Do silk ficus fall apart easily?

[AzurePegasus7]

Hello,

I have a Veiled named Aristotle. I am looking at getting a silk ficus (3 foot) for his abode. The only problem is that he has a habit of tearing off the leaves on his current live plant (that's why I want a fake one, he has already killed several plants.) My question is this: Do silk plants easily fall apart or will the leaves stay on longer?

Thanks,

AP7

 

[Trillian]

I'm sorry you didn't get a reply sooner.

Veileds do eat vegetation, so it might be that he's just peckish! What sort of things does he eat at the moment? Some members get plants from the plant-safe lists on here and cycle through them, putting them outside to recover and bringing another one inside. It could be safer for Aristotle (great name!) just to get a few live plants rather than risk him eating bits of a silk one and it causing impaction.

 

[AzurePegasus7]

Thanks for replying!

He eats mealworms, crickets, and greens, like mustard greens and such, from a safe to eat list. He doesn't munch on his plant, he actually takes the leaves in his hands, rips them off the plant, and drops them on the bottom of the cage!

I read some things about silk plants being durable. Since he doesn't like to eat his live one I figured that he wouldn't try to eat the silk one either.

What are your opinions on this?

Thanks again,

AP7

 

[chameleonkev]

if not a hanging pothos may be worth a try there a good hardy plant

 

[Carlton]

Thanks for replying!

He eats mealworms, crickets, and greens, like mustard greens and such, from a safe to eat list. He doesn't munch on his plant, he actually takes the leaves in his hands, rips them off the plant, and drops them on the bottom of the cage!

I read some things about silk plants being durable. Since he doesn't like to eat his live one I figured that he wouldn't try to eat the silk one either.

What are your opinions on this?

Thanks again,

AP7

It might be an individual thing too, and if your cham already recognizes some veggies as OK foods he may not try. Love it that he tears the leaves off! Maybe a display thing? I know melleri will shake branches during a territorial display. My first male veiled kept chewing on my Christmas cactus so I kept moving it, not sure if it was safe for him. The little beggar would roam the house searching for it. I've kept veileds with silk leaved Ficus and had no problems. Once in a while I'd see a chewed silk leaf in with my melleri but they usually gave up it if it didn't come loose. One thing you could do to test your particular tree is hose it off and shake the thing hard before using it. Leaves that are not attached well usually fall off.

 

[AzurePegasus7]

Thanks a lot for the advice! I'll try what you said and see how it goes. If I notice he is trying to eat the leaves, then I'll just get a few real trees.

Thanks again,

AP7

 

[Trillian]

Maybe he's impatient for Autumn/Fall?!