(1) Create a Drainage Layer: You need to create a drainage Layer for your plants. If the plant's roots are left in standing water, then the roots may rot causing you problems. You can avoid this by using a layer of pea gravel or lava rock to create a drainage area for your plants. My drainage layer is between 1" to 1.5" deep. (2) Non-Toxic Substrate: The quality of the substrate you grow your plants in is very important! You do NOT want to get ordinary potting soil. Potting soil is filled with fertilizers and other additives that is great for plants, but can be harmful and sometimes fatal to your herp. I know a zoo keeper who uses "Edna's Best Potting Soil" to create vivariums for the zoo's herps. It can be difficult finding a retailer that sells it so please visit their website and type in your zip code to find a store near you that will carry their soil. Their website is http://www.ebstone.org/13_ednas.php. (3) Planting your Plants Do not simply stick your potted plant in the soil of your terrarium. Please remove the plant from your pot, and gently pull away as much soil as you can from the roots. Then rinse away the dirt from the roots in room temperature water. I prefer to treat my water by putting a few drops of de-chlorinator. If you don't have this, you can leave your water out in a sterile, non-metallic open container for about 24 hours. This will allow the chlorine and the fluoride to evaporate. (4) Fertilizer Do NOT use synthetic fertilizers! It can be fatal to your herp. If you're plant is in serious need of a pick me up, I would suggest using an organic fertilizer. (5) Don't ever use pesticides on your plants. (6) Maintenance I think this is the best part. You can shape your landscape by religiously trimming and training your plants. These geckos are nocturnal so I never see them during the day. I was sick of looking at what appeared to be an empty sad little terrarium so I created a vivarium that was aesthetically pleasing to the eye during the day, but still a great home for the geckos. I hope this helps! Here is a link that might be useful: The Apartment Garden

I understand that you dont have a care sheet with all the plants you have, I wouldnt follow any instuctions that did come with the plants as most tropicals come with basic/generic tropical plant care instruction, but thats just me, thats why I mentioned this phrase in my post,"so after you get advice from the members do a google search for "care sheets on" your types of plants =)" I know you dont have care sheets!? thats why your asking! =) if you do this you will find care sheets on most, if not all of your plants, =) also, there is no "good average range" for all plants, like every other living thing in this world, plants need different care, like temps,humidity, and light, to try to keep plants/animals in a "good average range" might not be a good idea for some of your plant/animals, if you dont want to do a google search (for whatever reason)you can try and see what plants do well for you, if you see one going the way of the dino, remove it, and replace it, but it would be much easier to just look it up =)

Well...I appreciate all your responses, and I'm going to assume it's a common garter snake...for my OWN peace of mind...LOL I believe he was so grumpy because of the flash from the camera...it probably scared the bejeezus out of'm. Plus...I'm wondering if it isn't the onset of hibernation time. I mean, afterall, he WAS way down under some pretty hard, clay covered by about 4" of mulch. He was probably sleeping...or getting his last full meal of night crawlers when I uncovered him. *I'm in SE PA, not Florida at the moment. He's gone now and I don't know where...hehehe...but I covered the hole back up with the mulch. BTW: When I let Picture it! automatically tweak the color and brightness levels, the colors of the snake were changed a bit. Here are two pics showing actual color...

We kept an albino king snake at my school for about 15 years. Ozzie was very docile, and many kids handled him. You should ask at a pet store about what kind of snake would make a gentle pet. Once you decide on what kind, hold it several times to see how it responds to being held. You want to be sure it's tame enough to enjoy being held and it's not afraid. Also think about its grown size. Better idea--Rather than going to a pet store, you might see if you have a local herpetological society. These people often raise or have rescued animals which you might adopt. At the least, someone from that organization could make some good recommendations for you. A few are listed on the link. We've also kept a bearded dragon, but I like the leopard gecko we have now. He isn't too big, defecates always in one corner of his tank which helps with cleaning. He eats mealworms, which are easily kept in the refrig. It's easier to keep reptiles which eat mealworms, because crickets, mice and fish require trips to the pet store, sometimes as often as once a week. That can get to be a chore. Reptiles are great pets, clean and easy to take care of. Here is a link that might be useful: Herp Societies