What plants can I keep with a ball python?

[Elisa Kevi]

Hey guys, I'm Elisa

I've never owned or cared for a reptile- let alone a snake!
But I have recently fallen in love with ball pythons. I work as a dog groomer at a pet store which sells them and they are such amazing animals (not to mention super adorable) ! So, naturally, I have been doing a boat load of research... I want to provide the best home possible for my future snake <3

I really like the idea of a bio-active or planted setup but I am not really sure what (or if) live plants are suitable for ball pythons. I've heard that sturdier plants like banana plants and pathos are good options?
Please let me know your thoughts and opinions on planted vs. non-planted setups....or if you have any other plant species suggestions
Thanks!

There is a reptile expo in my area on March 18th.
So I figured this would be a great place to get my snake.
I really like the idea of purchasing directly from a breeder as opposed to a pet-store (for many reasons).
Also, any tips for a beginner-snake-owner-to-be would be greatly appreciated...
Thanks so much !

[Slither Seeker]

I have a planted, bio-active set up for our brazilian rainbow boa and am starting one for our juvenile red foot tortoise. I'm holding off on our BP's because I want to get the husbandry down nice and solid before adding a bunch of variables to the mix. our BRB has been happy as a clam for 2.5 years. the up side is a more natural look and ideally a more accurate biotope that presumably would make for a better life for the snake and a more stable micro biome, and as long as everything is humming along nicely, the enclosure can take next to zero maintenance... until something goes out of whack and it needs a lot of maintenance. the down side is getting it started takes some tedium and can end up in an anaerobic and toxic mess, requiring going nuclear with disinfectants and a do-over.

As for plants, I can only speak for what has worked and not worked in my BRB vivarium. it seems that vines are the only thing that can take the abuse and thrive off of the droppings. I started out with a beautiful scaped 50ish gallon enslosure with about 10 different kinds of plants. I used cypress mulch for the base (to help keep a handle on mold) and added potted plants and spring tails. BRB's like to burrow and pretty much roto till the enclosure over time. only the vines have prospered. I used a false bottom with a reptile matt between the pebbles and the mulch after a bit because not using it lead to a stagnant mess. I've gone 18 months without removing even a dropping. some people would find that irresponsible I guess, but I keep an eye on it weekly and give it the sniff test. it's a sealed environment, which allows we to be in control of all the perameters. I pump air in using a fish tank pump at the opposite end from the vent hole, this assures cross ventilation.

I use a finnex LED planted Plus aquarium light for the snake vivarium, which is designed to handle a fair amount of humdity. between the light and the heavy insulation and one medium UTH, I have the temp nailed at 80's without any other heat source. if you look in my pictures you can see the modification I've used for adding a UTH inside the enclosure (not conventional).

Something like this could work with a BP but you'd need to find info on the plants. I was told vines were the only thing that really work with snakes, that's been true for my BRB so far. If you want to see my build of my dual aqarium and snake vivarium I did a write up here a while back: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...ks-331408.html

[Slither Seeker]

here's our BRB, Ruby Sparkels, after two years in a bio-active set up. she seems to glisten more as she ages.

[Elisa Kevi]

Wow !!! Your BRB is gorgeous
Thank you so much for all of the information, super helpful !!

Maybe I will start with a potted plant or two.... the prospect of things going wrong scares me quite a bit,
the last thing I would want is for the environment to become toxic

[Slither Seeker]

I don't meant to scare you, it's just important to go into it understanding it can be a bit complex at first... and a lot of fun if you like making things and learning about biological ecosystems. in my experience, the two main things to watch out for are mold and anaerobic process that produce things like methane (rot). cypress mulch is naturally anti mold and holds moisture pretty well and doesn't rot. anaerobic bacteria are pretty easy to detect, they stink! my enclosure turned stinky, that's how I knew something was wrong. a slight musty/mold smell is OK. weekly feeding has you in there on a pretty regular basis, so just be attentive and you should be fine.

figuring out what to feed the plants that wouldn't hurt the snake was also a quandry. I use Dr earth organic fertilizer, rather sparingly. if you add too many nutrients at once, you can cause a bacteria bloom or possibly even amonia build up, which you can smell. also, I only feed frozen rodents, figuring that reduces the chance of mites and bad microbes entering the system. Once you put a lot of energy into setting something like this up, you don't want to have to undo all your work to decontaminate if possible. best to set up the planted tank well in advance to let it balance out before adding a snake. I don't have to water my plants much because the system is on the wet side, but for a BP you will probably want to choose plants that like a dryer environment and will probably need watering occasionally.

the guy who owns Josh's frogs on line was very helpful in helping me get over the beginner jitters. he's a great source for spring tails, the mold eating critters that help start a bio-active set up. check him out: https://www.joshsfrogs.com/

[Elisa Kevi]

I super appreciate all of the information ! The Josh's Frogs website is so cool
I have a little over a month until the reptile expo, do you think that's a big enough window of time for the setup?
I definitely want to make sure things are stable and safe before adding a snake...

Hoping to pick up a front opening terrarium at work on Friday, will probably opt for the 20 gallon long variety.....
I think I'm going to follow your lead and go for a base of gravel and cypress mulch on top for substrate-
and a layer to put between the two to combat stagnant water.
Once that is all set up, I suppose I'll get to ordering a pothos plant and spring tails

Will keep you posted ! Thank you so much again for all of your help

[Slither Seeker]

I think that's a great window of time. it will take time for the microbes to balance out once the snake is added either way. getting the plants established early is good. I would still clean up after your snake, perhaps indefinitely or at least until you feel like everything is humming along from a bio-active perspective. you'll just have to see what works in your set up and what specifically is doable for a BP. I took some photos as I was putting together my last build, I'll look them up and post them and share some ideas I've been working on. I can also take some pictures of the gravel bottom arrangement, the liner/divider. One nifty trick is using something to shim the tank to tilt it just enough so that any water build up over time collects at one end, and to have a section of fish tank air pump tubing sunk at the lowest point. I occasionally use a turkey baster to then drain any stagnant water. this even allows you to pour some water in every so often and remove it quickly, to give the "sump" a rinse, particularly if it's starting to smell like it's getting stagnant. you can tell me if I'm going into too much detail, LOL! but I'm happy to share what I've learned, who knows, you'll probably discover some cool tricks yourself. it can be a lot of fun!

[FNG]

this is some great info! I too am new and thinking about a setup like this for my baby's next tank (one she'll be comfortable in as an adult)


0.1 Pastave BP