Plastic plants and LEDs

[Stu]

Hi all,

I've had a good dig around on the forums for this information but not found anything so far.. i'm sorry if i've missed it.

I have two questions and i'd really appreciate any of your experience / opinions:

1. Do you think plastic plants and vines such as this one are safe for our slithering friends:

Amapallo (Plastic) | Swell Reptiles (http://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/reptile-supplies/reptile-tank-decoration-411/artificial-plants-948/exo-terra-amapallo-plastic--31760.html)

I ask because I bought this one and although not sharp, the material is certainly angular and hard / prickly where the plastic has been moulded together. I'm not sure how tough garters' little bellies are and what constitutes dangerous for them.


2. I have run a strip of LED tape across the top of the viv. It is partially waterproof tape, cool running but not out of range of the snake. Does anyone think is not ok?

Thanks for your help here :)

By the way, I'm just trying to get the set up bang on prior to the arrival of the little snake after the Kempton show :D

[guidofatherof5]

Nice to see you asking questions before you have the snake.
Plastic plants are the way to go in my opinion, they can be easily removed and clean and require no water:D. Garter scales are built for going over rough items. These rough areas you take about on the plants is probably what the snake will use to help remove an old shed.
If I understand your light situation, the lights are in the viv. and are held in place by tape. If that is the case I say NO! Many times tape will fail over time and this is a tragedy waiting to happen. NO tape of any kind on the inside of the viv. The lights themselves are fine but find a different way to attach them. A hot glue gun might work well and once the glue is dry it poses no threat to the snake.
Hope this helps.

[chris-uk]

I've been using the ExoTerra plants for years now, they're perfectly safe. Consider that in the wild they slither over sharp edges of rocks, stones, sticks etc... So the relatively soft plastic isn't going to cause problems. One thing to watch with plastic plants is that the core is usually wire, and if you bend the stems too much it can push the wire out of the end, but I've not had this happen with ExoTerra plants.

As Steve says, if your LED strip is stuck inside the viv with a sticky tape strip, I'd look at either positioning it outside the glass or fixing in a way that doesn't risk the sticky surface being exposed. The LEDs won't hurt the snake in any way other than the sticky.

[Stu]

Thank you Steve, your advice certainly does help :)

The set up has taken me longer than i thought it would, but i've enjoyed it. It's helped pass the time till 'S day' [no prizes!]

The LED lights actually have a decent 3M self adhesive strip all down the back, it's pretty firmly stuck. There's no need for any other tape. Does that sound better? Perhaps i can also use screw in type fasteners as a fail safe?

Stu

[guidofatherof5]

3M is the best but it can also fail. Take the adhesive out of the equation, then you never have to worry. Removing the adhesive and using a screw type fastener, that would be the safest thing to do.

[Stu]

Thanks Chris, it's excellent getting that reassurance about the plants and LEDs :)

I'm gonna double secure the tape with some small secure fixings to make sure no stickyness for him

[chris-uk]

The screw fittings should prevent the strip coming loose, a wise move. I have most of my lights outside the viv (sat on top of the mesh lids) but the ones I have inside vivs are secured with screws and hot glue.

[Stu]

Chris, Steve

Many thanks to you both for your help