Natural setup for "fynbos-dwelling snake species"

[Lamprophis]

Hi Guys

Does any of you have any ideas on how to achieve a natural-looking cage setup for South African snake species (fynbos, etc.)? My cages are made of plywood, so I guess the first step would be to fabricate some sort of waterproof lining. Any ideas?

[rubida]

I presume that you want to have live plants in your cage? What’s your cage size and which reptile species do you have in mind?

[mailjvdb]

True Fynbos would be difficult to recreate in a artificial setup... You would have to pay very close attention to recreate the Western Cape's seasons and you would have to spend lots of cash on the correct lighting.

What do you want to keep, as I would suggest you go for something different regarding the type of plants, unless you want more work and less enjoyment. Setting up and maintaining a vivarium is a tedious task. So plan it thoroughly and without shortcuts, if you expect REAL results. That all said, it might very well be possible to recreate Fynbos, but you would have to do lots of research and experimentation on different plants from that region. The fact that Fynbos doesn't occur everywhere, and only in a specific region, already tells you it has some specific growth requirements, which may be very difficult or expensive to recreate in artificial conditions such as a cage. But lets see if we can help to assist.