I had the same mission for a nature center where I used to work. We displayed freshwater animals native to NY State. The outdoor stuff was relatively easy but the installations were over a long period of time. Indoor displays were another story. I ended up using quite a bit of moss and various small ferns in the displays. Some grasses and sedges did well also. Pocket plantings where the animals (mostly turtles) couldn't trample or disturb the plantings worked well. We made fiberglass inserts that looked naturalistic. We worked in concert with the NYSDEC and were able to field collect native specimens. In addition I used things that would peeter out after a season and then be replaced or more often moved outside to recover. Good wide spectrum lighting for the displays helps. A year after I left a big donor had a garden installed in his own honor... Inoki cypress and some crazy junipers.

Awesome! Very nice, Mike. I love that corn snake and mole kingsnake. And as always, your photography is spectacular. Especially that copperhead shot. That oughta be in a field guide. I'm driving from the Smokies to Wilmington in late June. If you know of any places that you could point me to (by email of course), I would definitely love to hear them. Or if you know of anyone that I could contact, let me know. I'm hoping to have a great two week herping adventure. Once again, awesome pictures, and thanks for posting. Definitely worth the wait.

That is indeed a Black Chinned Red. I had a few of them in the past that I legally collected (with permits) in Cades Cove. Compared to regular Reds they are darker with more spotting. Dave

It really wasn't very big -- probably less than 2 feet long -- I just zoomed way in from about 6 feet away. The following website seems to say the slit pupil and the dark hourglass pattern that is narrow along the back and wide along the sides are key distinguishing features. http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/venomous-look-a-likes/copperhead-look-a-likes/copperhead.htm