Homemade Snake Aquarium

Drainage

• To turn your snake aquarium into a self-sustaining ecosystem, you need adequate drainage to allow the plants to grow. You can achieve this result by lining the bottom area of the aquarium with pebbles. Also, use leca balls, which refer to absorbent clay balls, sold at most garden centers. Layer sphagnum moss or activated charcoal along the top of the pebbles to clean the water that continues to seep through. Spread another layer of substrate made of peat moss, potting soil, mulch, or sand on top of the sphagnum moss or charcoal substrate.

Humidity, Light and Heat

• Snakes need a basking area to survive, so have plants that can grow in your homemade snake aquarium. Consequently, every plant from all climates needs UV light to grow; place a heat lamp on one side of the aquariums lid. The lamp warms a particular spot in the aquarium, which serves as the perfect place for your pet snake to bask. Rainforest plants and snakes also need high humidity levels, which usually ranges from 70 to 80 percent. You can achieve this by daily misting the aquarium. Although desert snakes can tolerate dryer conditions, they still need water dishes to drink from and soak their bodies.

Rainforest or Desert

• The required climate for your homemade snake aquarium greatly depends on the species of the snake you plan to keep, as well as the plants you use to create a self-sustaining habitat. Desert snakes like rosy boas or Kenyan sand boas usually do well in dry aquariums with sand substrates. Also, add desert plants such as aloe and any other succulent as long as they do not have needles that may prick the skin of your pet snake.

  Other species, such as emerald tree pythons and Amazon tree boas, need a humid rainforest environment. A combination of a moist sphagnum moss substrate and rainforest plants such as bromeliads or pothos are also perfect for them. Snakes do not feed on plants, so you do not have to worry about their toxicity, but you should expect them to crush or trample the plants. Therefore, they should be securely planted into the walls of the tank by placing a protective pot with silicone before planting them.

Construction Considerations

• While you design a homemade snake aquarium, prevent your snake from escaping by having a glass tank with a secure lid. Also, choose an aquarium based on the size of snake you wish to keep. While smaller snakes, such as corn snakes or garter snakes, can survive in 20-gallon tanks, pythons or boas usually require more space. Fifty-gallon tanks are perfect for housing larger snakes because they can also provide you plenty of room for decorations and plants.

  When making the aquarium, stick to a straightforward background similar to what fish tanks have. However, you can also build walls on the back and sides of the aquarium. To construct rock-like backgrounds and walls, use spray foam and cover them with soil or moss before it dries up. To add more character to your homemade snake aquarium, you can also embed plant pots, logs, rocks, and other decorations in the spray foam background.