Vivarium and aquarium together

[bns]

i think, respectfully, BPs use water features when provided, more often than people may think because my personal observations is that my BP uses it as much as my Afrock and both divide their time in half between swimming/soaking and exploring/sitting - this being said i don’t think you need much depth so space could be saved this way - i would personally consider using something other than the fish tank to accomplish this - at present i use a lot of pyrex glass bowls which are aesthetically pleasing, durable and cheaply available at Walmart

It's been my observation that when you are providing a proper environment, terrestrial snakes will spend very little time soaking in the pool. Enclosure size, temp gradient, lights, substrate, security etc. all play a roll. Now you're going to go on about how your temps are perfect, snake is happy blah blah blah. Your first sentence tells me you don't understand the variables or have the experience in observation to know why you are observing a snake spending half its time in the pool.

I've been keeping snakes since the 70's. There are reasons terrestrial snakes spend time in the pool...most are not good. For the last two decades my husbandry has changed very little. When I really got husbandry things dialed in, I wondered why my critters didn't use their pool that all the care sheets and experts said they would use and need. It was becuase their needs are being met and the experts are few.

If your terrestrial critters are spending half their time in the pool, you have work to do. Why do wild snakes bask in the sun? Not because they like it, but because they need the temperature to perform life functions that require raised temps. How much time do they spend exploring in the wild? Not much. When wild snakes are out and about there is a reason. That reason is not sightseeing.

Reading will get you only so far. Real knowledge about husbandry comes from testing and observing. Small things can have big impacts.

What body temp does your snake need when digesting? Pre shed? Gravid? What happens when you change the hours of the day? Provide shade? Provide yearly cycles? How do they respond to direct lighting? Indirect lighting? Seasonal feeding? What are body temps if you haven't fed in a few months? How do these answers change based on sex?