Is Pothos Safe?

jajeanpierre

Chameleon Enthusiast
I read that Pothos is supposed to be a safe plant for Chameleons but it is on every toxic plant list I've gone through for dogs, cats and birds.

The Pet Poison Help Line states this:

"The Golden Pothos, commonly known as Devil’s ivy, is part of the Araceae family. Both the stem and the leaves contain insoluble calcium oxalates. Chewing or biting into the plant releases the crystals which penetrate tissue resulting in injury."

I have a male veiled who takes great bites out of anything green in his reach. Sometimes I think he secretly wants top be an iguana.

Has anyone had salad-loving chameleon eat a lot of Pothos?

I would like to use it, but am being being extra careful because he eats so much greenery. I doubt many other chameleons eat as much vegetation as he does, so even if it was at best irritant to them, they might not show any problems.
 
I'm sure someone can better help answer this but I use them in all my cage and have never had a single problem with them. However, I mainly keep panthers and other species that are not known to eat the leafs so I can't say for sure if it would be safe in your case.
 
It's only toxic if eaten in large quantities I believe.

If you have Ficus or Hibiscus plants in the enclosure, he will eat them over the Pothos.
 
I'm sure someone can better help answer this but I use them in all my cage and have never had a single problem with them. However, I mainly keep panthers and other species that are not known to eat the leafs so I can't say for sure if it would be safe in your case.

I think most people will have no problem with it because their chameleons don't eat a lot of the greenery.

My boy, on the other hand, takes great huge chunks out of anything green. When I put him on the hibiscus, he grazes like a herbivore. I don't want to use him as a test subject.

I have an appointment with an vet this week, so I'll bounce it off him, but I was hoping others on the forum would have some insight. Some plants listed as toxic on pet-poison lists are only listed because they cause a very mild skin irritation to people, which might not apply to reptiles that are covered in scales.
 
Pothos are only labelled toxic to mammals, I think. Your chameleon should be fine eating Pothos, as everywhere I looked Pothos was on the safe plant list.
 
Pothos is on the chameleon safe plant list, and is even veiled tested according to Chameleon Academy. Chameleon Academy is one of the best resources out there IMO.

https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
https://chameleonacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Chameleon-Plants-122819.pdf

No knock on chameleon academy, I think it's a great place, but veiled tested means, a veiled ate it and didn't immediately die or show irritation heh. Pothos is toxic for the oxalates which can cause kidney stones, gout, calcium uptake issues, and irritation. That said, we haven't noticed any effect on chams, they probably pass them easier than mammals, but it also can't be said for certain. There hasn't been any scientific research on it to my knowledge.

I just said that for sake of discussion though, overall I'd be okay with using pothos, most of us have at some point. So not trying to scare anyone. In fact, most *toxic* plants aren't all that dangerous to chameleons. I would think most plants they come across in the wild are toxic in one way or another.
 
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