live plants for enclosure

[hollyrc1815]

hey everyone! I have some questions, I've had a few pothos for my cham cage and it seems they always die on me. I usually repot them when i buy them with just plain top soil no fertalizer or anything. Any idea on how to keep them from dying? Also i just go a new spider plant its pretty big and i was thinking about reppoting it as well to put in there has anyone had any luck with these? Also is there types of organic fertalizer you can you for his plants like bat guano or liquid seaweed or something that wont hurt him? thanks

 

[Carlton]

hey everyone! I have some questions, I've had a few pothos for my cham cage and it seems they always die on me. I usually repot them when i buy them with just plain top soil no fertalizer or anything. Any idea on how to keep them from dying? Also i just go a new spider plant its pretty big and i was thinking about reppoting it as well to put in there has anyone had any luck with these? Also is there types of organic fertalizer you can you for his plants like bat guano or liquid seaweed or something that wont hurt him? thanks

Pothos are pretty hard to kill, but check the roots of dying plants. Most likely they are rotting from soil that stays saturated too much of the time. The plant can actually suffocate. I know Pothos can even survive in water, but this is most likely your problem unless the plant wasn't getting any light or was burnt from the basking light.

As for fertilizers, just don't use a time release type in the form of pellets that sit on the surface. You wouldn't want your cham to pick them up on its tongue. Fertilizer that's below the soil surface should be OK.

 

[hollyrc1815]

ohh intresting... i thought fertalizer can get into the plant and make him sick if he eats the leaves? Im not sure if it go over watered bc i nvr really watered it because i mist the cage 3 times a day so it usually got water from that... this last one i had i put it away from the light and it was on the brink of death so i moved it outside for a while and i think it may be coming back. I have also seen that you can put them in there with no soil how does that work?

 

[TheAmbulatingFerret]

ohh intresting... i thought fertalizer can get into the plant and make him sick if he eats the leaves?

This can happen if you use liquid fertilizer and it gets on the leaves. The water evaporates leaving the crystallized fertilizer which can then later be licked up by the chameleon. In such cases try using something like a watering bulb which waters directly into the plant, or just be extra careful funneling the fertilizer water into the soil. I do want to point out that pothos normally don't need a lot of fertilizer, I actually don't remember ever having to fertilize mine. The only plant I ever really fertilized was my orchid but my chameleon Xenon killed it

 

[hollyrc1815]

o ok cool well i think i will try another pothos the one i was trying to revive got bugs so imma just buy a new one i bought some organic soil w some nutrients so maybe the top soil was just too sandy and not allowing enough drainage. thanks so much for the info!

 

[codiwatkins]

Instead of watering your pothos just spray them when you most your Cham. They are super hard to kill so they are either being over watered or underwatered. What did they look like when they died? Did they turn yellow? Have black spots on them...

 

[Carlton]

ohh intresting... i thought fertalizer can get into the plant and make him sick if he eats the leaves? Im not sure if it go over watered bc i nvr really watered it because i mist the cage 3 times a day so it usually got water from that... this last one i had i put it away from the light and it was on the brink of death so i moved it outside for a while and i think it may be coming back. I have also seen that you can put them in there with no soil how does that work?

As already mentioned, fertilizer probably won't hurt unless it is really highly concentrated or left to dry on the leaves. I think the "soil less" option really means growing the plant in something like Hygroton. Its basically a media of fired clay balls soaked with flowing nutrient solution. The balls physically support the plant, but the solution provides the nutrition soil and water would.

 

[Lazy Boy]

When I re pot plants I use earthworm castings. Great source of nitrogen and will keep plants looking green and happy. Still don't want to over water them as this can kill alot of plants. A few good soilless mix are Coco, sunshine #4, Light warrior, promix and lots more. I really think a light soil like roots or something close with castings works great and very easy. Hydroton is more hydro growing as it almost always needs to be wet and cant hold water, where soilless mix hold water well but add no nutritional value.

 

[hollyrc1815]

good info thanks for the replys imma try it again now lol hopefully i dont kill my plant again!

 

[SycoSquirl]

When my mom buys plants and re-pots them she adds stones or some sort of foam thing that helps the water get through the soil so it doesnt get too much water. It helps with the drainage of the plant so you may want to look into that when you get your new plant