Larger Plant Species List

Motherlode Chameleon

Motherlode Chameleon

Chameleon Enthusiast
While keeping chameleons in a greenhouse I have also started a collection of exotic plants such as orchids, baobab and other less commonly seen plants.

As a hobby project myself and others at the UC Davis greenhouses have begun recreational researching for a larger list of nontoxic exotic plants. Species that could be used by your chameleons. Although not totally finalized I figured I would post this list anyway since I'm going to be gone until after the holiday. You could purchase these as a holiday gift to your chameleons this Christmas.

Ylang Ylang Artabotrys odoratissimus
Ylang Ylang(vine) Artabotrys hexapetalus
Coffee Coffea arabica
Lychee Litchi chinensis
Pineapple Guava Feigoa sellowiana
Cherimoya Annona cherimola

This is what we have got so far. Just to be safer than sorry I recommend confirming the toxicity even thought the literature that we have gone through says they are nontoxic. These are plants that mostly have got small circumference branches and I am putting a list together for larger circumference branches for larger species such as C. Parsoni, T. Melleri, F. Ousteliti, and F. Verocousus.

Here's one source that I have purchased from in the past.
The Garden of Delights out of Florida
http:www.gardenofdelights.com/
:cool::):cool:
 
The guys at the UC Davis I think have almost got the chameleon bug. They really like my two chameleons and they have got three 30 foot by 100 foot greenhouses (an estimate) with metal halides every where.

I have been attempting to start up some kind of study on incubation parameters of Calumna species or a dietary study, yet the head of the greenhouses says no go for now. They are breeding poison dart frogs and a lot of neat tropical and desert plants. With quite a few native Madagascar plants.

They are located right across the street from the building that has the herpetology professors offices and entomology professor offices.

If anything does happen in the way of chameleons in the greenhouses it would still be plants first and herps second. Would be great to have a actually study on breeding chameleons though (like parsons breeding study) with college resources.
 
More large plants

Motherload Chameleon said:
While keeping chameleons in a greenhouse I have also started a collection of exotic plants such as orchids, baobab and other less commonly seen plants. ... As a hobby project myself and others at the UC Davis greenhouses have begun recreational researching for a larger list of nontoxic exotic plants. Species that could be used by your chameleons. ...

Ylang Ylang Artabotrys odoratissimus
Ylang Ylang(vine) Artabotrys hexapetalus
Coffee Coffea arabica
Lychee Litchi chinensis
Pineapple Guava Feigoa sellowiana
Cherimoya Annona cherimola
Click to expand...
I would like to encourage your endeavor. I'll contribute what I can; I have lots of horticultural knowledge and have consulted with zoos and aquaria on plants in animal enclosures. The biggest difficulty is finding specific cases of plant toxicity to reptiles that is backed with citations, or references so data might be checked. Almost all "toxic plant" list are based on mammalian reactions. Not all of this is relevant to the reptile model. There is also apparently wide variation in herbivorous reptile's toleance of plant toxins; ie. tortoises vs. iguanas. I'll gather some resources for posting here in the coming days.

The first two on your list are very exotic. I believe they are going to require a very warm greenhouse and be very big. Other vines might be easier.

I find the coffee plant to be easy, and while it drinks a lot of water, and needs a great deal of fertilizing, its a satisfying plant to grow.

I likewise find feijoa easy. The current latin for this is Acca sellowiana; and I think there is a typo as the old name was spelled with a "j" . Flower petals of this plant are edible, and very sweet. The plant doesn't require a greenhouse in most parts of CA, and is hardy outside in Western OR and WA states, maybe even in BC Canada.

True guavas are probably safe; what is called Eugenia (Syzygium paniculatum) are probably good. Sapote I'm not so sure; I seem to remember something about the sap as a contact irritant - I'll look it up.

You can find coffee trees, Feijoa, and Lychee easily in California; no need to order from FL.

Motherload Chameleon said:
This is what we have got so far. Just to be safer than sorry I recommend confirming the toxicity even thought the literature that we have gone through says they are nontoxic. These are plants that mostly have got small circumference branches and I am putting a list together for larger circumference branches for larger species such as C. Parsoni, T. Melleri, F. Ousteliti, and F. Verocousus....
Click to expand...

I'll come up with a few more for you later tonight. This is just a quick before-work post.

Again, Thanks; this is needed and most welcome. And please try to include references where possible.
 
Thai Lime, aka Kaffir Lime

It seems like you could include the Thai Lime, or Mekrut tree in your greenhouse planting. Leaves are edible (added to many Thai soups) and the stems are sturdy. They do have big thorns on some stems, but these can be trimmed if you have concerns.

This is usually sold with the unfortunate name of Kaffir Lime; in South Africa this is the "n" word, and so its use here is offensive to some. I'm not sure how it came to be called this in America.

It strikes me that all citrus might be acceptably safe, but I'm checking for long-term consumption side-effects in reptiles.

Citrus are easy to grow in a greenhouse, they just need extra fertilizing with an acid-enhancing food and extra iron supplements.
 
Dracena reflexa and costus woodsonii(red button ginger) are a couple of plants i grow and use for my chams that may work for your greenhouse or for most cham cages. I use these two in most of my veiled cages babies to adults. They are both very easy to grow, the dracena i grow from cuttings. This dracena grows bushy and shorter then most others. Theres a normal green variety and a varigated form called "song of india". I grow both it just depends on where i get the cuttings. My veileds eat this plant now and then too. The ginger i grow from pups that form at the of the stalk when the flower finishes blooming (like a orchid). Its not a very strong plant and works best for smaller chams. It is a very pretty plant if it gets to flower but sometimes they wont do this unless there a couple of feet tall. All my veileds eat the ginger leaves and buds like crazy.
 
Just a point to mention, most of the plant species that grow in the tropics are toxic or semi toxic. This means that chameleons living in the tropics are adapted to live around toxic plants in the wild. Just a point worth mentioning.

For captivity non toxic plants are of course the way to go.
 
D Gray I have had a Ylang Ylang bush in my Greenhouse fro about 5 years now and have found this plant to be quite prolific and has out lasted some of my other exotic tropical plants. It has handle trimmings, indirect light and cooler temperature quite well (has been in the garage for the last two months under a metal halide and is no worse for the wear).

Although providing conditions for this plant to bloom is another issue.
 
ylang ylang? cool cool

That's good to know that _Artabotrys_ can be grown without too much bother.

I think you will find another thread about the giant vine _Tetrastigma voinierianum_, which is worth considering. These are available in the S.F area often.

I like Euphorbia-family plant _Synadenium grantii rubra_ as a greenhouse tree; it has copious milky latex, and I'm sure its unpalatable, and perhaps toxic. I've never had my animals bother it. Its spare in appearance, but striking, with red leaves and stems. The branches can carry some weight.

I've got a book called 'Edible Leaves of the Tropics' by Martin, Franklin W, and Ruberte, Ruth. Here are some suggestions from that:

If you could find it, Jew's mallow or bush okra _Corchortus olitorius_ is a nice edible shrub. Davis may have this in it's collection.

Ramie is much the same. _Boehmeria nivea_ is the real name and I'm not sure where to get it.

_Cassia alata_ is a pretty thing that is again edible, and has nice spikes of yellow flowers. This can be reasonably grown from seed, or you might find it in garden centers in So Cal.

_Ardisia solanacea_ is a shrub that has edible leaves. I grow the more common _A. crispa_ from China and Japan. This will be hard to find, I bet; you might find seed in a search.

_Acalypha sp._ are common houseplants. Both _A. wilkesiana and hispida_ are eaten.

Likewise, crotons are edible, but they vary in their palatability. Look for _Codiaeum variegatum_ varieties with bigger leaves and stems, and yellowish leaves for the best flavor. Crotons are always available from houseplant growers. Other crotons are on poisonous plant lists.

_Spondias sp._ have edible leaves. These fruit trees are not often seen in the West. I saw Logee's has offered one form.

Jackfruit and Breadfruit have edible young leaves. They're both gigantic trees with time. Don't know where you'd find them, but they're common in every tropical place I've visited. _Artocarpus_ are sometimes seen in botanical garden collections too.

Tamarinds are another one with edible leaves and fruit. Seeds should be easy to acquire. Plants are grown in frost-free areas of this country. _Tamarindus indica_ is the common one.

_Morinda citrifolia_ is better known as noni, and it should be fine.

Good old rubber tree _Ficus elastica_ has a history of being eaten, especially the young leaf still coiled in the shoot.

One of the coral trees: _Erythrina berteroana_ has edible leaves and nice red flowers, but seeds are dangerously poisonous. Probably not a risk in the greenhouse where pods could be removed before maturation. _E. fusca_ is the same.

Hope some of this helps you in your search. Keep us posted with your plant's progress in the new greenhouse.
 
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Just kind of neat to mention. The main man at the UC Davis greenhouse started a thread on a botany forum for larger organizations about finding plants that are suitable for chameleons. We've had a couple comments from large corporate companies and a couple from university botanical departments, University of Washington is the only one I recall at the moment. Figured I would mention this collaborated effort.
 
Motherload Chameleon said:
Just kind of neat to mention. The main man at the UC Davis greenhouse started a thread on a botany forum for larger organizations about finding plants that are suitable for chameleons. We've had a couple comments from large corporate companies and a couple from university botanical departments, University of Washington is the only one I recall at the moment. Figured I would mention this collaborated effort.
Click to expand...

Any new species not yet mentioned here?
 
Here's an update list of plants for mid to small chameleons.

Ylang Ylang Cananga odorata
Coffee Coffea arabica
Lychee Litchi chinensis
Pineapple Guava Feigoa sellowiana
Cherimoya Annona cherimola
Snow Bush Breynia disticha
Ficus Ficus binnendijkii alii
Tea Tree Camellia japonica
Super Dwarf Banana Musa acuminata

For this list I would like to thank Ernesto Sandavol of the UC Davis Greenhouses for his experience, time and guidance regarding plants. As well as DGray of the Chameleon Forums for experienced comments and guidance. Lastly Dj Richie Rich of the Chameleon Forums for comments as well.

I'm still researching this list and if you have any comments about these plants species please post them. I have got a long list of candidate species and may be adding or removing some species from this list. I'm planning on keeping the posted list around 10 to 15 species although I have got a journal with many more. I'm eventually going to post a list of 4 or 5 large circumference branched plants for larger chameleon species sometime in the near future.
 
The Snow Bush I'm going to experiment with in my greenhouse, however I have heard that this species is delicate and may only be suitable for the smaller species. Plus the Banana that I'm also working with also has soft leaves and may not handle being climbed over very well either. I'm working with both of these plants and am going to put these two to the test and I'm going to post comments.
 
These species may require more light and water than is found in a normal indoor enclosure. I would recomend to be prepared that if you are going to grow these indoors, without a greenhouse arangement, to provide extra for growing these plants indoors.
 
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