Designing habitat/vivarium for my BP's

[icyInferno]

So we have decided that we would like to create a "living" habitat for our 2 juvi females. I want to create a large permanent sized enclosure. We're thinking 3L x 3W x 4H. Also thinking hardwood frame, and plexiglass walls. Think zoo style exhibit, that makes the animal feel really at home and be exceptionally healthy, but is also a hobby/joy for the owner to take care of and view as a whole habitat.
Sunken large water tub as they both enjoy swimming, and a circulating waterfall for fresh drinking water and decoration/ambiance with either a fogger in it, or an overhead fogger to help with humidity.
Multiple ledges, basking spots, climbing rods and vines, and hideys attatched to the walls, as well as hides on the floor with "below ground" hollows.
I want a natural floor that will sustain BP friendly plant life, so dirt with anchoring underneath for plants and mosses to grow, as well as something to create burrows for the snakes in. Debating a log of some sort.

Now, after all that, I was wondering if anyone else has done this, and has any suggestions/tips? I'm still doing my research, and this wont be started until at least january.
I'm not sure what plants would work best, what types of dirt I can use, what kinds of grasses are best, or if I should just stick with moss and no grass.
What kind of heating would be optimal for this kind of setup?
Any product recommendations as far as waterfall, foggers?
What kind of lighting would the plants need to grow healthy, but still be BP friendly?

Thats all I have for now, but I'm sure I'll think of more, and I look forward to ideas, tips, and advice

[cmack91]

So we have decided that we would like to create a "living" habitat for our 2 juvi females. I want to create a large permanent sized enclosure. We're thinking 3L x 3W x 4H. Also thinking hardwood frame, and plexiglass walls. Think zoo style exhibit, that makes the animal feel really at home and be exceptionally healthy, but is also a hobby/joy for the owner to take care of and view as a whole habitat.
Sunken large water tub as they both enjoy swimming, and a circulating waterfall for fresh drinking water and decoration/ambiance with either a fogger in it, or an overhead fogger to help with humidity.
Multiple ledges, basking spots, climbing rods and vines, and hideys attatched to the walls, as well as hides on the floor with "below ground" hollows.
I want a natural floor that will sustain BP friendly plant life, so dirt with anchoring underneath for plants and mosses to grow, as well as something to create burrows for the snakes in. Debating a log of some sort.

Now, after all that, I was wondering if anyone else has done this, and has any suggestions/tips? I'm still doing my research, and this wont be started until at least january.
I'm not sure what plants would work best, what types of dirt I can use, what kinds of grasses are best, or if I should just stick with moss and no grass.
What kind of heating would be optimal for this kind of setup?
Any product recommendations as far as waterfall, foggers?
What kind of lighting would the plants need to grow healthy, but still be BP friendly?

Thats all I have for now, but I'm sure I'll think of more, and I look forward to ideas, tips, and advice

i see a couple problems with your plans.
1. it is never a good idea to house two snakes together, reasons being that, if one gets sick, they both do. also, snakes are solitary animals, so living together can be very stressful on them. cannibalism is also a risk, although rare, it does happen:


2. cage size. 3x3x4 is HUGE, especially the 4ft tall part, anything over 1' tall starts to become unnecessary, and harder to maintain. ball pythons are ground dwelling snakes, and only climb if they have to to thermoregulate. and BP's also only come out at dawn and dusk, so during the day, they sit in their hides (their not that great for a "show" snake), and if they are running around during the day it is because their stressed, and either running to or from temps they dont or do like, are trying to get away from eachother in the case that theyre house together, or are underfed and hungry.
3.the bowl, plus waterfall, plus fogger. BP's only need 50-60% humidity, and having all this can create too much of that, plus, these snakes are from the African Savannah, not the jungle like many people beleive, so in the wild they rarly come across waterfalls and/or fog.

so basically, a tank like this, although nice to look at (at least until cleaning day), can be very stressful and unnecessary for these snakes. a better option would be to buil two seperate 3x2x1.5-2 enclosures, that way each snake will feel secure in it own habitat, and it will be easier to maintain proper temps and humidity, and is still big enough to have a nice "show" tank. as for live plants, its fine as long as theyre non-toxic, sorry i dont know any exact species to use. and as for dirt, eco-earth is fine, its grounded up coconut husk, it holds water well so it is good for plants, yet safe for the snake. we even use it for our plants. and lighting: a 5.0 uvb light should be fine for any plants. these snake however do not need any particular light setup, the ambient light in the room will sufice, although the uvb light wont hurt them.
i hope this helped and that everything goes well for you

[Evenstar]

I totally agree with cmack on every point. I just want to reiterate that if you do decide to go ahead with a naturalistic viviarium, think arid grasslands and termite mounds rather than wooded jungle habitats.

And please please please do a seperate enclosure for each snake. No matter how big you make the place, it isn't big enough for 2. They will always be competing for hotspots, hides, etc, which is unnecessary stress. Snakes are not social animals and do not need company. They'll be happier by themselves. That is the best advice I can give you.

[kitedemon]

I also agree with all but the cleaning part, properly set up a bio - organic system is about as low maintenance cleaning wise as it gets, I only know one couple whom do this and they clean once a year. Monitoring the system is a nightmare however. It is not a task for any but the most experienced keepers the size is a problem unless you are going all the way then it isn't as much but that is a HUGE task. Do not underestimate the very careful balance it takes to make a bio system work it needs to be perfect.

I'd start with a book, 'The Art of Keeping Snakes' is a good beginning guide.

Having multiple animals makes it more difficult, I'd avoid it as it is a monumental task to begin with.

You will have to use RHPs for heat and the wattage will depend on size UTH cannot heat if you have enough ground cover to make it work. Plants carex and grasses with something darker green maybe a pony tail fern (check that I think it is ok not super sure) Think a water pump filtration system that is typically used in Vivs is the right tool. I have friends in Germany whom have a number of bio-organic systems it is quite cool. They have spent an absolute fortune setting it up and it takes a long time to 'ripen' and age properly before animals can be added. I think they did the bacteria cultures, time, insects, time, more insects, time and then snakes. I believe it took then 8 months to complete the set up and aging process.

I know they rave about the ecozone controllers and have a ton, 2 per enclosure I believe. You might look into them they control misting systems and lighting day and night and heating primary and secondary.