Questions about what a close to “natural” BP enclosure would look like and entail

[GiddyGoat]

Hi everyone! I return! Long time no post. A little update on Dewey, he is doing wonderfully and just hit 6 years old. Wouldn't trade him for the world.

Recently I’ve been very interested in upgrading his setup a little bit. More space, more enrichment, better control over conditions. In researching in preparation for that, I’ve discovered I really don’t know much about the species besides what is required for care, along with some other basic information. This is going to be a semi-long post so I’ll break it up into two parts.

I am by no means an expert especially when it comes to the wild population. All I really know about BPs, geographically, is their natural sub-saharan range. But I have no idea what that means in terms of the native flora, soil composition, or different ecosystems they might reside in. So, hypothetically - without considering practicality- what would the most realistic BP enclosure look like? What species of plants would be in there? What would the substrate mix be? How dense would the cover be? Would there be different variations and how different would they be? This is really just a fun thought as I am morbidly curious as to what it would be like if I could just cut a slice of africa like it was a piece of cake and place it into an enclosure. If you have any knowledge on the subject please spill EVERYTHING!! I don’t care how specific! I want to learn!

If you have any reading material you think would answer these questions I take no offense to it being linked. I just find that, even in the bio-active space, people who go for “natural” usually aren’t going for “native”, whether it be for ease of care or aesthetics or some other reason.

Now for the second bit, definitely considering practicality, lol, how can I achieve something close to the above? Can I? I am of course not expecting exactness and I absolutely do not want to cut any corners on husbandry, health, or safety but I am a strong believer in enrichment and replicating environments and I LOVE a good display tank. Even given the expenses.
Really my main questions for this part are:
-I’m heavily considering PVC. I also really want to try a planted tank (I hate fake plants). Are these two things compatible? I worry about the substrate lip being too shallow on PVC cages but I also long for that sweet sweet humidity and temperature retention. I currently have a glass exo-terra.
-Is bioactive necessary for planted plants? If not, could I just pot them? I’m not interested in bioactive right now.
-Are there any species of plants native to a BP’s natural range that are hardy enough to take a beating from a captive snake and easy enough to care for in the northeastern U.S.? As an alternative, any relatives of these species?
-Substrate thoughts?
-Is it safe to place hardscape and substrate on top of and around hides to create a more realistic burrow or crevice look?

Again I am absolutely not looking to or willing to jeopardize his comfort or health. I just think it would be neat if somewhat doable! This is definitely not imperative I am just, above all else, really curious about and invested in this idea. I genuinely want to learn.

Thanks in advance! I am probably going to return to this site for the rest of my life lol, you guys are awesome.

(I also apologize if this is a frequently posted or previously posted topic. I checked all relevant stickies prior to posting

[Homebody]

Dav Kaufman recently released a movie on ball pythons in the wild.

[Kryptic]

Besides Dav Kaufman's video like Homebody suggested, Reptil.TV also did something similar many years back.

https://youtu.be/wZqZGHtizeI

It's in German, but has English subtitles.

[GiddyGoat]

Oh cool! Thanks you guys

[Kryptic]

Also, if you're at all handy, you could consider making a PVC enclosure yourself. SerpaDesigns on YouTube has some crazy enclosure builds if you'rereally handy.

If you only have some minimal skills, this video has instructions for an 8x2 build for a boa, but it can easily be scaled down. I used it as a starting point for building a PVC 4x2. If you make it yourself, you can easily make the substrate lip as tall as you like and customize it however you want.

https://youtu.be/40QGB_Q09b0