Ordering Plants from Reptile Shops

[Zeyna04]

Hello! I’m getting my first baby cham in a few days time and I have a question regarding plants. This may sound like a dumb question but I want to be absolutely sure my chameleon is safe and happy. I’m aware you should wash pesticides from plants you wish to use in an enclosure, however if I have ordered a plant from a Reptile specific shop (in this case Buzzard Reptiles), am I safe to assume they are already okay to go straight into my vivarium? Thank you.

 

[Beman]

Best to contact them directly to ask. There are some online sellers that say they have "safe" plants but still treat with pesticides. You can just go to lowes, home depot, or your local nursery and get plants. At least then you can get more mature plants as well. If your worried about it you can do a soak and rinse process with dawn dish soap in warm water. I do this and soak the greenery 2 times for 10 minutes then rinse really well in between and at the end. Easier to do if you strip your roots of the dirt that they come in. Then I repot in organic soil.

Most importantly it is about getting safe types of plants for your cham. Particularly if you are getting a veiled that likes to eat their plants.
https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/

 

[Zeyna04]

Best to contact them directly to ask. There are some online sellers that say they have "safe" plants but still treat with pesticides. You can just go to lowes, home depot, or your local nursery and get plants. At least then you can get more mature plants as well. If your worried about it you can do a soak and rinse process with dawn dish soap in warm water. I do this and soak the greenery 2 times for 10 minutes then rinse really well in between and at the end. Easier to do if you strip your roots of the dirt that they come in. Then I repot in organic soil.

Most importantly it is about getting safe types of plants for your cham. Particularly if you are getting a veiled that likes to eat their plants.
https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/

 

[Zeyna04]

Thank you very much! I did a check on safe plants, I’m getting a Panther Chameleon. I’ll use your cleaning method to be on the safe side if I can’t get a response from the site soon.

 

[Beman]

Thank you very much! I did a check on safe plants, I’m getting a Panther Chameleon. I’ll use your cleaning method to be on the safe side if I can’t get a response from the site soon.

Honestly your going to spend more on plants ordered through sites like that and get very small plants. I have always purchased mine at a nursery. At some point I am sure they were sprayed with pesticides. I did the cleaning method and have not had any issues in the last 19 months. I also have a Veiled that constantly eats his plants. Your Panther is going to be more likely to chew on his branches rather then eating his plants.
Besides going to the store and picking out beautiful plants to fill out your cage is one of the best parts of setting up a cage.

 

[jamest0o0]

Agreed with @Beman don't waste your time and money going through a reptile site. Just go to a nursery that sells them. Much cheaper, better options, etc. I used to wash mine, but now I don't even really bother other than rinsing them off with the hose a little quarantine period outside. With a panther you don't really have to worry about safe plants as long as it's not downright deadly. They don't actively eat plants. Pretty much anything that is sold should be fine with them.