Themed bio active enclosure for Spilotes pullatus

[Roman]

I gave off a pair of my Spilotes pullatus (more details can be found in the colubrid section).

Since the enclosure needed an overhaul, some of the plants were in there since the beginning in 2009 (and showing) I decided to it RIGHT.

When I planned the enclosure in the first place I chose endurable plants like pothos regardless of the origin of the plants. Now I want to build an enclosure which is completely bio active and themed as a Central / South American enclosure.

The basic setup stays the same, the branches and cork tubs are the same as before. I chose only plants from this region. I added Xaxim panels for the backside of my enclosure as additional foothold for the climbing plants (and the climbing snakes as well) and added a special substrate to the sidewall. It consist of some kind of glue and substrate with seeds and spores in it, when it dries out and becomes solid you can begin to water it and after some time it is supposed to spawn moss and all kinds of different plants and creates a living sidewall. However, this substrate is originally used in smaller enclosures for dart frogs, so I found it doesn’t work on large walls, at least some sections broke down after some time, but most of it is still on the wall, so I wait and see, if it stays there.

The ground consists now of two layers of pebble stones as drainage layer and on top of this a mix of soil and sand. The complete substrate is about 25 cm (10 inches) deep.

I use the following plants

1 x Dieffenbachia seguine
1 x Monstera deliciosa
1 x Monstera acuminata
3 x Marcgravia sintenisii
1 x Cissus amazonica
1 x Begonia thelmae
1 x Begonia microsperma
1 x Mimosa pudica
1 x Pilea involucrate
1 x Pilea spec. Panama
1 x Philodendron camposportoanum
1 x Philodendron spec. Französisch Guyana
1 x Nanodes/Epidendrum porpax

Since most of them are (still) rather small I hope they are able to survive the constant contact with three Spilotes pullatus. I just have to wait some time and might have to replace the plants which don’t make it…

Here are some pictures of the building process and the plants I used

Drainage layer





The sidewall





The backwall with the first Xaxim panels





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[Roman]

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Some of the plants

Dieffenbachia seguine



Pilea spec. Panama



Begonia microsperma



Monstera deliciosa



Philodendron camposportoanum (front) and Marcgravia sintenisii (back)



Nanodes/Epidendrum porpax


Monstera acuminata



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[Roman]

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The finished enclosure










And the first female Spilotes when it moved in and inspected her new surroundings




Roman

[Scubadiver59]

bravissimo!! Well done indeed!

[dannybgoode]

Very nice - now this is how to keep snakes

[EL Ziggy]

Beautiful enclosure. I'd love to set my snakes up like that!

[Roman]

Today I added my pair form the quarantine enclosure to their new home…

Both are now busy exploring their new environment.

All three Spilotes pullatus are WC from French Guiana.

The male Spilotes pullatus






The female Spilotes pullatus




and both of them


Roman

[daisymaisy]

Looks great! They have a very nice habitat there.

[jjhill001]

I had a similar idea when planning my Baird's Rat tank. Turns out that getting all Texas native species was going to be way more difficult and expensive than it would be worth so I had to get random lookalikes. Maybe I'll replant it down the road if I can find a reliable supplier who works with native plants.

[Roman]

The enclosure is now in use for two weeks. So far most plants do good, the damage resulting in the snakes movement is mostly superficial, the Monstera deliciosa has some bent leaves, but most plants are actually growing.

Both females are active and can be seen resting in the Monstera deliciosa, on top of the Philodendron scandens or moving in the branches. The big male is still a little shy, he comes sometimes out of hiding, but as soon as he becomes aware of me he disappears again.


The enclosure




Monstera acuminate has grown another 10 cm / 4 in and a new leaf


Pilea spec. Panama


Begonia microsperma


Philodendron camposportoanum and Marcgravia sintenisii


Cissus amazonica and Marcgravia sintenisii


Pilea involucrate


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[Roman]

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Monstera deliciosa


Female Spilotes pullatus



Male Spilotes pullatus


Roman

[dannybgoode]

Really very nice work Roman. Do like a good planted viv like this - looks awesome...

[DJC Reptiles]

Incredible, fantastic work you have done there.