Planted Vivarium

[FireRedGarters]

Hey guys im want to start building a nice vivarium for one of my garters and i was wondering how to do it and if any of you guys made one and if so would some advice to a newbie

[nitrogen15]

AFAIK planted vivs are better for amphibians or aquatic snakes. The humidity and substrate moisture could be too much for a garter. A good compromise might be a dry natural substrate and a few potted trailing vines. I just use realistic silk plants.

[Ctah_Lu]

4898
Well, the picture isnt very good, but you can see the plants, there is a small pond at the right.

When you made this kind of enclosures you must have in mind that a high level of humidity is bad for the snakes skin, so you can put some plants that dont require so much water, i water my plants once per month, also, before i plant them i put small plastic flowerpots in order that the water dont reach to far from the plant.

I recomend you begin whit one small plant, so you can check how much humidity retain your substrate.

P.D. there is a Thamnophis inside the tank, but it is a little shy and he hid behind the log.

[ConcinusMan]

Planted vivs for garters are a PITA to keep clean and dry. You'll just end up with sick garters, broken/trampled plants, and a lot of frustration and work. You're better off simulating the look like I did here with reptibark, ecoearth, wood and plastic dollar store plants. Adding a natural looking background would complete the look.

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/3191/dscn0812.jpg

Maybe my youtube video will help give you some ideas. You can have the natural look without the problems and frustration. remember, they're going to **** everywhere. You need to be able to change substrate, scrub and disinfect everything regularly, and put it all back.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5tY5tGRvDI

[EasternGirl]

I agree....I have managed to put together some pretty awesome looking vivs using fake plants and reptibark...and some background paper that has forest scenery on it. I get compliments on my enclosures all the time. I wouldn't want to deal with the hassle of live plants...or the risk to my snakes.

5128

[d_virginiana]

Even with fake plants, Houdini manages to somehow destroy things. Whenever he gets a new decoration that is even remotely plant-like, he either curls up in the middle and squashes the whole thing flat or wraps himself around a stem and inches along it until it tips over and lands him on the floor of the tank. Not a problem when all you have to do is unbend the stems and place them back in there, but I don't know how long a real plant would last, even if you could get the humidity right :p

[guidofatherof5]

Nice going Houdini.:D

[thamneil]

I have used plants placed in pots in my Thamnophis vivs. Ivy and pothos always seem to work for me. Just remember to water them. Shouldnt raise the humidity very much at all. The snakes also like to curl up under the plants. In more humid vivs I plant directly into the substrate, but this doesnt work well for garters. Once they get destroyed, pull them out and replace!

-Neil

[ConcinusMan]

That works too, especially for small, light garters, but I have found that inevitably, soil bugs invade and spread to the substrate. Most are harmless really, but asthetically, not so attractive.

[thamneil]

I will agree with you on that one. I would always find gnats under the pots. Sometimes gnats would also show up under the water bowl. Completly harmless but may not be everyone's cup of tea.

-Neil