Posted by:
triniian
at Thu Dec 4 01:51:48 2003 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by triniian ]
I am by no means an expert and submit myself to criticism and correction, but here is my understanding. If you need more info regarding the concepts, ask and I shall provide.
BAM... you are a proud new owner of a pet snake. It's only natural to try and house it in it's own environment. Big problem though:
Acording to the law of nature, the higer up in the food change an organism is, is the more supporting organism that are required to maintain homeostasis. Snakes are mid-top level predators. The problem is that as you go down the pyramid, the number of organism on each level increases significantly. A snake is towards the top, yet the worms/microbes/plants are towards the VERY bottom and a quite substantial quantity of them would need to be maintained just to even keep one snake.
From what I am aware of, snake fecal matter is very dense, due to their efficiency and it takes a long time to decompose. It's decomposed by microbes and plants. For a true 'vivarium' you would require a rather large amount of space... possibly 10X10ft for just one snake(corn)... possibly much more
Liken snake feces to a log... very dense and dry and tough to decompose. After a while it begins to pile up.
I am very interested in this topic and if you ever did manage to accomplish such a wonderous feat, I'd hope you share your joy with us. I've always wanted to play 'GoD' and watch my own homegrown nature concoction thrive right in front of me.
Frogs really are the simplest for this... they don't compete with the decomposers like the mainly carnivorous/insectivorious herps.
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-Iman
1.1 Balls
0.1 Boa (BCI)
0.0 Experience
100.0 % LOVE
Hope it helps...
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Optimistically Pessimistic - Long... - triniian, Thu Dec 4 01:51:48 2003