Philodendron Cordatum sage for veiled?

BenjiTheCham

Established Member
I am getting a veiled in a few weeks and I found a houseplant labeled ‘Philodendron Cordatum’. I did some research but I didn’t find anything useful. It says it is poisonous to dogs and cats, but I’m not sure about chameleons, especially since veileds tend to eat more plants.

Does anyone have any experience with this plant?
 
I have experience with philodendron cordatum 'brasil' and philodendron cordatum 'neon' with my female veiled chameleon. They're very similar in composition to pothos, but have less robust vines and thus may not hold up as well. Kismet ended up stripping her Brasil, and I eventually pulled the both of them and added a passionfruit vine (passiflora caerulea).

I subscribe to the "if there's no actual toxins in the plants, I'm going to use it" school of thought. The only thing in heart leaf philodendrons that can cause issues (in mammals; limited/no data on reptiles) are oxalate crystals, which are present in most plants to some degree. If your animal is absolutely stripping the plant I'd be more concerned than a bite here and there, but this isn't a plant that I'd hesitate to use again. However, I do prefer my passionfruit! That thing is a monster, and requires a lot of pruning.
 
They fall in the same family of plants as Pothos but are native to Brazil from what I found on a quick search. Philodendron is its own genus. Pothos are in the epipremnun genus and are more native to Asia.
 
I have experience with philodendron cordatum 'brasil' and philodendron cordatum 'neon' with my female veiled chameleon. They're very similar in composition to pothos, but have less robust vines and thus may not hold up as well. Kismet ended up stripping her Brasil, and I eventually pulled the both of them and added a passionfruit vine (passiflora caerulea).

I subscribe to the "if there's no actual toxins in the plants, I'm going to use it" school of thought. The only thing in heart leaf philodendrons that can cause issues (in mammals; limited/no data on reptiles) are oxalate crystals, which are present in most plants to some degree. If your animal is absolutely stripping the plant I'd be more concerned than a bite here and there, but this isn't a plant that I'd hesitate to use again. However, I do prefer my passionfruit! That thing is a monster, and requires a lot of pruning.
Tysm!
I was really hoping that I could use it in my tank. I had read before how Pothos also has the oxalate crystals, and I didn’t know that’s what was poisonous in the philodendron as well. I’m going to take some cuttings of mine and put it into my tank
 
Philodendrons typically have the same “toxicity” as pothos - insoluble calcium oxalates. They’ll basically cause some minor digestive issues and irritation if eaten in large quantities.

I prefer them over pothos and use a wide variety of philodendrons in my enclosures. My female veiled has eaten many of them with no remorse! It will be fine to use.
 
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