Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what do you have in your snakes cage besides the hide box, water bowl....and what kind of substrate are you using.

im interested in getting ideas on i guess decorating of furnishing the cage. ( do you have greenery, sand, bark, etc..)

if anyone has pictures of their setup it will most appreciated.

thanks

Substrate really depends on the invidual itself. There are many different types that everyone uses.. Newspaper, Paper Towels, Reptibark, Aspen Shavings (not pine), that immiation grass....
Everyone will have a differnt reason why they use what they use... some is obviously more pleasing to the eye, while the others are a little easier to clean.
Personally in half my tanks I use newspaper, and in the other half i use shavings.

>>what do you have in your snakes cage besides the hide box, water bowl....and what kind of substrate are you using.
>>
>>im interested in getting ideas on i guess decorating of furnishing the cage. ( do you have greenery, sand, bark, etc..)
>>
>>if anyone has pictures of their setup it will most appreciated.
>>
>>
>>thanks
>>

I tend to lean toward a more decorative cage because I keep some of them right in my room. I like watching the snakes and it makes for a nicer viewing. That said, I always have climbing branches with a few artificial vines wrapped around them. The snakes probably spend at least 1/2 of their time in the wood. For substrate I always use aspen. Again, its not the cheapest of all options but I like the look and convenience.

I have an ATB and a red-tail. I was using shavings int he red-tail's cage for a long time, but I have since changed to newspaper. The shavings are messy, and if you do not remove your snake from the tank to feed him (some sources recommend doing this anyway), then you run the risk of getting shavings ingested, particularly with frozen/thawed items. If you do not notice an excrement right away, the snake may crawl though it, and spread it around, making it very difficult to spot clean, and its a PITA to remove ALL of the substrate in a large cage. However, my snake did like to bury himself in the shavings.

I use turf in my ATB's cage, which is more appealing to the eyes than newspaper, and only slighlty more work to maintain. (Although I would be careful with indoor/outdoor plastic carpets, as they are rough, and I have heard of injuries resulting.) I paid the extra $$ for reptile-specific turf, but I think I could have found somehting just as good for cheaper, had I invested the time, instead.

Both have something to climb on, the red-tail has several pieces of wood attached together to make a nice jungle gym for him. The ATB has a ceramic? tree which is paintecd nicely. They both have hide boxes, and water bowls. You can find hide boxes that look like rocks (like I have for the ATB) or you can cut a hole in a box and use that (I do this for the red-tail.) You can also find water bowls that look like rocks, and you can drop some real $$ and get fancy looking water fountains, volcanoes, etc.

It really depends on what you are most interested in: easy cleaning and cheap maintenance, more $$, and more work, but a really nice view.

Because of the ATB's nasty nature, she is more of display animal (although I have gotten her tame enough to handle, for short amounts of time), and I have her cage looking quite nice, with the turf, the painted tree, the rock hide bowl, etc. (All I need now is to find a decent background to attach to the tank.)

The red-tail is bigger, and will get even bigger, still. He is more a of a pet and less of decoration, becaus of his demeanor, and so I'm more interested in handling him, than watching him in the tank. For these reasons, I do what's easiest, and cheapest with his tank. I will probably switch to turf in his tank, too, though. I am most impressed with it, so far.

You may think of your snake's humidity needs, too. I am simply using turf in the ATB's tank, even though she requires high humidity because I am running a humidifier and an automatic mister. If you have a snake which requires higher humidity, and you are not willing to spend the $$ for an automatic mister, or the time to manually mist a couple of times a day, you may be better off with a substrate that does a better job of holding humiditiy. Live plants like ferns might also be a good idea.

Sorry no pics, but check out the link below for more information on other types of substrates. I hope you find my rambling useful.

Link

i guess i want it to be decorative as well as easy to maintain....hmmm...thanks again.
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Well, I have not personally used all of the different combinations available -but for the best of both worlds, I would suggest getting some turf because it's easy to clean, and still looks nice. You can get two sets, so you can swap for cleaning, or just use newspaper when cleaning ($$ vs. work again). Use artificial plants (still some cleaning required, but you don't have to worry about watering, insects, UV levels, etc.). Get a decorative hide rock and water bowl, they will only be slightly more work, and will look better (more $$, though.) Good luck!