I've had my retics now for right at 2 years, I would keep the cages simple unless you've planning on a zoo sized display "room" for them. Mine are on a mix of eco earth and cypress with a mix of some real and fake plants, I swear every time I open the door I'm throwing out parts of the plants. They're big, strong, very active and make big messes. The cages look good but are harder to keep up on and I don't think the snakes care what the inside looks like as long as the food keeps showing up. It's also very hard to not get complacent if your snakes are well behaved, don't get lulled into a false sense of security.