croton petras safe?

[chameleonman707]

i couldnt find them in the safe to use list but i have read of others using this plant! it was to cool not to get for my new free range! anyone know if they are poisonous? thank you!

 

[Lathis]

They are fine as far as I know. I have a big one in my Jax's cage.

 

[qdude46]

They are toxic if eaten, so that's mainly a problem for Veileds. However, if you let feeders run loose around the cage, they might eat the croton, the chameleon will eat the crickets and can be harmed. I could be wrong but this is true for geckos and I'm pretty sure for chams too.

 

[chameleonman707]

cool yeah i just use them for my free range to there is no crickets on them.. hopefully they will be fine then!

 

[Lathis]

Good to know! I have a Jax. He's not a plant nibbler, so I don't worry about it too much.

 

[DGray]

croton slander

They are toxic if eaten, so that's mainly a problem for Veileds. ...

No so; the ornamental houseplant "croton" is Codiaeum variegatum, and is edible and non-toxic for mammals. There is great confusion, as there a genus of related plants truly named Croton which contains some toxic plants. I can find no cases in the literature for poisoning with Codiaeum.

If you travel in Indonesia you may be treated to a salad of "croton" leaves, and it is very refreshing. I have eaten this several times.

A word of caution though, greenhouse-grown "crotons" are usually treated with strong fungicides, which would be a concern for me.

 

[chameleonman707]

what about succulent plants anyone ever use those?

 

[DGray]

succulent

There is really nothing that succulents have in common, except water-storing leaves and stems; there are thousands of succulents, and each would need to be evaluated. In a general way, I would say no, not worth experimenting with in the chameleon cage.