a snake. FOr example, something like this in the background: http://dorknation.wtf/wp-content/upl...y-on-Jakku.jpg

and then hides made to look like crashed tie fighters and x-wings. Or a background with an erupting volcano, and a water dish made to look like a lava pit. Or a background that looks like the cockpit of an airplane, and hides with controls and dials on them. Or use a background like a gothic cathedral and hides that look like cathedral furniture. Or a Sponge Bob habitat. Or the bridge of the Enterprise. Or a cityscape where the hides are food trucks and similar - making the snake look giant. Maybe Capitol Hill? Hides that look like the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the nearby congressional office buildings, and a reflecting pool water dish? So many possibilities!

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Originally Posted by Coluber42

I doubt I'll ever getting around to doing this (there are so many intriguing projects that fit into that category, like building a ship in a bottle...) but I think it would be really fun to build a creatively implausible "habitat" for a snake. FOr example, something like this in the background: http://dorknation.wtf/wp-content/upl...y-on-Jakku.jpg

and then hides made to look like crashed tie fighters and x-wings. Or a background with an erupting volcano, and a water dish made to look like a lava pit. Or a background that looks like the cockpit of an airplane, and hides with controls and dials on them. Or use a background like a gothic cathedral and hides that look like cathedral furniture. Or a Sponge Bob habitat. Or the bridge of the Enterprise. Or a cityscape where the hides are food trucks and similar - making the snake look giant. Maybe Capitol Hill? Hides that look like the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the nearby congressional office buildings, and a reflecting pool water dish? So many possibilities!

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I think about that stuff too. I really don't have room right now to fool around with foam, and plaster, etc. for these expansive projects. They may come to fruition some day (and I've posted here previously about a few of those ideas) - I still want the vivs beautiful, however, not kitsch.

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Originally Posted by embrit345

Thanks KMG

I have some time to get it right and would rather spend the money doing so straight off instead if swapping and changing a few weeks into it lol.

I shall get to work on some oak today. Is there a preferred way to clean it? Bark on or bark off, diluted bleach? Xx

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I don't find it hard to clean. The movements from a BP are tiny and I think very easy to clean up. Now my Blood pythons are a different story and being such they have much simpler cages.

When my BP goes I remove all the soiled substrate to the bottom of the cage and a very generous area around it. I think clean the bottom of the cage. After it has been cleaned and then rinsed with water I replace the area with fresh substrate. Pretty easy.

If anything else is soiled I simply remove it, clean it, and place it back in the cage. Not hard.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Coluber42

I doubt I'll ever getting around to doing this (there are so many intriguing projects that fit into that category, like building a ship in a bottle...) but I think it would be really fun to build a creatively implausible "habitat" for a snake. FOr example, something like this in the background: http://dorknation.wtf/wp-content/upl...y-on-Jakku.jpg

and then hides made to look like crashed tie fighters and x-wings. Or a background with an erupting volcano, and a water dish made to look like a lava pit. Or a background that looks like the cockpit of an airplane, and hides with controls and dials on them. Or use a background like a gothic cathedral and hides that look like cathedral furniture. Or a Sponge Bob habitat. Or the bridge of the Enterprise. Or a cityscape where the hides are food trucks and similar - making the snake look giant. Maybe Capitol Hill? Hides that look like the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the nearby congressional office buildings, and a reflecting pool water dish? So many possibilities!

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Oh my word I hope my son doesn't see this. He is 11 and Star Wars crazy lol

I do appreciate that "natural" I'm the truest sense of the word is non achievable but natural to some degree, as in do 100% of bps live in termite mounds may be some what doable for me. Xx

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Originally Posted by KMG

I don't find it hard to clean. The movements from a BP are tiny and I think very easy to clean up. Now my Blood pythons are a different story and being such they have much simpler cages.

When my BP goes I remove all the soiled substrate to the bottom of the cage and a very generous area around it. I think clean the bottom of the cage. After it has been cleaned and then rinsed with water I replace the area with fresh substrate. Pretty easy.

If anything else is soiled I simply remove it, clean it, and place it back in the cage. Not hard.

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That is what I do now. Granted it's kitchen roll so I change the whole lot. The poops I have had so far have been on/in fake foliage and their wood so it comes out for a scrub then back in pretty straight forward xx

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Originally Posted by embrit345

Oh my word I hope my son doesn't see this. He is 11 and Star Wars crazy lol

I do appreciate that "natural" I'm the truest sense of the word is non achievable but natural to some degree, as in do 100% of bps live in termite mounds may be some what doable for me. Xx

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My BP has never been to her peoples homeland and has never seen a termite mound. The only thing she knows of nature is what I have created for her. No, its not a termite mound but it is a naturalistic design that simply means it recreates aspects of things found in nature. I don't know if the snake really likes it or cares about it but I know I feel better providing it as an owner. I believe it looks good and is much better to look at than a pet rock in a box that's in a box.

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Originally Posted by KMG

My BP has never been to her peoples homeland and has never seen a termite mound. The only thing she knows of nature is what I have created for her. No, its not a termite mound but it is a naturalistic design that simply means it recreates aspects of things found in nature. I don't know if the snake really likes it or cares about it but I know I feel better providing it as an owner. I believe it looks good and is much better to look at than a pet rock in a box that's in a box.

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I concur. The term "natural" as I took it was earthy type substrate and tree type hides, foliage and bacground. This being more "natural" looking than a Tupper ware bin.
Based on the fact that non of our pets are wild caught and judging by how much they explore their enclosures, I would think it is safe to say they enjoy their "natural" enclosures. It is just an added bonus that we find them appealing to look at too.
Don't get me wrong, I would never keep an animal in an enclosure that stressed them out just because it looks good. However I feel with (bp'especially) good appetite is a sign of a happy bp. Ours eat great and have good sheds.

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Originally Posted by enginee837

I concur. The term "natural" as I took it was earthy type substrate and tree type hides, foliage and bacground. This being more "natural" looking than a Tupper ware bin.
Based on the fact that non of our pets are wild caught and judging by how much they explore their enclosures, I would think it is safe to say they enjoy their "natural" enclosures. It is just an added bonus that we find them appealing to look at too.
Don't get me wrong, I would never keep an animal in an enclosure that stressed them out just because it looks good. However I feel with (bp'especially) good appetite is a sign of a happy bp. Ours eat great and have good sheds.

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YEP!

Just FYI you can get a wild caught BP. You actually get many different snakes that were wild caught. Several members here have done so. I guess those wild caught BPs would be the only ones that complained about my cage setup. But maybe I could get a wild caught country snake that was used to living in a situation closer to my setup instead of an inner city BP that was used to living in a termite mound highrise apartment.:rofl:

There's perhaps a distinction to be made between "natural" and "naturalistic". I would think of "natural" to mean that it attempts to look like what the animal would encounter in its wild habitat. "Naturalistic" would mean that it at least resembles or evokes things found in nature *somewhere* - so, substrate that looks like some sort of soil, leaves, bark, branches, rocks, etc; as opposed to newspaper, RBI hides and cardboard boxes, bright pink dog bowl, crashed star destroyer in the background.

I suppose "natural" could also just mean things like real branches, live plants, real rocks, etc, even if they don't come from the same place as ball pythons do - instead of "fauxliage" and aspen substrate.

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Originally Posted by KMG

YEP!

Just FYI you can get a wild caught BP. You actually get many different snakes that were wild caught. Several members here have done so. I guess those wild caught BPs would be the only ones that complained about my cage setup. But maybe I could get a wild caught country snake that was used to living in a situation closer to my setup instead of an inner city BP that was used to living in a termite mound highrise apartment.:rofl:

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Sorry, when I said "none of our pets" I was referring to the pets in my family's house. I do get what you are saying though!