I think a good question that no one in this thread has asked is are you setting up to breed your snake, or is it a pet, that you want to see and interact with.



We have a Mexican Milk (L.annulata) that is our pet. I set up his vivarium using info from Philippe de Vosjoli (Design and Maintenance of Desert Vivaria) and Bob Applegate. I have a very naturalistic setup, with soil substrate (no sand) and live plants. He seems to like it pretty well, there are several hide spots and plenty for him to dig in.



As for the bacteria issue,, we remove his poop as soon as we see it, but what little remains seems to be taken care of by the "good" bacteria in the soil. His vivarium never stinks, the palnts are doing well, and he is very healthy and growing.



I think the use of newspapers and aspen is probably the best choice for the breeders, as so many here have great success using it for their setups. So it is up to your personal preference whether you want your snake's home to be visually pleasing or not. Our vivarium is nice to look at regardless is the snake is visible or not. Some of our guests do not even know there is a snake in the tank, they just say what a nice terarrium we have.

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