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Planted tank

H

Hebidoshi

New member
I have a tropical planted tank, aquaponics goldfish pond, and a turtle tank that would be planted if possible..lol..I like natural plants not plastic stuff.

At first through all my readings I thought that a planted snake tank wasn't possible, but then I found the thread about bio active substrate. At first I hesitated to plant out my terrarium because if it fails it would be a big mess to clean up. But, since my snake is still a bit too small for the terrarium I decided to give it a try while I wait for my snake to go through a few sheds.



Untitled by Ecopot, on Flickr
 
I love planted/living vivs. Hope it all works out for ya. It's definitely easily possible, especially for someone with your experience.
 
That looks real nice and I hope it works for you and the snake.
I would plant something viney across the front edge to give the snake more cover. Snakes feel more secure with cover and look so cute "hiding" in green leaves.
 
You're off to a nice start! I love planted vivs, and they aren't hard to maintain with snakes at all. The difficulty is when they start getting big enough to smash plants--but if you choose well and offer less smashable climbing opportunities (branches), it can still work out very nicely.

I actually have my younger Beauty rat in a planted viv right now... She's about the size of an average adult corn right now, and is doing great in it. She had a dracaena and another tall plant to climb when she was smaller... These days I've switched to more adult-snake-friendly plants, namely Asparagus fern and Pothos. Pothos can be trained to climb branches, providing the "look" of a tall plant without leaving it susceptible to a heavier snake.
 
Thanks for all the great comments and advice! I have a small pothos going in the back and the other tree like plants were recommended somewhere on the web..sorry forgot the names...Not expecting the fern to last too long, but I do have the same one growing crazy in my riparium so I know its and easy plant to grow.

Did some more web surfing and found a recommended grassy like plant. Dwarf Mondo Grass..Can't read 100% Japanese, but I think I bought the right plant. These had some really nice thick hardy roots on them so once they kick in it should hold up to all the digging.

Also replaced the regular household 5w LED light to a 8w T5 fixture and temporary make shift canopy. Color is much better and the plants should like the broader spectrum of light too.

mondo by Ecopot, on Flickr
 
My limited experience with live planted terrariums tells me that plants under glass usually fall into two categories: ones that fail to thrive, decline slowly, and eventually die, and those that love the conditions and are destined to fill the entire enclosure to the lid (and further if possible). I have a 55 gal tank with just plants (no animals), and while I really enjoy it, it is definitely not static. I am always replacing plants that are dead and trying new ones, and hacking back those that want to take over. Most of those I eventually yank out as being too much trouble. I have found very few that just look nice and stay where you put them.

Another thought: Corn snakes are nocturnal, while most plants require a long period of intense light to thrive. I certainly applaud your efforts, but for me there's just too much "conflict of interest" going on there, especially since the snakes really don't benefit that much from the plants.
 
As far as the nocturnal vs plant light needs, I've found that nocturnal/crepuscular snakes can thrive very well in this environment. I've kept an adult corn snake in a planted viv previously, and have had my beauty rat snake in a planted viv for going on 2 years. The corn snake would spend most her days burrowed/burrowing, usually with her head poking out of the dirt despite the light. The beauty spends a lot of time just sprawled in the open, despite also being a crepuscular species. When she was younger and still small enough to perch on her old dracaena, she would get to the highest point in the enclosure and just sprawl, completely out in the open.

Of course, your mileage may vary. I have an Everglade's rat snake who I had to move to a nice, dark Boaphile because she got stressed in her (unlit) Exo Terra. I also probably won't ever try a planted viv for my albino garter, as excess light seems to bother him.

Oooh, all this talk of planted vivs has me excited again. I can't wait until my newest fire skink is off QT, so I can plant her tub... And as soon as the Garter is big enough to occupy the other half of the Boaphile, the Kunasir is so getting a planted display!
 
I am enjoying this discussion.
I would be very interested in a few plant names, which ones thrive and which ones die?
 
@KarenL All my plants are planted directly in the soil, figured they can benefit from the extra nutrients.

backafter30 said:
Another thought: Corn snakes are nocturnal, while most plants require a long period of intense light to thrive. I certainly applaud your efforts, but for me there's just too much "conflict of interest" going on there, especially since the snakes really don't benefit that much from the plants.
Click to expand...

I do have a riparium with some of the same plants as I have in this vivarium, so I'm not a total newbie to plants. I don't really see how the light period will effect the snakes cycle. My riparium plants do just fine on an 8 hour cycle.


Untitled by Ecopot, on Flickr
 
What a cutie, I bet he's enjoying the exploring. As for day/light cycles I think he'll be fine. Probably won't see him much as he will want to hide during the day, but if he feels safe (and he probably will) you'll catch him exploring during the day too
 
That's pretty spiffy. And I'll also chime in that day/night cycles shouldn't be a problem, since plants have similar day/night cycles too. And with all the cover it should lead to an active happy snakey.

Good job!
 
Thanks! I was worried that all he would do was hide under ground all the time. But, today I think he finally worked up the courage to go exploring. He is also using the warm hide for the first time too.
 
Sry don't know the names of all the plants...the few I know are pothos, mondo grass, ficus, and blue bell fern.

To water everything, I water it from the bottom up. There is a pvc pipe that I pour water into the bottom layer of hydroton. The water flows evenly through the hydroton them slowly gets soaked up into the substrate.
 
Hebidoshi said:
came home from work expecting him to be burrowed again..but he was just curled up in the back.
Click to expand...

Cute!! Glad to see he's settling in so well. This is exactly what my beauty snake does in her planted viv, lol! Two perfectly good hides and lots of leaf cover on the philodendron end of her viv, but, unless she's in shed or digesting, she much prefers to sprawl along the back...
 
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