Dying plants, any suggestions?

[possiblyalive64]

Hi guys! It's my first time posting on cham forums, I've been a long time lurker though lol.
I recently redid my veiled chameleon Whopper's vivarium, and put wax plants, sedge plants, and a beautiful hibiscus as a centerpiece. It was blooming really well until recently, when all the leaves started dying and drooping. Whopper had some great coverage until recently and seems more nervous. I'm adding some specs that may not be helpful but may still be useful for something. Is there anything I can do to save the hibiscus or is there a different plant I should get that would fit his cage better?

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled chameleon, male, roughly 2 years old. I've had him since Febuary 2025. (Got him from a pet store, I've since learned the errors of my ways)
• Handling - I try not to handle him at all, if he seems comfortable and is feeding I place my hand in front of him but don't force him to be held. I'm just trying to help him get more comfortable with being held in case he needs to go to the vet or moved.
• Feeding - I am feeding Whopper dubia roaches, usually 5-8 every two days. I feed the roaches fresh veggies like carrots, squash, and greens. Whopper gets calcium every time he eats and D3 one every other week.
• Watering - I have a Mistking mister that goes on twice at night, and a fogger that goes on multiple times at night. If you want the exact misting/fogging schedule let me know, I'm not at home rn. I haven't seen Whopper drinking recently, but I've been thinking of making a simple dripper for consistent daily water.
• Fecal Description - His poops have been good for the most part, they are usually hidden in the plant pots which makes them hard to see. The poops are hard, so I'm working on adjusting on his misting so he can get more water.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - I got a used screen cage from FB Marketplace (thoroughly scrubbed don't worry) It's 24"x24"x48". My girlfriend built some frames out of pvc pipe to hold branches and plants.
• Lighting - I use three lights, a UVB, a plant light, and a heating lamp. The UVB is a ZooMed T5 H0 24W lamp, the plant light is a Fiet Electric lamp at 19W, and I have a ZooMed reflector with an Exo Terra 100W daytime heat lamp. I have everything on timers, the lights are on from 6AM-8PM and the heat lamp automatically turns off if his basking temp gets over 85 degrees fahrenheit.
• Temperature - Currently the basking temp is 80 fahrenheit (my apartment's AC is weird, it fluctuates and is hard to control, the bottom of the cage is currently 72 fahrenheit. I'm not sure of the lowest overnight temp, I can check tonight if needed. I measure the temps twith two thermometers, his basking spot is measured with a Exo Terra Reptitemp Digital Thermostat where I can set the desired temp. The bottom cage thermometer is a dual thermometer and hydrometer, I forget the brand.
• Humidity - Currently the daytime humidity is 70% but I've seen it get up to 90% at night while the fogger and mister are on. Check the watering section for the types of fogger and mister.
• Plants - I have two wax plants, two sedge plants near the bottom of the cage, and a hibiscus in the center.
• Placement - The cage is located in my living room (we have a bedroom, living area, and bathroom so there's not many places to choose from) next to a big sliding glass door so he can get natural sunlight. Theres two vents nearby but they're closed so he isn't getting any cold drafts. We have two cats, one of them is very curious about Whopper but whenever she gets to close or he seems nervous we try to "correct" her and are finding other things to keep her attention. The top of his cage is probably 6-7 feet tall, he's on top of a small coffee table.
• Location - I'm located in central Ohio in a city.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. Hibiscus need extra heavy duty plant lighting. While you have a plant light, I have no idea what it is or how strong it is compared to something like Arcadia Jungle Dawn, which is enough for hibiscus. My second thought is that hibiscus have need for a lot of water and it may not be getting enough. They can be finicky plants to keep alive and thriving. Our veileds love them though, so check your lighting and watering and don’t give up just yet. However, just in case, I would suggest having a plant on back up. Something like a schefflera, money tree or weeping fig is a great choice. Wax plants aren’t so great for chameleons. The sedge is basically like grass, and while it isn’t often used for chams, I have no opinion about it. I do suggest getting some pothos though. It’s the plant that does the best for chams. Veileds find it tasty (it’s safe for them), it’s easy to grow and easy to propagate, comes in several varieties and if you plant one down low and train it to grow upwards, the leaves will grow bigger.
For your husbandry, just a couple of suggestions. Do add a variety of different feeders and rotate them. Adding the feeder graphic below. Silkworms are awesome staple feeders and are hydrating. Hydrating treats are hornworms, but do be extra mindful about the size of them. They grow super fast and literally overnight can grow to way too big to give your chameleon. If you just have the one insectivore, just buy a couple of hornworms to give that day. It has been said also that a diet high in roaches can lead to gout.
Other suggestions are regarding temps and humidity. While 80F is ok, basking temp can be increased to 85F if you like. Your daytime humidity is a bit too high at 70%. You don’t need to tell me your misting schedule. I’ll just tell you that it’s best to mist for two minutes right before lights go on and off. If needed, you can add an afternoon misting of a minute. If your night temps aren’t below at least 68F, you don’t want to use a fogger, but what I do is add a couple of 15 second mistings during the night for subtle boosts of humidity.

 

[possiblyalive64]

Hi! Thank you for your response! What would you suggest in place of a wax plant and a sedge? I've had trouble with pothos in the past because they got too much sun. I'm worried that may happen again. What would a rotation schedule look like? Could you tell me your feeding routine? I'll put my misters on a different schedule soon, thank you!

 

[MissSkittles]

https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ This is a great resource for plants. Try putting the Pothos further away from your plant light or even a bit shaded. While it isn’t officially on the lists, philodendron can also be used. It has the same toxicity as pothos. I don’t think it’s as tasty as my veileds never eat them.
I don’t have a feeding routine concerning types of feeders. I do have 10 insectivores so always have a variety of insects on hand. My roach colony is still recovering from almost total collapse, so for a while crickets have been the main staple instead of roaches. I feed smaller feeders and on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I give maybe 2 crickets with 2 other feeders, like silkworms, discoid roaches (I’m in Florida where dubia are illegal) or maybe 3+ bsfl. Some infrequent times, I’ll use ‘treat’ insects like a superworm or wax worm as a single staple feeder - I think of it as dessert. Grasshoppers are also great staple feeders https://dragonhoppers.com/ I’ve only gotten them once and my animals loved them. (I’m just too soft and feel bad about using hoppers.) It isn’t the right season for it, but if you get a mantis ooth and hatch it out in your chams enclosure, it’ll provide some nice enrichment and snacks as your guy hunts down the baby mantids. That’s also a nice way to help control if you have soil gnats. I also like to let my bsfl pupate into fun flying treats.

 

[Carlton]

I agree that Hibiscus can be fussy. They're bushy and attractive but need care. They're a bit more delicate for a cham to climb around on too, especially if your cham likes to munch on them. A Schefflera tends to be a sturdier choice for a cham habitat. A dwarf citrus tree too, but once again, they need so much light. Many bushy plants we want to use in a cham habitat will start self-pruning the lower branches that aren't getting enough light. They end up spindly with just a few leaves on the top and bare below. You can keep them a bit bushier by hanging a fluorescent grow light (I've used "spent" Reptisuns that will still light, just not produce as much UV) vertically down one side of the cage on the outside of the screen to help illuminate the lower areas.

Another question for you OP. The plant might be too dry, but it might also be too wet. Check the soil moisture below the surface. If it's too wet, the plant's roots can suffocate and rot. Wet soil will support fungus and molds that can damage the plant's roots and encourage fungus gnats (little black flying insects that start drifting around your house). They aren't harmful to your cham but they're very annoying, hard to get rid of, and can spread to other houseplants. You'd need to toss all the soil, maybe the plant too. It's important to have a drainage layer in the bottom of the pot. In addition to saturated soil, does the Hibiscus pot sit in a saucer? Does water sit in the saucer much of the time due to daily misting/dripping? Soil can stay constantly saturated because capillary action will keep pulling stagnant accumulated water from the pot saucer. You may need to check the pot saucer and siphon out any water more often.