Best artificial plant to hold water?

[diegoted]

What is the best artificial plant to hold water? Mostly the water just beads and rolls of plastic plants. What are the best choices to hold water for the longest time so the Cham has a chance to drink before the water drops roll off to the floor of the VV.

 

[MelissaB]

I'd think the plastic leaves would be better for drinking than the silk. But the silk would probably hold humidity longer. Personally, I like real pothos, holds the water beads and is easy to grow.

 

[Carlton]

I've used silk leaved fakes in cages for many years. While live plants are best, silks can fill gaps in the cage where live ones can't be placed or won't thrive. They can be scrubbed pretty well if necessary and are quite tough. I suspect silks will hold water a little better than glossy plastic.

 

[Carlton]

What is the best artificial plant to hold water? Mostly the water just beads and rolls of plastic plants. What are the best choices to hold water for the longest time so the Cham has a chance to drink before the water drops roll off to the floor of the VV.

It is probably the actual shape of the leaves that makes the difference. Choose a fake variety that has broader leaves that lay more horizontally rather than narrow, straight, or drooping. The water will bead up and sit longer that way.

 

[Restricted E]

I had some silk ones in my enclosure and my cham tried to eat them! He had successfully ate two before I knew what was going on. I removed them immediately.

Since then I have a larger enclosure for him and a large umbrella bush(live) and a fake planted, plastic vine. He tried to eat at the plastic vine but realized it was not real and moved on to the real plant.

 

[werecat]

I really like the ExoTerra "smart plants". I have the Phylo or Philodendron, but there is another similar one that has large broad leaves as well. I popped them off the base and used fishing line to tie one to the screened side of the cage. They not only hold water very well, but the thick stems give my chameleon another place to climb and hang out on. They are pretty large. The material is a rubber coated silk I believe, so the water beads up on them.

 

[MelissaB]

That sounds really cool, Werecat. If you have the time, and don't mind, I'd love to see a pic of how they're attached on your enclosure. Sounds like it would be a good looking way to discourage screen walking, too.

 

[Psychobunny]

I really like the ExoTerra "smart plants". I have the Phylo or Philodendron, but there is another similar one that has large broad leaves as well. I popped them off the base and used fishing line to tie one to the screened side of the cage. They not only hold water very well, but the thick stems give my chameleon another place to climb and hang out on. They are pretty large. The material is a rubber coated silk I believe, so the water beads up on them.

I have seen these advertised and thought they looked really small, but now I think I will try some.
Which one do you like the best, the philodendron?

 

[Thegreatfonz]

Has anyone else seen the new National Geographic line in petsmart? I stopped to grab a couple crickets and saw some new cool items, but I wasn't sold on them. There was this http://www.petsmart.com/reptile/hab...d36-21518/cat-36-catid-500009?var_id=36-21518 that I was most interested in but was a little expensive so I refrained.

 

[Psychobunny]

The guys at Big Apple Herps put a video of these Exo Terra smart plants:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP_r1YJsa30

They look like the ideal thing to get my chams to drink (an ongoing task!!).

I decided to order a few philodendrons, but found the best price from Josh's Frogs via eBay.
They are much bigger then I thought. I plan to remove the base, and attach it to a branch under the dripper.

 

[werecat]

That sounds really cool, Werecat. If you have the time, and don't mind, I'd love to see a pic of how they're attached on your enclosure. Sounds like it would be a good looking way to discourage screen walking, too.

Melissa, below are some pictures of how we tie it onto the screen and how it looks. Not sure if it discourages screen walking, but we do that by tying vines into the screen using a similar method with fishing line. It gives him lots of little loops to grab hold of!
*Please disregard the sad dying plant in the background. It's going to be replaced this weekend!

I decided to order a few philodendrons, but found the best price from Josh's Frogs via eBay.
They are much bigger then I thought. I plan to remove the base, and attach it to a branch under the dripper.

Psychobunny, I think you will really like them! I like the philodendron because it's nice and big and broad-leafed, but also looks "jungly". The other broad-leafed one is the Scindapsus, but I like the splits in the leaf of the philo and I think they may help it hold water better!

 

[MelissaB]

Thank you, Werecat. I really like how those look!

 

[Psychobunny]

Melissa, below are some pictures of how we tie it onto the screen and how it looks. Not sure if it discourages screen walking, but we do that by tying vines into the screen using a similar method with fishing line. It gives him lots of little loops to grab hold of!
*Please disregard the sad dying plant in the background. It's going to be replaced this weekend!



Psychobunny, I think you will really like them! I like the philodendron because it's nice and big and broad-leafed, but also looks "jungly". The other broad-leafed one is the Scindapsus, but I like the splits in the leaf of the philo and I think they may help it hold water better!

Yeah, they looked great on the vides. I just hope my guyz dont freak out with something new, and BIG, suddenly appearing in their cage

You know how chams hate change