ficus tree

[juju]

i bought a ficus tree yesterday at walmart (i know not a good idea) and i put it outside til i checked with u guys its a ficus with dark purple leaves is that bad for a chameleons another concern of mine is the soil i dont want him to get any kind of sickness from bacteria in the soil. is there a chance that would happen?

 

[AllFallDown]

i bought a ficus tree yesterday at walmart (i know not a good idea) and i put it outside til i checked with u guys its a ficus with dark purple leaves is that bad for a chameleons another concern of mine is the soil i dont want him to get any kind of sickness from bacteria in the soil. is there a chance that would happen?

A ficus with dark purple leaves?! Never heard of that! Then again, ficus is a pretty big genus (over 850 species!)

Wait, what does it look like? I personally would hold off until I got a better idea of exactly what it is. This is what bugs me about listing "ficus" on the safe lists. "Ficus" literally could mean over 850 different things. I am not saying any are poisonous to chams- I do not know. I personally would not risk it. It would be like saying it is appropriate for humans to eat Salvia plants (IE sage), which is rediculous. Salvia officinalis is common garden sage and takes really really good with raviolis. On the other hand, Salvia divinorum is hallucinogenic and will make you see dragons! Both in the same genus.

Can you post a pic. I have a suspicion as to what you have. Or does the plant tag list the species?

 

[juju]

ler me go look its outside i didnt want to put it by my cham til i got it figured out

 

[juju]

its a dark red rubber tree plant

 

[juju]

for some reason the sign at walmart said ficus?? xDDD i hate walmart

 

[AllFallDown]

By the way, my suspicion is that you got Ficus elastica which is also called a "rubber plant" they produce latex in their sap which is sometimes used to make latex (at least historically). Some sites have it on their safe list (flchams being one), others seem to suggest you shy away. I would be hesitant myself but that is just me.

 

[AllFallDown]

its a dark red rubber tree plant

Oh yeah, Ficus elastica then would be my assumption.

 

[AllFallDown]

for some reason the sign at walmart said ficus?? xDDD i hate walmart

They are technically not wrong. It is a ficus, just not the same one as the Benjamin ficus which is what I see more commonly recommended.

as I mentioned above flchams has it on their safe list and I saw some posts elsewhere in which people indicated that they put them in their cages. Not sure

 

[juju]

alright i will try it if i see something wrong with how he s acting i will take it out and get a different one

 

[reptilover]

Just make sure u wash it well with warm water mixed with dish soap wash leaves and everything and repot it in a good draining soil such as organic soil mixed 50% with sand. Or 65% with sand as I do

 

[juju]

alright thank you for the info guys