ficus question

[ian]

hey all, i'm planning on getting a veiled and i know, from multiple postings, that veileds tend to eat the plants you populate thier enclosure with. The general consensus seems to be that ficuses are ok, but the sap can cause issues. so , i'm wondering what ya'll do for your critter when they get affected buy the Ficus Sap.
my plan is to get a 6 ft ficus and custom build screens and silicone them together. making a 6 *3*3 ft enclosure. i just want to be prepared and if possible ovoid the sap problem

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Ian,

Ficus sap issues would seem to be pretty rare if they exist at all. I've never had it happen nor do I personally know of an issue with any plant sap. I have read anecdotal stories of chameleons with eye problems blamed on getting sap into an eye but I suspect that those eye problems were actually unrelated to sap and more likely a bacterial eye infection etc. Bottom line is that plant sap will be the least of your worries .

P.S. I'm probably not too far away from you if you ever want to stop by and take a peek at my setups and chat . We're just over here in Manhattan Beach. I know some fairly local chameleon breeders too!

Toss me an email at [email protected]

 

[ian]

hey there dave,
thanks for the knowledge. first off i would love to see your set up. but not till mid july, as i'm going on vacation to germany. i read the sap issue on a handfull of random websites and was really bummed out. cause they seem to have the perfect structure and they seem to be the perfect scale(size i mean). I'll shoot ya an e-mail when i get back. i'm also interested in local breeders. i'd much rather get a cham from someone who loves them, then some pet shop. this site is truly a wealth of info, thanks to all for thier questions and their answers.
ian

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Ian,

Just don't wait until September because that's when it's my turn to go to Germany (work) for a about a week . I like Schefflera mixed in with Ficus to fill-in things. I even use small Schefflera for newborns. Lots of sturdy places to sleep at night.