Safe plants in large bioactive terrarium

My snake kills everything i put in the terrarium. I have some extra cucumber and squash sprouts that i hate to waste. Is it harmful to put stuff like that in there? I seeded them out so there is nothing sprayed on them.

3 Likes

If he already has killed off everything else you tried… Won’t the squash be squashed too?

I know squash can be quick growers with the right care, but I don’t know if that’s enough to counter the snake especially if it’s a heavy bodied ball python which are known for just bulldozing them.

I’d also say avoid them since the hairs on the plant stems may be irritating to them as well. But maybe someone else has more experience with them

3 Likes

Didnt think about the hairs on them

What about sweet potatoes? I know they grow super fast and are basically unkillable. Don’t think they have spines or things like that.

2 Likes

I could be wrong, but when sweet potato stems snap they have a viscious white sap which I’ve heard can be irritating to people skin, not sure about scales

2 Likes

I didn’t know that! Ok, if that is true, don’t use them.

3 Likes

Well the whole reason i was gonna do cucumbers was because i had too many sprout and not enough space

1 Like

It just seems a bit silly though when you said

Followed by:

Wouldn’t letting the snake kill them be a waste anyway? XD

1 Like

I stand corrected! Most plants that have a white sap have a latex chemical in it which is really irritating, but looks like sweet potatoes are clear @lumpy

3 Likes

Maybe, but if it works its a win. I guess since you are picking everything apart i should clarify some things. My substate isnt over a foot deep so buying large plants is not an option. That stuff is too expensive for me right now to buy more. So i am looking for more options and the things that i have dont cost anything extra.

2 Likes

That’s fine…
I just can’t understand how putting sprouts in with an animal that destroyed multiple plants will have a different outcome? Unless your sprouts are already large and hardy.

2 Likes

@blakespinks85 sweet potato might be an option. Honestly, they grow really fast.

3 Likes

What species of snake are we dealing with?

I have many plans I use but some of the most robust are Hoya and Pothos. Once they are established they are hard to knock down

Wandering Jew is stupidly prolific. I regularly have to clear it out of cages by just ripping out handfuls that usually get chucked into other cages

Sweet potatoes are a great option. I have made cuttings off commercial types but also just popped the sprouts off a store bought one and rooted them in perlite before transplanting them. They are weeds

I have some kind of ornamental rhizoid fern that is dang-near unkillable and can easily overgrow a cage in less than a year

Wandering bromeliad is another great option. Chunky and prolific

3 Likes

I’ve never seen anyone use hostas in a terrarium, probably because they get really large, but once those things estalish they can take a beating and offer some fun hiding places - plus there are a ton of varieties

2 Likes

Thank you for this info. It is a 10ft coastal in an 8ft long by 3ft deep by 4ft tall terrarium. My soil is from biodude and is only like 6 to 8 inches deep because that stuff is expensive

1 Like

I would go with the Hoya, the Pothos, or the wandering bromeliad. The weird rhizoid fern would work too if you can find it (I need to find out what the dang thing is called)

Easiest way to do it would be to find the plant you like and set it up in something like a 60-120cm window box planter in a media that is nice a loose, something like 50:50 cypress:coco peat or cypress:LFS. Let it establish in there for a couple months so the roots are good and grown in. When it is established, scrape out a furrow in the cage where you want the plants and gently tip the planter on its side and slide the entire contents out. Then you just back fill the original cage media around the bundle. Minimal transfer trauma to the plants so they do not shock out and then completely collapse if the snake runs them over
.
.
.

Make life easier on yourself and just mix your own media :+1:t4: :grin:

My base for a biome like yours would be equal parts coco peat, wood pellets, and leaf litter mulch with up to 15% LFS mixed in. You can add some cypress or pine bark as well for extra texture if you like

3 Likes

the pine bark would have to be kiln dried due to the oils right?

And possibly stupid question but what is LFS? All I can think of is “local fish store” when I see LFS :sweat_smile:

1 Like

Lol was just about to ask what LFS was too

1 Like

Long fiber sphagnum moss is what I’m thinking he’s referring to

1 Like

Eh… I have never done kiln dried stuff. It is such a minor component (usually 10% or less of the total mix) that I am not worried about it
.
.
.

Nathan is correct. Sorry, slang from my carnivorous plant days

3 Likes