Real plants rather than fake ones?

[xxxxdopeyxxxx]

I would rather out real plants in my bp cage instead of fake ones. Is there any harm in doing this? Are there any plants to avoid or ones that bps would perfer? Or is it best to just stick to the plastic ones?

[p3titexburial]

Do a bit of search on google--you'll come up with quite a bit as well as tips to keep the plants alive. Plastic may be better because you don't have to worry about the environmental requirements and how they would thrive in your enclosure. If your snake enjoys climbing, then it can possibly snap/break the plant and it may die.

I would think orchids are good in terms of substrate/temperature/humidity/light requirements but they tend to be delicate and often finicky. =/

Be careful with milky/sticky sap plants, it can be irritable to the animal if it comes into contact with it.

Personally I'd stick with plastic because it's just easier.

[xxxxdopeyxxxx]

I have come to the conclusion that real plants are not a good idea. The soil and moisture required for a real plant are a breeding ground for bacteria. Plus if the snake climbs on it it could damage the plant.

[Kaorte]

Yeah, a ball python will just demolish any plant you put in there. Living vivs are better for frogs or geckos.

[Oxylepy]

I always wanted to give a snake a tree, but at the same time I know that it would be hard to clean the tree and that it would be hard to meet both of their needs.

[Neal]

Your plant will die, and think about cleaning issues.

[Oxylepy]

I swear to god Neal, you're just following me around.

[Neal]

I swear to god Neal, you're just following me around.

Negative. I'm bored and trying to kill some time.

[vive-moi]

Here is a very interesting book about the subject : The art of keeping snakes

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Keeping-Sn...tt_at_ep_dpi_3

I've read it. It explains how to keep snakes in natural living enclosures. How to make a living environement that suits the needs of the snakes.

[TrpnBils]

Anyone saying it can't be done is just lazy. It can absolutely be done...I've had my macklott's pythons set up in naturalistic vivariums for almost a year with no problems. That's saying something considering Macks are more susceptible to respiratory infections and eye infections than most snakes due to unsanitary conditions.

Ball pythons are obviously a more terrestrial snake than, say, a corn snake or a boa so take that into consideration when shopping for plants. You'll want to stick with something that doesn't cover a lot of ground and something that doesn't require watering every day. My suggestion would be to give snake plants (Genus Sansevieria) a try. You can find them at Wal Mart or just about anywhere else, they're cheap, and they're hardy. I've used these with large ground boas and other desert species before without many problems. The biggest thing about Sansevieria is that they tend to get pretty tall and may need trimmed, but you'll have that with any plant.

I'd stay away from something like Pothos or other common viv plants because they tend to spread out a lot on the ground and will get flattened. One other option is to try air plants or some kind of elevated planter in the viv. I've done this through the use of 1/4 coconut shells...if you silicone the shell either to the side of the viv or to a piece of wood, slate, or other flat material, you can fill the newly-built planter with some dirt and a plant. I've used this with arboreal species before, but you could give it a shot with a BP to at least get some ambience in there and make it look nice. One nice thing about this way is that your watering is contained to the planter and it doesn't make the substrate wet.