# Live plants in terrarium?



## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

i have grown tired of plastic plants, so i wanna get some live plants in the terrarium. what i cannot find is 1. preparing the plant for the terrarium? 2. watering? 3. plants that i can mount anywhere? (pretty much no roots) 
thank you for reading,
Markus


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

maarup said:


> i have grown tired of plastic plants, so i wanna get some live plants in the terrarium. what i cannot find is 1. preparing the plant for the terrarium? 2. watering? 3. plants that i can mount anywhere? (pretty much no roots)
> thank you for reading,
> Markus


If you are looking for mounting-type plants, rather than soil-based, check out Just Airplants: Just Airplants They have a great selection and Gill is very helpful in helping to pick the plants that suit your set-up, as well as advice in aftercare.


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

Ron Magpie said:


> If you are looking for mounting-type plants, rather than soil-based, check out Just Airplants: Just Airplants They have a great selection and Gill is very helpful in helping to pick the plants that suit your set-up, as well as advice in aftercare.


Thank you!


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

You just need small tropical plant that are grown for foliage as opposed to flowers.
Slow growing plants are best.
You don't really have to prepare them just plant them.
If you have a sealed terrarium then once you water it once you don't need to water it again.( Just leave it open for 24 hours to let the excess evaporate off).


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

SnakeBreeder said:


> You just need small tropical plant that are grown for foliage as opposed to flowers.
> Slow growing plants are best.
> You don't really have to prepare them just plant them.
> If you have a sealed terrarium then once you water it once you don't need to water it again.( Just leave it open for 24 hours to let the excess evaporate off).


I disagree with almost all of this, lol. :lol2:


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## Galactic Mushroom (Mar 8, 2013)

I guess he's talking about those contained terrariums in a jar or something where it's just plants and no animals


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## my_shed (Jan 5, 2011)

What animal are you looking for the plants for? This'll give us an idea of what sort of plants you could potentially supports. I second Ron's suggestion re Gill, she'll hook you up.

Dave


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Galactic Mushroom said:


> I guess he's talking about those contained terrariums in a jar or something where it's just plants and no animals


Yes, I think you are right- and in that situation his advice is perfectly ok- slightly out of kilter in this thread and situation, though.


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

It was the use of the term terrarium that lean me to misunderstand what his enquiry was about.

I have several planted vivariums with bio-active substrate.
My wooden vivariums are glass lined to protect them from moisture damage.
 The substrate is about 5 inches deep and is a mixture of coir, potting soil, peat, rotted wood, pearlite, charcoal and vermiculite.
All my plants grow directly in the substrate and I do not use air plants in my setup. I have several ferns, ivy’s and other foliage house plants, which are easily obtained via sellers on Ebay. There is no preparation as such for the plants, they are simply watered, removed from their pots and planted directly in the substrate.
Watering is really a factor of your ventilation. The more ventilation you provide the more often you will need to water. I use water that has stood for 24 hours or longer, to remove chlorine etc as it is better for the plants and springtails. Often this just involves empting the snakes water bowl in to the cage before I clean it and provide fresh water.
My “clean up crew” are topical springtails, European springtails, European woodlice and woodlice from America and panama. 
The lighting is T5 in some cages and T8 in others. I have low UV percentage bulbs for the snakes as well as special grow bulbs for the plants.

If I can be of any help Markus feel free to PM me.


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## my_shed (Jan 5, 2011)

SnakeBreeder said:


> It was the use of the term terrarium that lean me to misunderstand what his enquiry was about.
> 
> I have several planted vivariums with bio-active substrate.
> My wooden vivariums are glass lined to protect them from moisture damage.
> ...


You may wish to enquire with your local water provider as to whether they are using chloramines as disinfectant in the water supply, as well as/instead of chlorine. If they are you're not going to be doing much good by letting it sit for 24 hours, but instead will need to use a filtering method or by using a water treatment product.

Apologies if you've already checked this out.

Dave


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

my_shed said:


> You may wish to enquire with your local water provider as to whether they are using chloramines as disinfectant in the water supply, as well as/instead of chlorine. If they are you're not going to be doing much good by letting it sit for 24 hours, but instead will need to use a filtering method or by using a water treatment product.
> 
> Apologies if you've already checked this out.
> 
> Dave


Cheers Dave.
I looked in to that years ago but think I'm well overdue to check it again.
Thanks for the reminder.: victory:


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

I think, since the original misunderstanding has been cleared, we can all move on...:whistling2:


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

*Animals*

Well, a Sumatran Blood Python is going into the terrarium, so I was looking for tropic, high humidity, plants I could use in the terrarium. Also I was asking about prep. For the plants because i was thinking about mites and bugs and such.


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

I've tried planted cages for blood pythons and sorry to say I could not get it to work as they are so disruptive.
If you manage to establish one I'd like to see photo's. You'll need very sturdy plants secured in place. 
You cant really "treat" the soil attached to live plants without killing them. You can of course treat the leaves and stem but them you'll have to remove any chemicals before using it in a cage with reptiles.
Blood pythons do seem to attract snake mites if any are in the area.
However if you have a bio-active soil you can use "defender mites" to kill off any snake mites. They are extremely effective in cages with bio-active substrates as long as it is not allowed to dry out.


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

Good to know, but how would I go about treating the stem and leaves? And I am going to mount a pretty big ivy plant in a top corner where (hopefully) the blood won't be able to get to it. Also, defender mites? I have never heard of these mites, could you please tell me more about them? 
Thanks,
Markus


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

maarup said:


> Good to know, but how would I go about treating the stem and leaves? And I am going to mount a pretty big ivy plant in a top corner where (hopefully) the blood won't be able to get to it. Also, defender mites? I have never heard of these mites, could you please tell me more about them?
> Thanks,
> Markus


If you google 'Defenders' you'll find the website. If you have no other snakes, and the one you get is from a clean source and thoroughly checked, mites shouldn't be a problem- they'll only get in if you introduce them. They are much harder to remove from a planted viv, though.

The best way to 'treat' bought plants is to *gently* rinse the soil off and then the whole plant in tepid water, then repot in clean, pesticide and fertilzer-free organic compost- available from most garden centres, Give the plant a few weeks to recover, which also gives it a chance to get rid of any 'systemic' (those designed to be absorbed by the plant) chemicals, and it will be fine.


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

The defender mites are these here.
I found Hypoaspis mites to be very effective against snake mites when given the correct environment, like bio-active substrate.
Hypoaspis mites need warm humid conditions, so are not very effective in cages with paper or dry wood type substrates.


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

*Defender Mites*

The Defender Mites you linked me to come in groups of 10,000 at a time, would that not be WAY too many for a 60cm long x 35cm tall x 30cm wide terrarium? and bio-active substrate and eco-earth, do that hold humidity well? atm. i have coconut husk stuff that holds humidity like a dream, would mites be ok in that? i might have been vague in what i wanted, i have a ivy plant and i would like to mount it in the top right corner of the terrarium, not in the substrate of the terrarium. the ivy is just for aesthetics, it would droop down over some wood that supports it. i was asking how and what i should do to make the plant terrarium safe and such.


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

I can’t really advise you on how to fit the ivy in as my blood pythons completely wrecked my planted setup.
Just secure it so the python can not get at the pot or dislodge the plant.
Don’t worry about the 10,000 mites in a container. The container is about the size of a tin of peas and mostly filled with vermiculite. The company does not do a smaller size. I’d just empty the whole thing in with the coconut husk stuff you mentioned. Although any eco-earth / bio-active soil that has not dried out should be fine. More defender mites just means they will Hoover up the snake mites quicker. You could also sprinkle some defender mites in other reptile cages in the room, as it is likely the snake mites have spread.


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

*Thank you*

Thank you so much! this was my first thread on here, and i was nervous how it would go, but this is great! thank you all for the help, now my blood python wont get any of those nasty mites! here is a pic of the lucky guy!


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

:censor: i just saw that the Defender Mites only ship to the UK D: i live in the Netherlands, so that is a bit problematic. guh, off to google


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

image doesnt show. try this


Googled blood python, f:censor:k me they are hefty looking things :lol2: 

My concerns would be about lighting, what are you currently using?


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

*er*

er, lighting? i was planning to keep it by the window, like normal house plants. If i must i could buy some kind of lamp? what kind of lamp/bulb would be needed? i am not really after the plant growing so much, more keeping it alive and at its current size.


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

I use "GroLux" tubes, width size T8 and 2 foot long. Details 
If you cant get a supplier to send you Hypoaspis Miles mites give me a PM.
I could get them sent to me then post them on to you if you really want them. I'll just have to check it's ok to send them abroad and check postal costs.


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

Thank you so much Snake Breeder, but i found a supplier here. Sadly they demand 35 euro for 1,000 pcs (this is right? roofmijt tegen spint ) they look kinda scary D:


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

maarup said:


> Thank you so much Snake Breeder, but i found a supplier here. Sadly they demand 35 euro for 1,000 pcs (this is right? roofmijt tegen spint ) they look kinda scary D:


You're welcome.
Glad you found a supplier but they seem expensive.
To be honest I'm not sue what they look like as they are tiny.
I'm sure they will work for you in a bio-active cage


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

thank you all, again. tomorrow at 10:00 i will be at the Houten Reptile Expo and i will finally have my blood python (brought and bought from a guy on here in England!) RFUK is a truly amazing place.


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