plants

[CFcham]

im wondering what kind of plants are good for a baby veiled, im looking for a smaller plant with bigger leaves that will hopefully stay small-ish and is able to hold water on the leaves for a while.
I understand i need to get an all naturally gown one from a nursery, but im wondering what kind is best.
Thanks!

 

[carol5208]

ficus, pothos and sheffelera are all good. You need to get rid of that red light and replace it with a white housebulb. Try a 40 watt for starters. ficus are gonna be too big though for that size enclosure now that I looked back at the pic. edit: you can buy your plants at lowes or home depot. Do not go to a nursery unless you absolutely have to as you will pay higher prices there.

 

[CFcham]

oh, i heard that it was bad to get from lowes or home depot because they are treated with chemicals.. but thanks for the advice on the plants and bulb, do you think the basking spot is too close to the light , like should i move the leaves down a few inches?

 

[carol5208]

No home depot is fine.just make sure you wash your plants real good and repot the soil with organic soil that does not have any fertilizers. Wash with some soapy water. What I do is fill a bucket with soapy water and turn the plant upside down in it and let it soak and then rinse really well. After you change the soil, cover the dirt with large river rocks(you can buy at home depot also) so your chameleon does not eat the dirt. As far as the basking area, just make sure none of your chameleons body can touch the hot screen. I usually keep my branch down about 8 inches or so. The red light is just not natural for them. The white is more like sun and will also brighten up your cage.

 

[carol5208]

what kind of light is that in the back? is that a uvb light? If so, what kind?

 

[CFcham]

okay thanks how often should i clean the plants? should i clean every plant in there that way? like just get a bucket and fill it with some soap and water and dunk them all in there? how long should i leave them to soak?

 

[Thezillaman21]

No home depot is fine.just make sure you wash your plants real good and repot the soil with organic soil that does not have any fertilizers. Wash with some soapy water. What I do is fill a bucket with soapy water and turn the plant upside down in it and let it soak and then rinse really well. After you change the soil, cover the dirt with large river rocks(you can buy at home depot also) so your chameleon does not eat the dirt. As far as the basking area, just make sure none of your chameleons body can touch the hot screen. I usually keep my branch down about 8 inches or so. The red light is just not natural for them. The white is more like sun and will also brighten up your cage.

very\ direct\ and\ intresting\ to\ read\ i\ learned\ something\ i\ didnt\ know

 

[carol5208]

just the live plants. You can do it to the fake ones too but with the live ones you want to wash all the pesticides off. I just soak them for about 5 minutes or so. Just make sure when your cham poops you remove it right away. Just try and keep the cage clean and sanitary. You don't have to clean the plants that often at all. Some people take their cages apart every month, some every couple months and so on. Me, I just keep it clean daily and every so often take it apart and wash the bottom and screens down real good.

 

[carol5208]

very\ direct\ and\ intresting\ to\ read\ i\ learned\ something\ i\ didnt\ know

I learn things everyday on here too!!!

 

[CFcham]

thanks you, very imformative!

Ill be out buying Rango some new plants by tomorrow!

 

[K9Luvn]

I buy all my plants from Lowes and Home Depot. They are usually cheaper then the nurseries and almost all places use chemicals. Even if they say they don't... I take the same safety measures as Carol. I dunk my plant leaves and then repot in organic soil. Then I add river rock to the top of the soil so that my Chameleons can't get to the dirt. Please make sure the plants you get are on the Safe Plant List http://www.flchams.com/safe_plant_list.asp