Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
You mention this will be arid bio-active, which is also something I've not worked with, but what sort of humidity do you expect to have? Keep in mind, both Trans Pecos & gopher snakes are desert creatures that need plenty of fresh dry air- I do not recommend housing them in the plastic plastic enclosures that so many prefer for keeping B.P.s (with their humidity needs). I've only ever kept these species in large glass tanks with screen tops. Not saying it won't work, just a cautionary note.
Death-feigning beetles are not poisonous as far as I know. I just want them to be safe because I have become quite attached to them!

My terrarium is a glass 4' x 18" x 18" Carolina Custom Cages terrarium. I have already set it up and have the beetles living in there; I have seven of them. It is a screen top so there isn't really any humidity being trapped in there, although I do not yet have a humidity gauge in there. The substrate is basically even parts sand, coconut fiber, a smaller portion of earthworm castings, as well as a small addition of powdered clay. So far I have planted a variety of desert plant seeds and have watered it very sparingly on only one side of the tank. I have a daylight fluorescent tube for the plants as well as another plant light placed on the one side I watered; I plan to switch it once the plants on one side are established, then work on growing the other side. It'll be well into next year by the time I'm ready to add a snake, but I hope the end result will be worth it and will look nice.

I will be quarantining the snake once I get him, as I have an iguana who lives in the same room free roaming, so I will probably get a smaller temporary glass enclosure (and the snake will likely be younger, too, so hopefully the size difference won't be so bad for a few months?) like a used fish tank or something? Or would a plastic bin be better if it's larger but would also be more humid?

Another big reason I'm considering a TP is because I had seen in another topic on here that you said they don't mess up tank decor as much, so I'm hoping the plants will be safe, especially once established. Gopher and related snakes might burrow and take out the plants? I'm still researching and not ruling them out yet. The 18" tall is 6" short of what I usually see recommended for rat snakes, though, which also gives me pause.

Anyway, sorry to tangent, just have a lot of snake thoughts in my head lately! Will likely have more snake thoughts on this forum as I get closer to purchasing one.