[Teckdragon]

My apologies if this thread gets a little off topic here. I just picked up my friend's old 18"x18"x24" Exo Terra and I'm actually planning on building an arboreal snake viv (for either a carpet or a GTP), as opposed to a frog viv, but I assume the answers would be similar.

What is the best type of wood to use? Bamboo? Manzanita? Grapewood? Mopani? (My intention is to make perches with it.)

Where is the best place to buy it?

I currently have 3 large pieces of Grapewood that would fit well, but I've heard reports on issues with mold. If these branches were mounted laterally onto the tank, what are the odds I might incur mold (assuming regular misting for plants twice daily)?

Thanks for any tips & suggestions.

 

[dravenxavier]

Mind you it would not last a carpet python very long in a tank that size, but for my green trees, I use manzanita. The smooth texture makes it easy to clean. I just get the bird perches from the local store (Petco), and take the threaded bits off of the ends. I also put in a small nail on the side on one end, to keep it from rotating in the perch holders. However, I do keep a scrap piece of wood or cork bark (whatever I have handy) in the tank to assist with shedding...just something I have lying around so I can throw it out if it becomes soiled.

Here is an OLD picture of the exoterras before I switched the wood out to manzanita. These are the 24x18x24 exoterras.

Also, you should not encounter mold with either of these snakes. They should/must be allowed to dry out.

 

[Teckdragon]

Here's the pieces I have just stacked in the tank:

I was thinking about buying some brackets to silicone to the sides for mounting. Grapewood is pretty smooth but it also has some interesting textures & shapes. I guess I was just trying to stay away from the usual linear patterns I see in most chondro enclosures.

 

[dravenxavier]

The unfortunate part is that the simplicity of most Chonro enclosures is intentional. These are not dart frogs, and the environment cannot clean up after these snakes like the majority of dart frog vivariums can. Those nooks and crannies that you love in your wood will cause you all sorts of problems when it comes time to disinfect them. Not saying it can't be done...just makes it a lot more difficult. They also generally prefer to perch on horizontal spanses, which I don't see many (or any) of in your current set up. Wood arrangements like this work better for the various species of Amazon tree boas, such as Corallus hortulanus.

 

[Teckdragon]

Oh that's not the final placement, just wanted to show off the shape of the wood. What is the best method for regular disinfecting of branches?

 

[dravenxavier]

With snakes, it depends. If I have another set of perches, I will switch them out, and use a soak of bleach/hot water for an hour or so, scrub them, then soak them in water with a bunch of dechlorinator (for an aquarium), rinse, then air dry. If I don't have another set, I use a chlorhexidine solution, spray liberally, scrub with good bristle brush, and rinse. With the manzanita, I can usually spray with the chlorhexidine solution, and wipe it down with paper towels.

 

[Teckdragon]

For draven, here's how the tank came out:

 

[Ed]

Having worked with chondros, amazon tree boas, emerald treeboas and a number of arboreal vipers, how do you expect to remove the snake with all of those branches? What is your plan if it has a strong feeding response?

Ed

 

[saruchan]

Awesome snakes I've always wanted one of these, a yellow one though. I had a question. In all these vivs they all usually kept very plain and with no background what is the reason for this? Thanks and apologize for not being much help.

 

[Teckdragon]

Having worked with chondros, amazon tree boas, emerald treeboas and a number of arboreal vipers, how do you expect to remove the snake with all of those branches? What is your plan if it has a strong feeding response?

Ed

A couple of those branches are just resting there and aren't permanent. Was more to provide depth/scale to the photo.

As per your question, my response would be patience, trial, and error. This tank is going to sit here and grow in until Daytona, so I have some time to mull things over and make tweaks.

 

[Teckdragon]

Awesome snakes I've always wanted one of these, a yellow one though. I had a question. In all these vivs they all usually kept very plain and with no background what is the reason for this? Thanks and apologize for not being much help.

Most of the tanks you see are breeder tanks. They're designed to be a functional and minimalistic as possible. I keep my animals as pets as opposed to breeding them, so I embellished a little bit with the plants & perches.