Climbing plants???

[AP0714]

I am planning out my adult enclosure, since Sweet Caroline is just in a starter enclosure at the moment. I’m a bit of a plant nerd, so this is better than…. Disneyland . Among my forest edge near the top of the enclosure, I would like to have some sort of climbing plant growing up the 2 solid sides from the bottom. From what I can find, ficus pumila (wandering fig) trachelospermum jasminoides (star jasmine) and Tradescantia Zebrina (wandering Jew) are all considered chameleon safe. Has anybody tried this in their enclosure? Did you find that it made it more difficult for your Cham to find food? Which plant did you choose, and did you have any plant issues (soggy leaves, root rot, plants drying out? Dying? Etc.). I’m new at this, and don’t want to get it wrong…

 

[MissSkittles]

I didn’t even know that it would travel upward, but that is what my tradescantia zebrina did. It was along a back wall and the plant was already situated just above the mid point. It was in a spot that was hard for me to see, which made it my guys go to spot to avoid me. In another enclosure I had pothos growing out of control. Once it reached the bioactive floor, it took off reaching upwards with massive leaves and really filled so much space. I had to trim It back a few times. I loved it and I’m sure my cham did too,

 

[AP0714]

I didn’t even know that it would travel upward, but that is what my tradescantia zebrina did. It was along a back wall and the plant was already situated just above the mid point. It was in a spot that was hard for me to see, which made it my guys go to spot to avoid me. In another enclosure I had pothos growing out of control. Once it reached the bioactive floor, it took off reaching upwards with massive leaves and really filled so much space. I had to trim It back a few times. I loved it and I’m sure my cham did too,

So cool! It sounds beautiful. I heard somewhere that pothos are actually considered invasive in the wild. Did you have issues with your chameleon finding food? Or just with them hiding?

 

[MissSkittles]

I use the shooting gallery feeding station, so all of my chams always know where to find the food. As soon as all of them see me, they start heading towards it. https://tkchameleons.com/products/shooting-gallery?variant=30018608595032 There’s a few different types of feeding stations available and I think it’s always beneficial to use one. When I want to give my chams some hunting enrichment, I pupate black soldier flies and set some loose in their enclosures. I don’t mind if my chams want to hide from me. I try to respect their preferences. Although I do make a point of handling each on a regular basis just to reinforce trust, it’s usually just for less than a minute.

 

[AP0714]

I use the shooting gallery feeding station, so all of my chams always know where to find the food. As soon as all of them see me, they start heading towards it. https://tkchameleons.com/products/shooting-gallery?variant=30018608595032 There’s a few different types of feeding stations available and I think it’s always beneficial to use one. When I want to give my chams some hunting enrichment, I pupate black soldier flies and set some loose in their enclosures. I don’t mind if my chams want to hide from me. I try to respect their preferences. Although I do make a point of handling each on a regular basis just to reinforce trust, it’s usually just for less than a minute.

Good to know about the feeder. I usually flick a mixture of crickets, dubias and some bean beetles (dusted with vitamins) into the cage. Her poops look good (pretty big for such a small lady actually) so I trust she’s finding her food. I tried putting a plain feeding dish in her enclosure once, to see how much she ate, but she wouldn’t touch anything in it. I ended dumping it all out towards the end of the day and she immediately ate 3-4 bugs right in front of me (sorry little one!!) But I will look into a shooting gallery. The setup where they can climb the walls may work better…

 

[AP0714]

@MissSkittles Found some creeping figs at Lowe’s this morning. Made sure I grabbed some with lots of shoots. I’m going to get the adult enclosure soon so I can start putting everything together and getting the plants established before I move her. I also attempted to hold her this morning. She just stared at me. But at least she didn’t back away…. Oh I also ordered a shooting gallery feeder. Thank you for the tip!!

 

[Sonny13]

I’m using the Ficus Sagittata for covering the sidewalls, grows pretty fast. However it’s pure esthetic and hasn‘t any climbing possibility for the cham.

 

[AP0714]

I’m using the Ficus Sagittata for covering the sidewalls, grows pretty fast. However it’s pure esthetic and hasn‘t any climbing possibility for the cham.

Nice!! That’s a beautiful plant too. And good to know in case the pumila doesn’t do well. I want it mostly for aesthetic as well, and to help with humidity since it’s so dry here. I want to put some sort of trellis along the sides for the ficus to cling to, so maybe there’s a little climbing potential for my Cham.

 

[Sonny13]

Nice!! That’s a beautiful plant too. And good to know in case the pumila doesn’t do well. I want it mostly for aesthetic as well, and to help with humidity since it’s so dry here. I want to put some sort of trellis along the sides for the ficus to cling to, so maybe there’s a little climbing potential for my Cham.

The screen works perfect for them, no need for extra trellis. Even my pothos grows against rugged acrylic. Just bind and lead them with i.e. fishing line through the screen.

 

[AP0714]

The screen works perfect for them, no need for extra trellis. Even my pothos grows against rugged acrylic. Just bind and lead them with i.e. fishing line through the screen.

Thank you!! I’m already learning so much from everyone here. I really appreciate the experience, insights and support I’ve found here. Caroline is my first chameleon and, not going to lie, I was a little scared. I’ve had a handful of reptiles myself (snakes and geckos mostly), so I’ve definitely heard how intricate chameleon care is. My poor brother (who absolutely loves reptiles) got a veiled chameleon when he was a teenager. There wasn’t information available like there is now (mid-1990’s) and the poor baby became egg bound and died. I’m grateful that we have so much information available now to avoid preventable issues.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ve started using garden trellis to hand my branches and plants from. My male veiled sleeps perched on it too. Silly guy. I use thin wire and drill some tiny holes in the ends of the trellis to attach to the enclosure frame. I also put a couple of small screws in the frame to secure it and prevent it from sliding down.