I have been keeping Frank, my ball python, for about 3 years. Next year I graduate college, and I'm looking into getting another snake.

I'm thinking I would really like to try my hand at a paludarium-type setup, with a semi-aquatic type snake. Obviously, I'd build the setup and get it running before getting one. I do not plan on keeping anything else besides the one snake in the enclosure, I have seen others have plenty of problems trying to mix species.

(what do you mean I can't have guppies, cichlids, anoles, fire-belly toads, fire-belly newts, a red eared slider and an ig in a 20 gallon? THEY'RE FINE, STOP HASSLING ME!) Joking.

I was thinking a paludarium setup with probably 4-5 inches of water in the bottom of a 10 or 20 gallon tank (filtered), with a plexiglass-type terrestrial area covering most of the tank over it, hopefully made into a sort of terrarium-type setup, with probably silk plants; live seems a bit too tough and easy to grow bacteria in. And obviously, hides. I don't know how a UTH would work in this type of setup, so I was either planning on using a CHE or looking into snakes that thrive around room-temperature. Screen top would allow ventilation / stop the humidity from being too high.

It seems like a ribbon snake fits the bill for this - they're small and relatively aquatic. The one concern I have is feeding. I would really like to be able to feed f/t mice, as this provides complete nutrition, and I always get concerned that the diet will lack calcium, d3, etc if I'm feeding crickets. Plus dusting, and more important, gut-loading is a bit of a P in the A.

So, Questions:
- How old do ribbon snakes have to be before than can reasonably be switched to pinkies?
- Would they really like this type of setup?
- Anything else that might work that is beginner-capable? I'm beginning with non-BPs, and have only had a BP and a corn snake in the past, so I don't want to get in over my head.

Sorry about the verbosity, I like to plan this kind of thing in advance, and I have too many questions.

Thanks,
Jim