I love the bio-active planted approach but I'd recommend getting the basic husbandry down first. I would hold off on decorations, keep it super simple. I would not add tank mates. it's a good idea to have two identicle hides at either end of the thermo cline and a water dish and maybe just paper towels to begin with. make sure you don't have mites before switching to a planted tank, they are very common and invisible in 4 of their 5 life stages. treating mites in a planted tank is best done by removing the snake long enough to break the reproduction cycle of mites without having to use a pesticide like PAM, this requires having a way to set up a back up enclosure. I'd set the planted tank up separately and get it humming along nicely on it's own with the idea of keeping the simple set up for later in case you need to quarantine. a lot of folks on here advocate for simple, cheap plastic tubs with heat tape underneath and they work well. that might be a good set up for you to start your planted set up and get everything dialed in in a display tank. if a problem arrises with the snake, it's much easier to figure out a solution with fewer variables. Once a planted tank is set up, it really is beautiful and often lower maintenance in the long run, first and foremost though, you need to do what is best for the snake.
Reply With Quote