Using New Live Plants From NURSERY

[SamW]

Hey Everyone,

I am waiting on my DIY cage and am in the process of selecting the new, live plants that I will put into it. I have chosen to use plants from the 'safe plants list' (pothos, etc.) and was wondering about the plants fertilizer qualities and its' soil.

At first, I thought that I would re-pot the plants in an organic soil. Today at PETCO, a lady instructed that I use their eco-earth substrate (zoomed I think). Also, I'm aware that the plants at the nurseries have been raised on fertilizers. I know that I should flush them and was told to do so for one month, however, I anticipated on adding the plants much sooner. PETCO offers a nice variety of little starter plants, but I am trying to provide a much bigger upgrade, seeing that my little guy is developing into a young man. He also has ate every pothos (small from PETCO) that I've put in the cage. The one I have selected from the nursery is gigantic, so no worries there other than its' current nute state.

Any thoughts or suggestions on the subject will be valued and appreciated. My main concerns are advice for adding new plants, and the battle between the survival of the plants, and of course, the health and safety of Samir.

Thanks,

Sam

 

[laurie]

Ok to start with forget the petstore. You want to repot the plants in organic soil with no additives. When you have the plants out of soil put dish soap on your hands and run your hands over the plants, rinse well. Them move them into the new soil, water and cover the soil with river rocks. You are good to go.

We will help you with what you need. Pet stores often don't give good advice, or be really careful following what they say without checking.

 

[SamW]

Thanks so much!

What about flushing the plants? Can I use any dish soap? I believe I have dawn concentrated dish soap or something.. I know I'll def. use just a small amount. And what soil do you suggest? I understand PETCO has provided me with some shoddy information, but she said sometimes organic soil still has something in it.. (maybe she said additives or toxins, I don't want to misquote)

Also, currently I am providing one UVB light (bulb reads 13watt 25 tropical, zilla)

I figured when I got my cage, I would also add an 18'' or 30'' to it, in addition to the exiting bulb and heat bulb.. cool?

 

[Solid Snake]

Also, currently I am providing one UVB light (bulb reads 13watt 25 tropical, zilla)

I figured when I got my cage, I would also add an 18'' or 30'' to it, in addition to the exiting bulb and heat bulb.. cool?

Like a plant light? Yes those are fine, I use them in my setups and it makes a huge difference!

 

[laurie]

Thanks so much!

What about flushing the plants? Can I use any dish soap? I believe I have dawn concentrated dish soap or something.. I know I'll def. use just a small amount. And what soil do you suggest? I understand PETCO has provided me with some shoddy information, but she said sometimes organic soil still has something in it.. (maybe she said additives or toxins, I don't want to misquote)

Also, currently I am providing one UVB light (bulb reads 13watt 25 tropical, zilla)

I figured when I got my cage, I would also add an 18'' or 30'' to it, in addition to the exiting bulb and heat bulb.. cool?

NO!! I use dawn so you should too. I am just messing with you, I use dawn but any dish soap would work. The thing with organic soil is it can have stuff in it. If it is made by miracle grow, it has fertilizer in it, you don't want any soil that "feeds" plants. Just read the label and you will be fine. Who knew we would wind up reading labels on dirt for these silly chams?

 

[SamW]

Thanks a lot, I wasn't even talking about those but that's a great idea. I know they're inexpensive too. However, I was talking about adding another UVB light that was 18 or 30''. Can my guy receive too much UVB? Like I said, my current bulb says 13watt 25tropical. The current one, and the future one are the basic zilla ones from PETCO. This brings me to another question; at what distance should these lights be from my plants? If it even matters, much.. I do know that i plan to put the heat lamp in an ''emptier" area that just has a couple highway vines around it so he can chill out there.

Sorry my posts, questions, and responses are often unorganized, random thoughts. I'm a busy student, but once I get Samir moved in to his home, pictures taken, I should be able to update my profile with pictures and better information.

Thanks