Live Plants help??/
- Thread starter mtaha
- Start date
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blackbetty
Guest
Heres what I go by, SAFE PLANTS FOR SETUP
MutantHybrid
New Member
Pothos are easy to find at almost any garden center. Chameleons like them and they are easy to grow inside under minimal lighting. They are not the absolute best plant to have with your chameleon setup (the leaves are cited as being toxic if eaten in large quantities, but chameleons are not long term grazers and seem not to suffer ill effects from an occasional bite), but look nice and provide lots of vines and cover for the chameleon.
dodolah
Retired Moderator
Vince
New Member
Pothos and Schefflera tree are great. The pothos is a fast growing viney plant, great for humidity. After it has been watered well it will actually drip water from the leaves. And the Tree i mentioned is strong enough for climbing is non toxic and provides plenty of shade.
Ive used ficus before, i wouldnt keep looking for one. They loose leaves all the time, and the sap in the branches can cause eye irritation for a chameleon.
Also, on this forums website under resources you can see pictures of these plants.
Hope that helps
Ive used ficus before, i wouldnt keep looking for one. They loose leaves all the time, and the sap in the branches can cause eye irritation for a chameleon.
Also, on this forums website under resources you can see pictures of these plants.
Hope that helps
chameleon97
New Member
hibiscus is hardy, non toxic and firm. great for chams!
ciafardo 4
New Member
Hibiscus is far from being hardy at least in my expierience .
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
I've killed several Hibiscus, I believe due to insufficient light.
I've never killed a pothos. More impressively, my partner has never killed a pothos (and this is a huge achievement)
I've never killed a pothos. More impressively, my partner has never killed a pothos (and this is a huge achievement)
kenya
Avid Member
I have managed to keep hibiscus alive, thanks to Devon's help, but I suggest waiting to get one.
Pothos are, in my opinion, one of the best plants for cham enclosures. Large leaves to drink off of, minimal care needs, grow like crazy, and are viney. They are also cheap, hardy, and easy to find. You can't overwater them.
Schefflera is my next favorite but seems to be more prone to root rot in my experience. I think it is a very attractive "tree like" plant.
Ficus is okay but not my favorite. I mostly use it to spruce up corners of the cage my pothos can't reach yet.
Pothos are, in my opinion, one of the best plants for cham enclosures. Large leaves to drink off of, minimal care needs, grow like crazy, and are viney. They are also cheap, hardy, and easy to find. You can't overwater them.
Schefflera is my next favorite but seems to be more prone to root rot in my experience. I think it is a very attractive "tree like" plant.
Ficus is okay but not my favorite. I mostly use it to spruce up corners of the cage my pothos can't reach yet.
kenya
Avid Member
By the way, the hibiscus we got were nothing special. We got them at a local grocery store for about $7 each. They were kept outside at the store so we brought them home and left them outside for a few weeks. It was getting colder as winter set in, so we moved them into the garage to keep them slightly warmer. They were losing leaves a lot and we thought they wouldn't make it. We moved them into the house a few weeks later (transitioning from temperature and trying not to shock them with drastic change)
When they were in, we pruned the crap out of them. They became very short little "stumps" and looked very dead. And then they exploded growth.
(on pruning: Devon says she cut off anything that was clearly dead, brown, brittle but left little budding nodes on the plant. You should use a nice sharp pair of shears and sanitize them well between cuts with rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or something similar.)
You should water them sparingly and keep them out of direct spray in the cham cages. I left mine in their original pots with their original soil (full of perlite and very loamy) and covered the top with a good two inches of large river rocks to prevent ingestion. They need a ton of drainage. I kept them beside the cham cages to soak up extra light before putting them into the cages. One got very tall- over 4 feet- within a week. I swear that 6 inches was one night of growth. I pruned this one. You can't go wrong pruning them- it just makes them grow more.
I hope that helps all of you with the hibiscus blues.
When they were in, we pruned the crap out of them. They became very short little "stumps" and looked very dead. And then they exploded growth.
(on pruning: Devon says she cut off anything that was clearly dead, brown, brittle but left little budding nodes on the plant. You should use a nice sharp pair of shears and sanitize them well between cuts with rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or something similar.)
You should water them sparingly and keep them out of direct spray in the cham cages. I left mine in their original pots with their original soil (full of perlite and very loamy) and covered the top with a good two inches of large river rocks to prevent ingestion. They need a ton of drainage. I kept them beside the cham cages to soak up extra light before putting them into the cages. One got very tall- over 4 feet- within a week. I swear that 6 inches was one night of growth. I pruned this one. You can't go wrong pruning them- it just makes them grow more.
I hope that helps all of you with the hibiscus blues.
kenya
Avid Member
You can. I like to put mine in big pots on the bottom and wire the vines up and around the sides and wrap them around the branches I have. Here are some examples of my cages that have exclusively pothos (and a few strategic fakes to make a dripping/drinking fountain of sorts):
Pagan
New Member
Excellent thanks for the info. Setting up my terrarium now for first cham arrival next week!
kenya
Avid Member
Congrats! What kind? Do you have the set up all ready to go?
Pagan
New Member
I'm getting a panther to start. I have everything ready but the plants. Based on this thread I think I'm going to go pothos hunting tomorrow.
