Fake Plants

[Astray]

Hello Everyone,

What are some good tips for fake plants? I recently talked to some reptile enthusiasts at a show who recommended fake vines, "Home Garden" is the name of the brand. I asked my sister and she said thats exactly what they used with their veiled. I found some at the dollar store(where most people said they would be found).

Has anyone ever heard of anything bad happening from cheap dollar store decorations?

Also for fake plants in general, should they just be washed in normal tap water before being put in the cages?

 

[jeanjacket812]

Ya wash them some have powdered scents on them. Make sure you have some real plants in their too!

 

[trd1215]

Yes for sure wash them and make sure u dont see color in the water, some of the leaves may have tint in them i would take those out.

 

[boj3434]

You dont at all need live plants and sometimes if you can keep the humiditiy up it could be bad. Live plants can carry parasites and other things that could harm your chameleon. Im not saying you shouldnt ue live plants I just dont, not worth the risk, but i got my on sale at hobbylobby. Also walmart sells them cheap but just run some water over them and you ll be fine.

 

[Ellron]

You dont at all need live plants and sometimes if you can keep the humiditiy up it could be bad. Live plants can carry parasites and other things that could harm your chameleon. Im not saying you shouldnt ue live plants I just dont, not worth the risk, but i got my on sale at hobbylobby. Also walmart sells them cheap but just run some water over them and you ll be fine.

I wondered about keeping live plants.... Does anyone else have input on the parasites and stuff?

 

[trd1215]

I had live plants a while back until i saw little critters and bugs walking around and for that reason i had a couple of my chams get sick. I decided to take out live plants and i started using fake plants plus i keep them outside so far no problems with humidity for my chams.

 

[boj3434]

It is really all about preference. People usually use live plants to keep up humidity easier but where I live i have no problem with it so with proper mistings its fine. From speaking with some people about their vet I dont want to risk anything. Now I know for sure my cham wont get any parasites or sometimes there could be pesticides and other things so I just dont. Im not saying you shouldnt becasue plenty of people do with success I just dont.

 

[DGray]

the real concern is pesticides

You dont at all need live plants and sometimes if you can keep the humiditiy up it could be bad.

Live plants can carry parasites and other things that could harm your chameleon. ...

To the OP: cheap fake plants and "good" fake plants are not really made to be safe for animal environments; I wash them and use them anyway. If they show signs of braking down, bleaching, or tearing, I get them out of there.

The statement about parasites is far-fetched. If your plants came from a place with parasite-loaded reptiles roaming over the plants, I suppose its possible there might be parasites on them that could be transmitted to your animals.

In fact, most houseplants are produced in places that are sprayed so frequently with pesticides that reptiles are very seldom seen. It is the pesticides that one should worry about. Carefully wash and wipe down every leaf on plants before they go into a reptile environment to get off as much of the pesticide residues as possible.

Humidity is good and needed in the chameleon environment, and lots of plant surfaces, real and fake, can help to keep the environment humidified.

 

[BocaJan]

I have a lot of trouble with my plants and bugs. Don't know where they come from but they definately are there. I am slowly getting rid of all mine and going to fake. I am able to maintain humidity since I am home to spray often.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Do cham live on fake plants? Why not use real? I would be worried about nibbling on fake leaves. Also what if those fake leaves leetched a chem when your cham is drinking off them? I know there are downsides to using real but there are fewer worries with real as opposed to fake.

 

[justjumpit621]

I just loaded my cage with fake plants. I washed all of them thoroughly with hot water and soap to get off any germs and extra dyes. Molly seems to love them, it's not like they really care unless they like eating leaves. I wouldn't recommend fake if your cham eats plants.

 

[Leilaskeeper]

I'm all for utilizing both. I have a veiled though and she loves to sample the leaves once in a while. She loves Ficus and schefflera .. I just bought some pothos vines and some swedish ivy today at the reptile expo. I'm excited to put them in the enclosure. But I also have a fake fern, some flowers, and ones to attach to the glass walls ... dense foliage is a must. I must say, the real is so much better ........ but sometimes people get a little paranoid with parasites and the like. These reptiles come from the wild ... what do you think they'd thrive in?