Bioactive Substrates - Natural vivs, live plants, etc. Please share your experiences?

Hi all:
The very first book I read on caring for snakes was "The Art of Keeping Snakes." by Philippe de Vosjoli. I LOVED it and was glad to hear that a natural setting was indeed possible and favoured, by some.

Being that I see myself as keeping only a few snakes, (as opposed to collecting or breeding), and knowing my anal personality enjoys details, monitoring, recording and the like, I feel very drawn to keeping my snake(s) on a bioactive substrate with real plants, etc. I find the challenge quite intruiging.

I was wondering if anyone here keeps or has kept thier corn snakes in such an environment and how well the snakes have done. What you have found the trouble spots and benefits to be?

Also, I am wondering if anyone has real plants in thier enclosures and what ones do best with large snakes. I have seen species recommended in the books but perhaps you folks have tried plants not listed in books which have also proved suitable and durable with corn snakes.

Thanks for your help : )
Tracy

I have put live Ivy in my snakes tank, it worked fine and my snake loved to hide in it and try and burrow in it. Unfortunately I didn't water it enough and the Ivy died honestly I am terrible at keeping plants alive even without them being in my snakes tank so I probably wouldn't try it again unless I found a plant that doesn't need much water. In the beginning before I started to forget to water it, it was fine and I didn't notice much of a rise in humidity so I think that at least one live plant is do-able without worrying much about too much humidity. My advise (rather than all live) would be to mix live plants and silk ones that way its less of a hassle. Also I would do a search for the different kinds of substrate available and the one you plan on using before you put it in the viv, they all have there good and bad points. hope that helped.
Here are some pictures of him in the Ivy.
---Kenny

This comes up every so often, and no one here does it. There's usually discussion about all the cons, some people say if you can do it, go for it, and report back. No one ever reports back . . .

I use live plants in my Amazon tree boa cages, which are 65 gal. Reptariums kept outside. I use pothos and wandering Jew. They do great outside in the summer, but start to look a little bedraggled in the winter if I bring them in for a couple of months.

I don't use them on my corns because the corns are in rack systems.

I would suggest using pothos as it is one of the hardiest. But it can't get too dry. Alternate it with another plant or two, and put some of them outside during good weather, when not in the snake cage.

I tried some random house plants in my jungle carpet pythons cage. Like so many people I didn't water them enough and they died.

As for living substrate, plants planted in soil used as bedding. The two major concerns I'd have is cleaning up poop (I don't think it would make great fertilizer) and mold. If you can solve those two problems you're probably set.

Oh my you have Amazon Tree boas Kathy? Thats awesome! Too bad where I live boids are illegal.

I have that book as well and I find it a very intriguing book however its a tedious job to try and keep all of those plants alive. I plan on breeding in the future so I would probably stay away from a BSS (biological substrate system) Although if you manage to pull this off please post pics! The British way of setting up their snakes is always very gorgeous looking!

Ive heard that it gives your snake some level of risk from bugs and parasites.

Fake plants are expensive and it could be a good alternative to use live ones? I dunno.

Fake Plants are usually cheap depending on size and what not. the artificial log i have in with my Ball actually has holes in it for fake plants. I should have pics later tonight.

Plants

Fake Plants are usually cheap depending on size and what not. the artificial log i have in with my Ball actually has holes in it for fake plants. I should have pics later tonight.

Have you considered using Air Plants? They don't need to be planted, thus elmininating the need for messing around with pots and soils - they will grow simply placed on the floor, or fixed to a branch. I believe they're quite safe for reptiles, certain types at least, as I have found them being sold on specific reptile websites.

I don't know exactly how they are fed, but I believe they get most of their nutrients from moisture. I have thought about using these myself, as I'm starting to get tired of plastic plants. I've gotten in to real plants ever since I scrapped the plastic and introduced living plants to my fancy goldfish aquarium, it looks amazing and the fish seem to appreciate it. I'm considering trying the same with my snakes.

I sort of do the bioactive substrate method. I use eco-earth substrate, but I use the method that Philippe de Vosjoli states in his book. The only thing that I dont use is real plants. I have found that fake plants work better for me (I seem to kill plants on a normal basis ) but the weekly airation (spelling?) of the dirt keeps it fresh and clean smelling. I do daily spot checks but since they are pretty regular with their pooping after eating its rather easy to do. I may eventually try to add real plants, but for now.. fake is fine for me.

DogStar5988 said:

I have put live Ivy in my snakes tank, it worked fine and my snake loved to hide in it and try and burrow in it. ...I think that at least one live plant is do-able without worrying much about too much humidity. ...hope that helped.

---Kenny

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The ivy sounds like a nice idea. I have trouble with the ambiant humidity in my house which I note fluxuates Joes' humidty levels in her enclosure. I think the live plants will help to stablize this. Thanks Kenny!

kathylove said:

... I would suggest using pothos as it is one of the hardiest. But it can't get too dry. Alternate it with another plant or two, and put some of them outside during good weather, when not in the snake cage.

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Great idea to switch them around. When I buy, I should buy 2 of everything as I love having plants around and actually haven't killed too many.

Thanks goodness for your bible, I mean, book! My anxiety levels dropped significantly upon reading it and as a result, I am more confident knowing there's a pro sitting on my coffee table.

Thanks!
Tracy : )

ladydragon: Good to hear a positive review. I will check into this substrate you mentioned. Thx.

Plissken: I love the air plant idea but I find they look fake! Saw some at the last Reptile Expo here in T.O. and thought they were fake until I touched them. However, they may add a nice visual contrast (for me) and give Joe some positive tactile or other-sensory experience I can't relate to or detect. I'm gonna get a few. Thx for the idea.

Jcapicy: I like the artificial log idea becuase it may reduce the onset of musty/moldy spots. If this become a problem, I'll replace the logs I have for the fake ones. Thx.

TriggerHappy101: Yes, I heard that too but when I read the book, I understood how that might come about and the importance of first, establishing the BBS before introducing the snake, and then for monitoring. The book basically says that with proper attention, the good bacteria and insects eventually get driven out by the bad in a well maintained system (which is what I will shoot for).

Okeetee_Corn_Snakes: I don't mind keeping the plants alive but if I was a breeder? Fergedaboudit! I will post pics for sure. May even take a work "in progress" dairy of pics to let you guys see what I'm up to.

I'm so excited!!!
Thanks all,
Tracy