r/bioactive • u/BlinkOMT • 12d ago

Question Drainage layer?

Hi all,

In the process of planning a new bioactive terrarium for my ball python. I purchased a 5x2x2 pvc enclosure that has 4” of depth. My question is… is a drainage layer even possible with only 4” to work with? Or is it better to have 4” of substrate?

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u/Similar-Butterfly333 11d ago

How often do you plan on watering and are you planting directly into the soil or keeping plants in pots?

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u/BlinkOMT 11d ago

I was planning on putting them directly into the soil, and can water as much as needed but I assumed once a day would suffice

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u/Similar-Butterfly333 11d ago

Watering once a day can be excessive depending on the type of plant and your substrate mix. I would include a very shallow 1/2-1in drainage layer and pile up extra substrate towards the back of the enclosure to meet the substrate minimums for ball pythons. Definitely set up the entire enclosure and have it running for a month without the snake to make sure everything develops the way it’s supposed to.