I feel a little silly because just earlier I was wondering why anyone would want a challenging snake when they could have a docile one, and here I am enthusiastically talking about my challenging tarantula ...
Anyway the moss and all was step one. I left the terrarium to stew for a month like I said, and it started growing a worrying amount of mold. And mushrooms:
The guides said this is a normal step and just to let it be, so I added hardscape and the first round of plants. The springtails wound up eating all the mushrooms and mold later, so everything's nice and clean now:
The species are:
Neoregalia "Chiquita Linda" - dwarf bromeliad - (the varietal pictured is not this one, they sent the wrong one I guess). These are offered by frog stores because I guess very small dart frogs lay their eggs in the center cup, which holds water, and the tadpoles are raised in the tiny pond formed inside.
Marcgravia sp 'Peru' - a climbing shingle plant. These ended up not doing well (I think I mounted them wrong) and they dried up
Masdevallia nidifica - an epiphytic orchid. This was supposed to be the hardest plant to raise but it's doing great and is growing new leaves
I tried to find species native to the mountain forests in South America; they all want temperate, humid, and bright conditions.
Mounted orchid:
I left these plants for another few weeks to acclimate (and see which ones would survive). In the meantime, Typhon lost her damn mind and has started trying to tear her current enclosure to pieces. I guess the wait for her new home is getting to her. Just today I swapped the shingles for some snake ferns and added 2 more bromeliads so it'll be yet another few weeks while those acclimate. She can barely stand it:
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