Plants and sticks

[JiggyWalk]

I am looking to upgrade to at least a 2x2x4 enclosure for my 5 m/o male veiled and am debating a bioactive bottom vs potted only plants. Which do you prefer and why? What are some plants you use and do you get them online because I cannot find anything but hibiscus, money trees, and mass cane in local nurseries. I have looked over the cham safe plants (pic attached) and have limited options locally. I saw some funny posts about pulling over on the side of the road and other shenanigans to collect sticks , what does the "right stick" look like and should I wash them or leave them outside for a few days to get all of the little insects out/off or throw them right in? Bark wittled off or keep on?

 

[JiggyWalk]

https://chameleonacademy.com/case-study-2-x-2-x-4-cage/
This answered most of my questions but I am still curious on what everyone uses for plants and best stick finding/cleaning practices

 

[TheMotherChameleon]

Hi! Most of us get our sticks from outside trees. Just not sap producing trees. For cleaning you can just scrub them with some soapy water and let them dry in the sun.

 

[MissSkittles]

I get most of my plants from Lowe’s, Home Depot and Walmart. Usually the house plants like pothos and others are inside the store at Lowe’s and Home Depot. Walmart often has a nice selection of house plants at good prices. The few times I’ve bought plants on line, they were healthy and all, but super tiny. For all plants for my chameleons, I remove the soil as close to bare root as I can get. Then I dunk the plant upside down in a bucket of soapy water (I use Dawn dish soap), agitate or gently rub the leaves to clean and then rinse the heck out of them before repotting in fresh organic soil. I do try to give them some time to recover before placing them in my chameleon enclosures. I prefer bioactive, not just because I enjoy having that little slice of the natural world but with 5 chameleons I would be spending way too much time cleaning enclosures and moving so many plants to clean around would drive me insane.
For branches, I have no trees in my yard so it’s a bit of a challenge. I also am in Florida where the majority of trees are either pines or palms. I’ve done every thing from taking a drive out in the more rural area (very poor results from that), risked making people wonder if I was ok by almost stripping bare of branches a downed tree on the side of the road, raiding random piles of trimmings on the curb. My best results have been when my neighbors trim their giant oaks a couple of times a year and I grab as much as I can drag across the street. To feel less stupid, I did ask first and told them I needed them for my chameleons. I strip the leaves off and save them for leaf litter (I bake it to make sure I don’t introduce pests or other nasties). I remove the small and pretty useless little twigs branches and then give them a little scrub with a plastic brush and soapy water (Dawn again). I mainly want to remove dirt and animal droppings. Things like lichen that are quite stuck, I’ll leave on. I blast with the hose a few times to rinse and then let them dry in the sun. I try to leave the branches as long as I can and at least the width of my enclosures. When I’m using them is when I’ll cut to the size I want.
The only times which I’ve run into pests were from adding hibiscus. No matter how well I clean them, hibiscus always seems to carry some sort of pest (usually ants). There are a couple of members who had bought some branches at one of the craft stores (like Michael’s or similar) and those had some wood boring insects within them.

 

[yungzerk]

https://chameleonacademy.com/case-study-2-x-2-x-4-cage/
This answered most of my questions but I am still curious on what everyone uses for plants and best stick finding/cleaning practices

I personally use some pothos for extra climbing around the enclourse as they can grow upwards or downwards which is super awesome! Then I have a money tree which is great for foliage along with a hibiscus plant and a dracena! As for the sticks I just wash mine with soap and make sure to rub it all down and let them air dry overnight! Here’s a picture for reference and I found most of these at Home Depot but you’ll have to be sure to replant them and clean the leaves off just in case!

This is my veileds cage

This is my panthers cage! Still needs to grow in but you get the idea

 

[JiggyWalk]

I get most of my plants from Lowe’s, Home Depot and Walmart. Usually the house plants like pothos and others are inside the store at Lowe’s and Home Depot. Walmart often has a nice selection of house plants at good prices. The few times I’ve bought plants on line, they were healthy and all, but super tiny. For all plants for my chameleons, I remove the soil as close to bare root as I can get. Then I dunk the plant upside down in a bucket of soapy water (I use Dawn dish soap), agitate or gently rub the leaves to clean and then rinse the heck out of them before repotting in fresh organic soil. I do try to give them some time to recover before placing them in my chameleon enclosures. I prefer bioactive, not just because I enjoy having that little slice of the natural world but with 5 chameleons I would be spending way too much time cleaning enclosures and moving so many plants to clean around would drive me insane.
For branches, I have no trees in my yard so it’s a bit of a challenge. I also am in Florida where the majority of trees are either pines or palms. I’ve done every thing from taking a drive out in the more rural area (very poor results from that), risked making people wonder if I was ok by almost stripping bare of branches a downed tree on the side of the road, raiding random piles of trimmings on the curb. My best results have been when my neighbors trim their giant oaks a couple of times a year and I grab as much as I can drag across the street. To feel less stupid, I did ask first and told them I needed them for my chameleons. I strip the leaves off and save them for leaf litter (I bake it to make sure I don’t introduce pests or other nasties). I remove the small and pretty useless little twigs branches and then give them a little scrub with a plastic brush and soapy water (Dawn again). I mainly want to remove dirt and animal droppings. Things like lichen that are quite stuck, I’ll leave on. I blast with the hose a few times to rinse and then let them dry in the sun. I try to leave the branches as long as I can and at least the width of my enclosures. When I’m using them is when I’ll cut to the size I want.
The only times which I’ve run into pests were from adding hibiscus. No matter how well I clean them, hibiscus always seems to carry some sort of pest (usually ants). There are a couple of members who had bought some branches at one of the craft stores (like Michael’s or similar) and those had some wood boring insects within them.

This is perfect, I was completly lost on how to actually deal with the sticks after... soooo helpful, thank you. Have you tried any accent plants or do you usually stay on the safe side?

 

[JiggyWalk]

I personally use some pothos for extra climbing around the enclourse as they can grow upwards or downwards which is super awesome! Then I have a money tree which is great for foliage along with a hibiscus plant and a dracena! As for the sticks I just wash mine with soap and make sure to rub it all down and let them air dry overnight! Here’s a picture for reference and I found most of these at Home Depot but you’ll have to be sure to replant them and clean the leaves off just in case!

This is my veileds cage
View attachment 355298

This is my panthers cage! Still needs to grow in but you get the idea
View attachment 355299

OHH you tie it together! That makes so much sense for me thank you. I am a visual learner this helps tons. All of my plants are still young so I am trying to imagine them after growing for a while, I'll research to see about plant lights (or nutrients maybe?) to help them grow strong and double potting is nice to have as well.

 

[yungzerk]

OHH you tie it together! That makes so much sense for me thank you. I am a visual learner this helps tons. All of my plants are still young so I am trying to imagine them after growing for a while, I'll research to see about plant lights (or nutrients maybe?) to help them grow strong and double potting is nice to have as well.

Yes of course!! I’m a visual learner too so i completely understand , most people have the Arcadia jungle dawn, which is also what I have and it has helped a ton! My plants have grown in so fast and beautifully so if you have the extra money for a plant light is definitely worth it! And the double potting is really nice, the first empty pot makes it a lot easier to hold the weight and is a good visual of where you’d like your plants to go!

 

[MissSkittles]

This is perfect, I was completly lost on how to actually deal with the sticks after... soooo helpful, thank you. Have you tried any accent plants or do you usually stay on the safe side?

Every now and then I see an adorable plant that I just have to get that is safe…and then I proceed to murder it. I’m more adventurous with my panther’s plants and tend to stick to veiled tested pothos, tradescantia and philodendron for my veileds. For both I like schefflera as a center plant and have about 50/50 success with them. Here’s how I set up some enclosures in the past. To hang branches and plants I’ve used different methods - dragon ledges https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ garden trellis, foamed faux background that I made, etc.

 

[M&M]

I’m building a new enclosure now. Here’s what the dragon-strands that were mentioned before look like installed…

I’m super lucky and for some reason my FL neighborhood is littered with huge mature oak trees, so much so that some have been removed for fall prevention. I collect tons of sticks when I walk my dog, especially after storms. I’m sure I look totally crazy doing it but I get so excited when I find a quality branch it makes up for the odd looks I get

I’m pretty paranoid of things living on them, I’ve been filling a 5 gallon bucket with soapy water and letting the sticks soak in there, flipping them every 5 minutes or so, before I take them out and scrub them with a sponge, I scrub pretty hard so some of the softer bark comes off, I try to flake off any that seems brittle or loose and leave any that is still connected to the branch. Then I just let them dry completely in the sun.

Also highly recommend the double pot method that was mentioned. My veiled girl eats her plants back to just the stems so I am constantly having to swap her plants out so they still have leaves.

 

[Beman]

Hey there. Outside branches as long as it is not from a pine, cedar, or Eucalyptus tree. Harder trees like birch are better. Do not strip the branches this makes them more vulnerable to decay quickly. You can use dawn soap and scrub the branches with a bristle brush to get them cleaner. Then rinse really well and lay out on a towel to air dry. Plants I get from home depot or my local nursery.

You could call a local tree trimming business. Typically they will allow you to come get what they cut and most of the time they know what they are trimming.

I prefer bare bottom. Easier for me to clean. I have also dealt with a pretty bad parasite type in the past and cleaning for that one involves throwing away everything that is porous in the cage. So I have never risked going bioactive. I highly recommend if you do go bioactive you get a fecal test or two done spaced out 2 weeks apart to ensure the cham is clean. Additionally I rent and moving a cage is hard enough without having to deal with a bioactive set up.

My set ups for reference. https://www.chameleonforums.com/media/albums/my-enclosures.6672/

 

[MissSkittles]

I highly recommend if you do go bioactive you get a fecal test or two done spaced out 2 weeks apart to ensure the cham is clean.

YES!!! This 110%!

 

[JiggyWalk]

For those interested this is my temp setup until the the 2x2x4 gets here. I'll take everyones replies into consideration when designing the new one, thanks again!

 

[MissSkittles]

For those interested this is my temp setup until the the 2x2x4 gets here. I'll take everyones replies into consideration when designing the new one, thanks again!

View attachment 355311View attachment 355312

Aww…I love that sweet little face peeking thru the leaves.