I want to make this habitat a perfect recreation of a Pennsylvania pine forest. I am ordering a 1.1 pair, one of which the seller says is very gravid, as well as absolutely huge. This is what I have so far:
I am using a 10-gallon glass aquarium with tight-fitting lid. In one corner of the tank, I have a PVC pipe about 1" in diameter securely glued into place, running from the lid to about one centimeter from the bottom of the setup. As a substrate, 75% of the vivarium's floor is topped with about 7-8 inches of loose, sandy soil, pre-frozen to kill any parasites. The remaining 25% is completely dry cypress mulch.
The side with the soil is on the same side as the pipe, which I have filled with bottled spring water. This has made the bottom level of this area very moist, while the mulch area remains completely dry, as well as the top of the soil, covered in a thin layer of sand. Above the large soil area is a mixture of twigs, true sphagmun moss, small pinecones, and small moist piles of dead leaves, lightly misted with water.
On the soil side I have planted a large boston fern, while on the dry side, is a large flat piece of black slate, layed across the surface, with some dead leaves on top. A small basking lamp, situated above the slate, keeps the rock warm at all times, so that the snakes have a thermal gradient.
Finally, I am using a clay saucer as a water basin. What do you think?
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DAVE
1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
0.1 Spanish ribbed newt
0.0.1 Eastern ribbon snake
1.1 red-cheeked mud turtles
0.1 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
0.0.1 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.1 Western hognose snakes
1.2 fire salamanders
1.1 scarlet kingsnakes
0.0.1 scarlet snake
0.0.1 Argentine horned frog
1.1 Southern ringneck snakes
0.0.1 night snake
0.0.1 Florida brown snake
0.1 Pine woods snake
1.0 rough earth snake
0.1 (parthenogenic) Brahminy blind snake
0.1 Northern brown snake
1.1 Eastern worm snakes