Plants?

[LeoM]

Im thinking of buying a plant for my baby 5 month panther chameleon, because he only has plastic plants and vines, and i was wondering which plant would be best for the cage?? its a 24x24x48".... and i was wondering if it would be harder for him to find his crickets? i usually leave his crickets all day and he hunts after them, but i dont want to make it harder for him to find his food... what do you think?

heres a picture of his cage

https://www.chameleonforums.com/question-about-vitamins-lighting-food-74982/index2.html

 

[DekuScrub]

schefflera? i feel like im spelling that wrong. i think theyre called umbrella trees, youll find em in with tropicals at home improvement stores. the leaves stick out in a radial pattern and some in solid green and mottled. i think the mottled are more low light tolerant. and theyre thick edlible leaves

the leaves tend to stick out nice and horizontal so you shouldnt have visibility issues.

either that or a ficus, and i always plant spider plants in the bottoms of my cages, it just looks better

pothos shouldnt hurt either as long as he isnt eatting the crap out of them. i think theyre mildly toxic. or at least they may impede the ability of your cham to metabolize certain vitamins. but dont quote me on that. its been forever since i read wahtever article stated that.

so yeah ficus or schifflera. just make sure you wash em off nice when you get em home

 

[carol5208]

I have not heard that about pothos being mildly toxic or about blocking vitamins and there are lots of peoples veilds that eat them and they are ok. If Sheflleras get too much water, they tend to loose alot of their leaves. I have not had the best of luck with them indoors. Outdoor cage, yes, indoor no. Ficus are good and they grow tall so they are nice for 4 foot enclosures. Putting a plant grow light in your cage can help keep them alive. 6500K are the bulbs you want and you can get them at home depot.

 

[JackP308]

http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-health/reptile-toxic-plants.aspx

pothos are on this toxic list . I still use them as they are low toxicity.

 

[carol5208]

http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-health/reptile-toxic-plants.aspx

pothos are on this toxic list . I still use them as they are low toxicity.

well they must be very low cause I have never seen anyone on here whose cham got sick from eating them.

 

[DekuScrub]

yeah i just looked it up

http://lancaster.unl.edu/factsheets/031.htm

"Oxalates—plants which contain oxalate salts produce mucous membrane irritation and pain
and/or swelling of mouth, lips, tongue, esophagus and stomach."

for some reason i think i recall someone saying it binds to some protein or inhibits absorption of something or other. but thats was years ago. and ive been out of the game for a while.

*edit* i still use them though

just like i used to let my melleri eat bees

 

[carol5208]

yeah i just looked it up

http://lancaster.unl.edu/factsheets/031.htm

"Oxalates—plants which contain oxalate salts produce mucous membrane irritation and pain
and/or swelling of mouth, lips, tongue, esophagus and stomach."

for some reason i think i recall someone saying it binds to some protein or inhibits absorption of something or other. but thats was years ago. and ive been out of the game for a while.

interesting info! That is one of the most popular plants everyone uses!! I have a panther and they don't really eat plants and veg anyways so I am not gonna worry!

 

[JackP308]

yeah i just looked it up

http://lancaster.unl.edu/factsheets/031.htm


*edit* i still use them though

just like i used to let my melleri eat bees

My guys love bees and wasps. I get a bit nervous so I just don't watch anymore.

 

[LeoM]

Thank you