The pleasure of naturalistic vivaria

Naturalistic vivaria – the benefits

West Indian Boas and Tropidophis species are ideal snakes to be kept in naturalistic vivaria. Many species have a slender body and shy temperament. A well structured vivarium with living plants is an eyecatcher and allows observations impossible to be made in minimalist enclosures.

Naturalistic vivaria are by no means harder to maintain than minimalist enclosures. One argument sometimes made against naturalist enclosures is, that you can’t find the feces easily. This is untrue, since you will find feces always with your nose first. Smelling everyday on your terraria will tell you the work that needs to be done. And lets be frank, observing your animals on a daily basis is a much greater pleasure in a naturalistic setup.

One of the key points is that animals also behave differently in naturalistic vivaria. For instance, M. Saina observed that Chilabothrus strigilatus which were very nervous in a minimalist setup, calmed down immediately after natural branches and plants were included. All animals are still a bit shy, but very often spent time on the branches and slither slowly away now if they feel it necessary. Before, they would panic and try to flee or even strike at the glass front in the direction of the observer. A similar observation was made by Stettler with Trimerusurus species .

Naturalistic vivaria – ground

A naturalistic setup will always have a living soil structure. This might seem overly complex, compared to newspaper, however, living plants and the drainage under the soil help you to keep humidity levels and generate micro climatic zones that are beneficial for the reptiles. In addition, small organisms in the soil such as white woodlice, centipedes, millipedes soil nematodes and predatory mites are very helpful to keep the terrarium clean and your animals healthy – all this facilitates the daily routine.

Naturalistic terraria have been around for a long time an important component of natural reptile and amphibian husbandry. All life forms occurring in and on the substrate, such as bacteria, fungi, springtails, isopods, cockroaches, millipedes, gnats, snails, earwigs, beetles, worms and all other possible detrivores, can be included in the term “living soil”. In live animal sales, however, this usually means only a few isopod and springtail species. With the very small species selection that is often advertised as living soil, the concept is suggested to be exclusively suitable for forest terrariums. However, many species are also suitable for steppe or dry terrariums as long as the right microclimates and soil conditions are created.

In order to create a functional system, it is not only necessary to select the right species for the appropriate climate, but also to adapt the entire floor plan to it. This includes drainage considerations, substrate types and layering, foliage and white rotted wood or other dead plant material, excess removal, irrigation or humidity control, supplemental feeding and nutrient supply, mineral salt supply, etc.

Living soils require constant intervention to maintain a life-supporting balance. In return, biotic resources are used by the introduced organisms and are thus in direct competition with possible undesirable life forms.

Naturalistic vivaria – plants

The art of designing naturalistic terraria includes plants and the knowledge which species to chose and how to care for them. Certainly the highest possible art is to use only plants that occur within the natural habitat of the species kept. However, even non-native plants make good contributions to a naturalistic terrarium and one could imagine a little boa crawling through a man made garden, containing non native plants.

The botany of the West Indies does show variations between different islands, however, several plant species have a wide distribution over the West Indies and Mesoamerica, e.g. Clusia rosea and Tradescantia spathacea.

Tradescantia spathacea – Moses-in-the-cradle

Many species of Philodendron are commonly available and some are native to the West Indies, such as Philodendron hederaceum (also known as as Philodendron scandens). Another Caribbean native and horticulturally used Genus is Monstera. Very decorative are Monstera adansonii and M. deliciosa. All plant species mentioned here are commonly available.

Other beneficial and easy to care for plants include species of the genus Spathiphyllum. The Genus is naturally ocurring in South- and Mesoamerica, as well as parts of Asia but also on the island of Tobago. The commonly known decorative plant Epipremnum aureum originated from the polinesian Island Moorea, but has become naturalized in many parts of the world, including the West Indies. This species makes a very easy to care for plant and can be included in almost any terrarium. Peperomia rotundifolia, is native to South America and is a very decorative asset in West Indian boa terraria. Another decorative and easy to care for plant species is Scindapsus pictus, which is native to SE-Asia but makes a beautiful decoration in naturalistic West Indian boa terraria. Almost inevitable are common horticultural plants that are non-native to the West Indies, such as Ficus maclellandii and F. benjamina as well as F. pumila, all native to Asia. They are readily available and easy to care for.

These are but a few suggestions, we hope you feel inspired.