Bioactive substrate (BAS) Natural viv - a why and “how-to” guide.

It's VERY dry in my house and that's why I mist. If I don't the humidity in the viv is like 26% or something rediculous like that. But you are right of course. Everyone's location fosters varying humidity ranges.

I should stress to monitor humidity and mist accordingly. An error on my part to assume people will know to do that by the suggested equiptment/supplies.

The misting keeps the plants happy too and it's just a few squirts. I will go into more details in the coming sections.

Thanks for pointing that out ; )

Well this is certainly very informative. I would give you rep points but I've to spread some around first.
I will certainly consider this if I ever decide to go natural.

Well I love the idea of the natural viv. Can't wait to see pictures and stuff like that. I've saved this page as a reference. I'm planning on putting a viv in my livingroom with my amazon tree boa in it. The setup can be pretty much the same as you've listed. I'll definitely need to spray that as they are a tropical species.

LOL- This sounds EXPENSIVE! But awesome! Post pictures- I gotta show my girlfriend to convince her the money is worth the investment!

While it may be more expensive than some types of simple snake set ups, many of these things can be aquired on the cheap with some creativity. I bought a tank second hand, got the rocks, branches, etc., from the park, and the plants are $2 each. The monitoring equiptment is the same as is needed for any other kind of snake setup. Fake plants are WAY more expensive than real ones BTW.
Craig’s List, http://keys.craigslist.org/
Kijiji, http://www.kijiji.com/
and ebay may have good deals too.

Assuming you already have a snake in a well monitored set up, items 1-6 you've already purchased. Here's what I spent:

1. snake: $80
2. digital humidity gauge $15
3. under tank heater $29
4. digital probe thermometer (2),$24
5. night viewing light, hooded with bulb $18
6. appliance timer (if desired) $17 (could be purchased later)

Total: about $ 183 (including the snake)
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- 30 gallon+ tank: second hand - $10 - $20
- potting soil - 20 liters $5 - $7
- coco peat/eco earth brand is fine - 2 bricks $8 - 11
- PLAY sand - 2 liters. $5
- volcanic rock $4
- small fish tank gravel $3
- medium sided gravel $12
- cool hides: pet store half log, $9
- warm hide - rocks $0
- glass water dish- second hand shop $0.75
- feeding dish - second hand $1
- plastic tube/PVC piping - second hand $2
- branches $0
- smaller rocks for decoration $0
- plants $6
- tube/flourescent light FOR PLANTS with UV $26
- spray bottle (mist) $0 recycled bottle
- small garden fork - use anything to stir $0
- small pooper scooper $0.75

TOTAL: about $95
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If you are starting from scratch, with no snake or anything than yes, you'll spend about $300-$350. However, if you've already got a snake and the monitoring/heating stuff, it's really not too much.

Be creative! Second hand shops have nice pottery and glass dishes, used tanks, even gravel sometimes. If you are not in a hurry, just collect things over a couple of months. I did and just stacked it in the corner of the living roominside the tank until I realized I had all I needed to set ‘er up.

here's some pics. half log is cool side, flagstone slabs are warm. Enjoy!

the eddish dark pic is of a shot taken while the night light was on.

here's a viv I am in the process of converting to totally natural for *another" kind of snake...

It's great to see somebody trying something relatively new and exciting, and coming back to report on the results. Philippe has always been "before his time", so it is nice to see that some of us are beginning to catch up to him.

The frog breeders (and fish keepers) are leading the way for us snake keepers to move beyond the plastic tubs, but it will take lots of people like you to put the knowledge to use and to model it for everyone else.

I am still mired in the plastic box syndrome, but yearn for the time (hopefully a couple of years from now) when I will start setting up a lot of corns outdoors in similar setups to my Amazon tree boas.

I for one would love to see your ammie setup Kathy. I've got one now and will probably be trying to set up a natural setting like the ones here for display purposes. I'd love to see what you have for the outdoors though. S.Carolina is very similar in temps and humidity to FL.