What plants can I keep with a ball python?

[Slither Seeker]

I don't meant to scare you, it's just important to go into it understanding it can be a bit complex at first... and a lot of fun if you like making things and learning about biological ecosystems. in my experience, the two main things to watch out for are mold and anaerobic process that produce things like methane (rot). cypress mulch is naturally anti mold and holds moisture pretty well and doesn't rot. anaerobic bacteria are pretty easy to detect, they stink! my enclosure turned stinky, that's how I knew something was wrong. a slight musty/mold smell is OK. weekly feeding has you in there on a pretty regular basis, so just be attentive and you should be fine.

figuring out what to feed the plants that wouldn't hurt the snake was also a quandry. I use Dr earth organic fertilizer, rather sparingly. if you add too many nutrients at once, you can cause a bacteria bloom or possibly even amonia build up, which you can smell. also, I only feed frozen rodents, figuring that reduces the chance of mites and bad microbes entering the system. Once you put a lot of energy into setting something like this up, you don't want to have to undo all your work to decontaminate if possible. best to set up the planted tank well in advance to let it balance out before adding a snake. I don't have to water my plants much because the system is on the wet side, but for a BP you will probably want to choose plants that like a dryer environment and will probably need watering occasionally.

the guy who owns Josh's frogs on line was very helpful in helping me get over the beginner jitters. he's a great source for spring tails, the mold eating critters that help start a bio-active set up. check him out: https://www.joshsfrogs.com/