Branches for his cage?

[Tucklander]

That’s very smart. And yes would be very visually appealing too...didn’t think about them taking care of the escapees ...

 

[jamest0o0]

You must have softer water? High mineral content kills carnivs pretty fast. The sundews and butterworts tend to grow in standing water, while the nepenthes like to stay wet, but also prefer drainage. I'm not an expert on carnivorous plants, I only started with them like a year and a half or so ago, but I've had good success with the several species i keep. If you have any questions feel free to message me.

I keep just nepenthes in my enclosures, the others wouldn't really last or be practical due to their needs or sticky nature. I've never seen them get a large feeder, but they do an amazing job at keeping soil gnats at bay. The plants I don't keep in the enclosure I just keep next to it on a sunny windowsill.

I just think they're awesome plants and make a fun little hobby/addiction hah.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

To tell you the truth I have no idea what type of water we have here but I do know that the nepenthes don't seem to mind it. Those two containers get a direct blast from my Mistking every time it kicks on. I mostly use expanded clay in place of dirt and each pot has drain lines hidden inside the foam so you cant see them. I thought about putting a sundew in that top container but I was unsure of how that would work with a chameleon running around. How sticky is a sundew? Would it stick to a cham?

 

[jamest0o0]

Yeah I wouldn't use a sundew for that reason. It wouldn't hurt the cham, but they are extremely sticky and get all over anything they touch.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Then she could really blend in and hide! Can you picture a cham with leaves stuck all over them? Maybe a loose cricket or two?

 

[jamest0o0]

Haha it'd be a cham ghillie suit.

 

[andrearamirezo91]

Sorry for ghosting out I got super busy this weekend!

Soooooo @Pjtbug YES that's exactly where the pic comes from! I hadn't found the article but since you sent it to me I HAD to go buy all the materials yesterday to try to replicate it

I got a pothos, two bromeliads, and a schefflera. I also found the black Great Stuff for Pond and Stone and it jusssst so happens that my mom's boyfriend is moving and he threw away a decoration that had a bunch of long tree branches! So everything seems to be coming together I just need to find an extra set of small planters (you'd think home depot has them but no!) and the zip ties. I don't have the two bars that the guy attaches to the cage in order to take some weight off the mesh, but I think the great stuff will really help hold the branches and containers and dissipate the weight to a larger area. what do you guys think?

If everything goes well, I might start working on the project tomorrow!

Just one more doubt... Someone mentioned that the Great Stuff sticks to anything... so what should I put under the cage when I'm gonna spray it with this thing?! Wont the surface stick through the mesh to the other side of the cage?

 

[jamest0o0]

I make my backgrounds by first foaming to egg crate light diffuser. Then sculpting it and cover with aquarium safe silicone. Then attach the background to the screen. Make sure to foam outside and I'd recommend using a respirator. That stuff is terrible to breath in.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

The foam will literally stick to any thing it touches and can not be cleaned off. Not a joke. Definitely wear some disposable gloves and old clothes. And if you prop the corners of your screen on blocks you don’t need to worry about it sticking to anything as there will be an air gap there.

 

[andrearamirezo91]

Plants have been washed and transplanted to organic soil! I now need some pebbles to cover up the dirt. I’ll keep you guys updated, but it’s gonna be a slow process! Life has been pretty crazy/busy lately

 

[jamest0o0]

Quick tip, don't plant bromeliads in soil. They are epiphytes and water through their 'cups'. Planting in soil in a heavily misted enclosure will rot them from the bottom and kill them pretty fast. In the wild they grow on cliffs, trees, wood, rocks, etc

 

[andrearamirezo91]

Quick tip, don't plant bromeliads in soil. They are epiphytes and water through their 'cups'. Planting in soil in a heavily misted enclosure will rot them from the bottom and kill them pretty fast. In the wild they grow on cliffs, trees, wood, rocks, etc

Thanks James! I did plant them in soil but that could be easily changed. I was asking myself the same question because my mom looooves bromeliads and she has a huge log that's covered in them. I'm not sure how she got them to stick like that lol. So what should I do? I was reading that a lot of people use floral pins, but that it's bad long term because they can rust pretty badly. I was thinking of covering the Great Stuff with aquarium safe silicone and then covering it all up with coco fiber. This project is becoming bigger and more complex than what I thought it would be, but I like it lol. I'm excited. I still have to figure out where I'm gonna house my boy while I do all this stuff.