Thoughts on real plants

[MalachiJ]

Was wondering if real plants in my little guys tank are an option, or should I stick to fake shade? And if real plants are okay, any recommendations on what to/not to get? He doesn't get much natural light at all but I have an extra uv light that should do the trick, although I would prefer to get something that doesn't need much natural light

[DVirginiana]

Is this your first reptile? I ask because you can do a live planted terrarium, but it makes things a lot more complicated; plus you may have to deal with your snake crawling over your plants and crushing them. If you decide to do it I can look up a safe-plants list from some frog forums I'm on. I imagine most plants are safe with a BP, but that might give you an idea of what would survive well in a BP habitat.

I personally hate live planted stuff just because it's just one more thing to worry about maintaining. I prefer to buy lots of fake vines and flowers and kind of lay them across the floor of the tank. With all the extra cover, most of my snakes don't even bother hiding anymore since they feel safe 'hiding' under the fake plants. Plus, you can take those out and wipe them down whenever the snake poos on them

[KMG]

I have had many different setups over the years and many have had real plants and still do. I get mine from Petco. Not all locations have them though. I don't know what their names are.

My Ball is one that does. She leaves the plants alone for the most part as does my Hoggy. My BRB and Tree Python on the other hand seem to enjoy digging them up. The BRB would root around and dig them up but the Tree Python will dig them up and crush them crawling all over them. I also have a good mix of fake plants too.

If your snake leaves them alone they are not much more to take care of. Especially if you mist your tank daily. Mine do fine and I don't even do that. If they do get soiled I will take the plant out and rinse it and wash it. Its never been an issue.

[MalachiJ]

Cool, saw some "reptile plants" at petco yesterday that's why I asked. I don't mind the extra maintenance if it makes my habitat look better and be a little more natural. Thanks!

[MalachiJ]

Definitely not my first but it is my only as of right now, so I don't mind the extra work

[Snake Judy]

UV light doesn't actually do much for plants, you'll need some sort of full spectrum bulb to keep most of them happy. Some things might do okay though - I'd give pothos a try? Very hardy, even in low-light conditions.

[jclaiborne]

For lighting you could easily use a small hydroponic type setup instead of the UV bulb (sunblaster has a small 3ft fixture), what is the length of your cage? They even have LED's but those are going to cost quite a bit more. Are you planning on keeping the plants in a pot or having a substrate that can support you planting them directly in the cage?

[MalachiJ]

It's a 20 long and I'd use some sort of pot

[jclaiborne]

It's a 20 long and I'd use some sort of pot

You could find some lighting to fit that size. The only precaution I can think of is to make sure the pot has some drainage so it doesn't get loaded with water, then on top of that make sure the drainage get soaked up by the substrate so you don't have puddles of water on the bottom. The other option depending on how fancy you really wanted to get was to mimic how they setup frog vivariums with potted plants on the walls coming out of their backgrounds...

[MalachiJ]

Oh man I didn't even think about the frog setup that's a great idea! I was planning on getting the background tomorrow anyway, thank you! 😁