New Ball Python Enclosure!

[JeanTownsend]

My tablet takes awful pictures, but here's my new bioactive enclosure. Finally. We began building it in March. We just completed it last week.
We faced a few setbacks. It was more expensive than we'd anticipated, for one. But it's finished.

You can kind of see the shape of it here, but not too well. It has an odd shape, mostly so it would be easier to get in my bedroom, which is awkwardly placed.
It is four feet long, two feet wide, excepting the sides, of course, and made from oak and birch.
It is stained with a natural formula consisting of vinegar, coffee grounds, and steel wool. This is waterproof and lasts for years, apparently. If anyone wants to know the precise recipe and instructions, please ask.
The outside ended up more purple, so we tried a clear coat on top of it, and now it is a lovely brown.
I am using two ceramic heat emitters for her heat source.
The light is an LED grower light. The plants are all real, excepting the vine one closest to the door. In the picture below you can just see it off to the side.

There's a kangaroo fern planted next to where the fake plant is. Behind that is a snake plant. Over to the left is a golden pothos, and next to that is another snake plant.
One of the snake plants (I believe the one in the middle), has two sprouts! They're tiny, and still under the soil.

And these are goldfish plants, of which there are five, though the other two are outside of the picture. Apparently, when they blossom, the flowers resemble goldfish, hence the name. She knocked these over the first day I put her in. Thankfully it was only the once. Perhaps the roots will have plenty of time to fully establish before she's fully grown.
There is an assortment of leaves inside. The dirt is EcoEarth. There is a thin layer of a Coco Mulch underneath. Beneath that is a screen for drainage, and at the bottom is a layer of hydroballs.
There are springtails in the dirt, about two hundred of them. They bred in the package
Mystique is in her cave hide, and is currently in the milky phase of shedding. Hopefully this time she'll shed completely, especially with the humidity. Last time, there was skin left around her neck, and she still has it. Someone said that it should come off during her next shed. I've bathed her four times, to no avail.
The log hide, that you can just see in the last picture, is too small for her now. I'm waiting for the larger Habba Hut to arrive. We ordered it in March. I hate online shopping, but the local pet store only carries tiny ones. Once that arrives, I will place it where the cave is (hot side), put the cave where the small hide is (cold side), and position the smaller one somehwere else for her to use as cover or something.
I kind of lied. It isn't entirely finished. We will be adding wooden dowels for her to climb on, and a platform in the back so she can be closer to the heat source on the cold side.

[MD_Pythons]

Nice setup, I have some questions about it though. How long did you let the plants take root? And where did you get the cultures for those springtails? And is there a lock for it?

[Reinz]

Nice set up!

[AnnieHeart]

OOOH, looks amazing in there!

[Bogertophis]

Very impressive! And as someone who has "finished" more than my share of furniture, I LOVE your recipe for a natural non-toxic stain! It really looks nice too!

[Slicercrush]

Pretty Enclosure! I need to make myself one of these whenever the money floats by.

[Kam]

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JeanTownsend]

Thanks, everyone.
MD Pythons: I bought the springtail culture from Integrated Exotics. They are located in Canada, and have an online shop that is currently unavailable, or I wiuld have provided you with the link.
There are locks, but only on the one door. The other door will only open if the other one is open, so we decided against adding locks on that one, also to avoid more pressure on the glass.
Ihad the plants in the enclosure for about a day before Mystique was in it. I know it wasn't long, but it was all the time I could spare.