hey clint,thanks for the help and advise.as far as a green tree not benifiting from a vivarium,well i couldnt disagree more.as long as the plants are chosen and mounted with the snakes ability to disrupt them in mind,there is really no problem.live plants as well as cleaning the air and producing oxygen,also boost and maintain humidity much better than a typical pvc perched chondro cage.many people ,and it seems you too,tend to think that because most chondros and pythons for that matter,are housed in steril,easy to clean setups,thats the only right way to do it.its not that at all.the reason that most snakes are housed in these types of enclosures is only because they are easy to clean,easy to maintain,cheap,inexperienced owners can have succcess,and problems are more easily noticed with less in the tank.as far as mico organisims,viruses and bacteria.well,there are no plant illnesses that can be transmitted to reptiles ,and as far as mold,well,considering chondros high humidity needs,mold has always been a problem in my traditional setups.in a live vivarium,there is a natural ecosystem that is created,that combats the mold and is the reason why most new vivariums produce mold,only to have it dissapear and never return once the ecosystem develops.anyway,i have always kept live potted plants in with my chondros(based on trooper walshes advise)and have never had a single problem.there is no problem that can turn up in a vivarium,that wont turn up with a tank containing potted plants.i think that not only will a chondro living in a properly setup vivarium be safe,i feel its a far better choice than a setup containing plastic perches and plastic plants.when these plastic items collect dirt and feces in a creases that cant be cleaned,there is nothing prohibiting disease from growing.in a natural setup there are many benifical organisims working 24/7 cleaning and breaking down all debree.i stress properly setup and a chondro living in a dart frog setup will develop problems.the cage must be made with a chondro in mind.a false bottom with a misting system is a great way to keep the ground clean.now dont get me wrong,the snakes feces with be collected and removed.large python feces will be a problem for the tank to clean itself.basically i have kept chondros for over 10 years and now have my first pregnant female.im very excited.i know that the large breeders dont have the time to maintain a natural setup and the plastic types are their only option.but i feel that the average owners should not always follow suit and mimic these breeder setups by assuming that because they are doing it,you should to.they have a very good reason for it but the average owner will see how a chondro is a nice humid,well planted vivarium will benifit greatly.some breeders who dont use live plants,will introduce them to the enclosures because they boost chondros breeding responce.one of the most respected chondro breeders(signal herp)uses a huge live planted vivarium as a breeding chamber because they noticed how much healthier as far as mentally ,their chondros are in that setup and copulation happens a lot more often.anyway clint,i appreciate the advise as far a the broms go,(i have no experience with them) but as far as my chondros,well like i said i have been keeping them for 10 years and i feel i have a strong grip on their needs and requirements.

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