are orchids safe?????

[shiftyeyes]

i am new to chams and was just wondering if orchids are a safe non toxic flower to put in the cage. i have a hawaiian umbrella tree and a corton in the cage right now, but i just wanted to add color. I live in Canada and no store or flower shop has a hibiscus right now. Maybe someone can tell me if there is another safe colorful flower that i can use that is non toxic....???

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

i am new to chams and was just wondering if orchids are a safe non toxic flower to put in the cage. i have a hawaiian umbrella tree and a corton in the cage right now, but i just wanted to add color. I live in Canada and no store or flower shop has a hibiscus right now. Maybe someone can tell me if there is another safe colorful flower that i can use that is non toxic....???

I do believe they are safe as i have seen many pictures with them being used with chameleons, However i would much rather you check a safe plants list then assume.

Honestly i have no idea, however i could have sworn i saw some pictures with chams and orchids.

 

[mychamtini112012]

I've seen pictures with them and other chams, but they aren't on the safe plant list from fl chams.

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

Ah where were my manners? Welcome to the forum! I'm Dan, I'm fairly new to chameleons myself but am constantly trying to further my knowledge. Feel free to contact me if there is anything i could help with!
My girlfriend lauren is on here as well ( andallthatjazz )


You've come to an amazing place to learn about chameleons and their care!

Welcome!

 

[shiftyeyes]

i looked at the safe plant list to see if they were on there and i didnt see them thats why i asked, good thing i did lol. just wondering if there is another flower thatis safe for the cage then besides hibiscus?

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

Bromeliads are wonderful "flower" like plants. Plus look amazing in with your chameleons.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

There are a couple of other plants that flower that are not toxic. I have got to go through some of my notes then I could list a couple.

As for orchids being toxic here's a good thread from another forums about the topic. I would definitely run a google check for the species of orchid that is in question.

http://www.homegardenguides.com/garden-forum/orchids-forums/118150-any-orchids-poisonous.html

 

[shiftyeyes]

Bromeliads are wonderful "flower" like plants. Plus look amazing in with your chameleons.

so you are telling me that Bromeliads are a 100% safe plant? cause i didnt see it on the safe plant list.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Two that come to mind are the Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata) plant that is known as the perfume tree. Plus the Lychee tree (Litchi chinensis) that are not toxic and flower however it is highly recommended that the seeds of these fruits should not be eaten.

I'm going to post more soon.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

so you are telling me that Bromeliads are a 100% safe plant? cause i didnt see it on the safe plant list.

I would not use Bromeliads for chameleons however here is a good link if you are considering using them.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/add-bromeliads-plants-74247/

 

[Zajlol]

I've used them in mine I know that they are safe. Only problem is that there real expensive and don't use much water.

 

[shiftyeyes]

thank you all for the info it really helped

 

[EvilLost]

i am new to chams and was just wondering if orchids are a safe non toxic flower to put in the cage. i have a hawaiian umbrella tree and a corton in the cage right now, but i just wanted to add color. I live in Canada and no store or flower shop has a hibiscus right now. Maybe someone can tell me if there is another safe colorful flower that i can use that is non toxic....???

I do believe Corton is toxic....someone may want to confirm/deny


orchids are all safe as far as i know


bromeliads are 100% safe, yes they are VERY commonly used in frog tanks (frogs lay their eggs in them)....but be wary as some broms have SPINY LEAVES that could hurt your cham.

I've used them in mine I know that they are safe. Only problem is that there real expensive and don't use much water.

orchids LOVE water! the only catch is that you have to mount them right, you can't put them in a pot. orchids are epiphytes and should be mounted on sticks/etc (taht way you also can't overwater them)

 

[EvilLost]

sorry double post

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

I apologize here's an upgraded link about Orchids. None are known to be toxic and this site elaborates more on the issue.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Are_orchids_poisonous

Bromeliads are pretty however for chameleons they have not got the best plant structure for chameleons to climb on. If you want to use them I would use them as a center piece and place plants or branches around them to make improved climbing structures for your chameleon. Don't quote me on this however I recall seeing a documentary about Tiger Chameleons that have been known to lay eggs inside Bromeliads.

 

[Zajlol]

I do believe Corton is toxic....someone may want to confirm/deny


orchids are all safe as far as i know


bromeliads are 100% safe, yes they are VERY commonly used in frog tanks (frogs lay their eggs in them)....but be wary as some broms have SPINY LEAVES that could hurt your cham.




orchids LOVE water! the only catch is that you have to mount them right, you can't put them in a pot. orchids are epiphytes and should be mounted on sticks/etc (taht way you also can't overwater them)

Sry probably should of been me specific they like water but they can get over watered easily.

 

[icegecko]

i've used both orchids and bromiliads. i mounted all my orchids and they still did not last long. orchids are expensive as well- better off using fake ones.

i find that bromiliads cannot handle the amount of water that is sprayed in a cham cage each day and wind up rotting. that's even after mixing the soil with sand for better drainage. I just stick with umbrella trees, pothos and tillandsias.

just my opinion.

 

[EvilLost]

@icegecko: "bromeliad" is a wide category. some are epiphytes, some are terrestrials...if you are growing an epiphytic species in the ground, then soil mixtures won't matter if your plant is incorrectly placed.

similarly, most orchids are tropical and like high humidity with plenty of water. as Zajlol said, they can get overwatered easily but if you mount them then this problem is resolved (you can't overwater a mounted plant since there is nowhere for the water to accumulate)

regardless of this many orchids will not last in screen enclosures with our humidity...but that is not to say that all of them will not, there are MANY types of orchids.

I personally have been growing a few species of orchids, as well as tons of bromeliads successfully for a short while now in my house with no problems....also realize that they need RO water, you can generally NOT use tap water as they are very sensitive.

I have also begun experimenting with Nepenthes (asian pitcher plants)...these are very sensitive and only certain species work for "houseplants" (ie screen enclosure) but so far even with hand misting they are doing pretty well and i have tons of offshoots....but i admit i've only had them for ~1.5 months now and i have not yet planted them into my misted system, but with misting they will only do better i believe as these plants like it nice n moist


Long story short: Growing plants is a lot more complicated than it first appears.

 

[Lancecham]

I use a lot of dendrobium orchids in my outdoor cham cages. They grow very very well and I need to thin them out about once a year. They have sturdy stocks, grow tall and the the leaves collect water.
When I use them indoors, I do need to change them every so often as they don't grow as nicely as the ones outdoors.

 

[KylieT]

I have an orchid that I replanted into a plastic pot with a drainage system and I have it planted in Miracle Grow African Violet potting soil and thus far everything seems to be great. I have heard somewhere on the forum from another user that you can wrap the base of the plant in plastic that way you can choose when and how much water it can get.