LIVE PLANTS lol
- Thread starter olivia
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Bokaru
Member
This is more of an alternative than a solution. Philodendrons are nice and simple. They climb up anything you place in a cage. You can create whatever you want shapewise and then place a phil on the floor of the cage and let it grow. They grow quick and double as connecting vines from one place to another.
The absolute best part is the flourish on neglect. We have a ~175lb potted philodendron (that's probably absorbed all the soil in the put) in our house that we just move in and out of the house before seasonal frosts. It has grown for about 6-8 years and can go without watering for months before showing any sign of problems. They also need very minimum lighting.
You can also clip and grow more phils from a healthy plant. I took the phill in my cage from the large one we own, and have seen about 4" of growth since I cut it. Just place the cut piece in water until it makes roots and then transfer to soil. Our big one was actually a single vine cut and saved from a big philodendron that got frosted.
Where ficus and hibiscus need a whole lot of sunlight and care, a phil will live in just about any type of environment.
The absolute best part is the flourish on neglect. We have a ~175lb potted philodendron (that's probably absorbed all the soil in the put) in our house that we just move in and out of the house before seasonal frosts. It has grown for about 6-8 years and can go without watering for months before showing any sign of problems. They also need very minimum lighting.
You can also clip and grow more phils from a healthy plant. I took the phill in my cage from the large one we own, and have seen about 4" of growth since I cut it. Just place the cut piece in water until it makes roots and then transfer to soil. Our big one was actually a single vine cut and saved from a big philodendron that got frosted.
Where ficus and hibiscus need a whole lot of sunlight and care, a phil will live in just about any type of environment.
Todnedo
Avid Member
Plants like chameleons need proper lighting and water to survive in captivity.
Too much water will kill plants, too little water will kill them as well.
Hibiscus require strong lighting to survive. Ficus can adapt to low lighting but it takes time for them to adjust and will die back quite a bit to adapt to the available light level.
A properly set up chameleon enclosure should provide ample lighting for plants to flourish. Ideally creating an arboreal bio tope that mimics the chameleons natural habitat.
steelheadchaser
Member
The UVB and 60w incandescent bulbs will not do much to support plant growth.
Full spectrum fluorescent bulbs, either tube or CFL of enough wattage will help with plant growth as well as lighting up the cage nicely. Gro-Lux and other plant tubes produce light in parts of the spectrum to help plant growth but don't provide a lot of light for viewing your cham.
Keep in mind that the lighting used for plant growth must be in addition to your UVB source and basking light..
Full spectrum fluorescent bulbs, either tube or CFL of enough wattage will help with plant growth as well as lighting up the cage nicely. Gro-Lux and other plant tubes produce light in parts of the spectrum to help plant growth but don't provide a lot of light for viewing your cham.
Keep in mind that the lighting used for plant growth must be in addition to your UVB source and basking light..
AESara
Member
Some species of philodendrons are toxic to chameleons. Have you checked to be sure yours isn't? If so, could you specify the type?
I have a daylight bulb for my plants that I got at Lowes for about $3, to give you an idea on those.
You'll want a bulb rated around 6500 kelvin for plant growth. They come in varying wattages and light outputs, but for your cham's sake I would suggest low light output and for your sake I would suggest low wattage (more efficient and able to work in everday lamps).
Todnedo
Avid Member
Some species of philodendrons are toxic to chameleons. Have you checked to be sure yours isn't? If so, could you specify the type?
I have a daylight bulb for my plants that I got at Lowes for about $3, to give you an idea on those.
You'll want a bulb rated around 6500 kelvin for plant growth. They come in varying wattages and light outputs, but for your cham's sake I would suggest low light output and for your sake I would suggest low wattage (more efficient and able to work in everday lamps).
Why would you suggest low light output?
steelheadchaser
Member
The Sylvania CFL 6500k bulbs I am using for the plants and general lighting in my 2x2x4 screen cage have an output of 1,450 Lumens but only use 23w.
Low wattage does not always translate into higher efficiency. Light output must also be taken into consideration.
One also must take into account light loss from the top screen on screen cages. Before changing the lighting, my cage was not very bright at the top and downright dark at the floor when using a single 24" tube for plant and general lighting. Now with a pair of 23w CFL's the cage is much brighter while still affording plenty of shady areas for Feldman to chill when he is feeling shy.
While I haven't pulled out the lightmeter to get precise measurements, the lighting is nowhere near as bright as natural light on a clear day.
Low wattage does not always translate into higher efficiency. Light output must also be taken into consideration.
One also must take into account light loss from the top screen on screen cages. Before changing the lighting, my cage was not very bright at the top and downright dark at the floor when using a single 24" tube for plant and general lighting. Now with a pair of 23w CFL's the cage is much brighter while still affording plenty of shady areas for Feldman to chill when he is feeling shy.
While I haven't pulled out the lightmeter to get precise measurements, the lighting is nowhere near as bright as natural light on a clear day.
steelheadchaser
Member
I wouldn't expect this bulb to do much for your plants. Incandescent lights typically aren't the best choices for plant growth. They are good for heat.
Bokaru
Member
I have heart shaped philodendron... and English ivy... I think its time to go plant shopping... Im sad to see my phil is dangerous, because I really like how tough those plants are... Poor Peppers is going to throw a fit when I take away all his plants.
AESara
Member
I suggested it because I thought that it would be less likely to be painful on the cham's eyes. It doesn't necessarily translate into more efficiency I suppose, but it happened to coincide in the case of the type of bulb I got. Sorry if I was misleading.
(not by any means a hardware expert)
Todnedo
Avid Member
I suggested it because I thought that it would be less likely to be painful on the cham's eyes. It doesn't necessarily translate into more efficiency I suppose, but it happened to coincide in the case of the type of bulb I got. Sorry if I was misleading.
(not by any means a hardware expert)
That's the problem people have with keeping plants alive.... not enough light.
Your not going to hurt the chameleons eyes with N.O. florescent lights.
A properly set up enclosure should have enough foliage to provide shade from the lighting. The plants will fill out to catch the light shading the lower parts of the cage.
AESara
Member
At the moment I'm only using the bulb away from the cage to grow some cuttings, and it's working well. I'll get a different one when I move things into the cage. He does have plenty of shade, I'm just a bit paranoid.
steelheadchaser
Member
Just keep the light coming in from the top and not the sides and the chams eyes will be fine. Light introduced from the side(s) is unnatural for extended periods, is hard on an animals eyes and makes it hard for them to avoid the glare.
astroprojector
New Member
I have a ficus. Can anyone suggest what is the best way to keep it alive? I bought it about a month ago and re-potted it. I have mistking and it is on 5 times a day 2 min a time. In addition to the mistking I have a dripper, which drips on the plant. The plant was OK for couple of weeks, but then the leaves started getting yellow and fall off. I have reptisun 5 and 40 watt incandescent light bulb. Is it too much water, not enough light or both?
I took the ficus out and replaced it with Schefflera, but my panther does not want get on it. Once I placed schefflera in the cage, he spent all day on the side of the cage and slept on the climbing branch.
I took the ficus out and replaced it with Schefflera, but my panther does not want get on it. Once I placed schefflera in the cage, he spent all day on the side of the cage and slept on the climbing branch.
Elizadolots
New Member
I suspect there's too much water. That's what happened to my ficus.
Do you have it in a terracotta pot? That can help wick the excess moisture out as "humidity" but you really need to have the pot drain (so, a hole in the bottom of the pot) and have good drainage for the cage.
My feeling was that the light for the animal would be enough for the plant, but maybe I'm off base on that.
Do you have it in a terracotta pot? That can help wick the excess moisture out as "humidity" but you really need to have the pot drain (so, a hole in the bottom of the pot) and have good drainage for the cage.
My feeling was that the light for the animal would be enough for the plant, but maybe I'm off base on that.
astroprojector
New Member
I have the plant in the plastic pot with many holes around it at the bottom, but I will try the terracotta pot.
