Plastic Plants

[nick barta]

How many use Plastic Plants in the Chams enclosures? I lost an adult Fischers in the past, and autopsy showed a plastic leaf lodged in his throat as the cause of death. Probably hit a feeder on the leaf and the leaf broke off. I had a Quadricornus die similarly by ingesting a peice of bark, although the bark made it into the stomach.
Since that experience, I have not used plastic plants, and I make sure natural branches have the loose bark removed. Anybody else have experience with plastic being brought into a Chams mouth when feeding?

 

[veiledchamguy]

How many use Plastic Plants in the Chams enclosures? I lost an adult Fischers in the past, and autopsy showed a plastic leaf lodged in his throat as the cause of death. Probably hit a feeder on the leaf and the leaf broke off. I had a Quadricornus die similarly by ingesting a peice of bark, although the bark made it into the stomach.
Since that experience, I have not used plastic plants, and I make sure natural branches have the loose bark removed. Anybody else have experience with plastic being brought into a Chams mouth when feeding?

No i have not. I only use live plants in hanging pothos, schflerra, ficus tree. besides the stupid fake assembled plants suck...and are really expensive.

You could buy a one hanging pothos for like 7.95 $ instead of 10$ for a crappy plastic leafy thing that falls apart and could cause impaction = death
just keep the bottom substrate free and buy LIVE plants its worth it

 

[BocaJan]

I have both in my chams cage. I never had a problem with the plastic leaves, however mine are pretty big. They would never be able to get a leaf in their mouths or even bit a piece of it.

 

[opihiman]

I have both also, but I do check the plants about every month to see if they are starting get brittle. The UV light will tend to degrade plastic.

I would think that a watching for color changes and giving the plastic a squeeze here and there woud be a good check for this?

What do you all think?

OPI

 

[BocaJan]

Good idea Opi. I will do that since some of mine have been around for a year.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I use both. Mostly live pothos. I tend to throw out (compost) old pothos and replace with new clipping rather than try to wash the leaves. The plastic / silk plants are easy to clean (throw in boiling water with some white vinegar and a little scrubbing) and I prefer to use these in the areas that get "pooped on" the most, which tends to be the same areas of the cage. The fake plants I use have large leaves and I do check them periodically to ensure they remain in good condition. My male panters have never shown any interest in eating the leaves (live or fake). Occassionally females do show an interest, in which case I give them more live ones and no fake ones, just to be safe.

 

[goose13]

I use one big ficus plant about two to three feet tall and then line the corners with fake fines etc. Fake plants are ok to use as long as they are sturdy and durable, meaning that they do not easily rip off or your cham can suffer impaction. Dont use to much but as long as they have a real plant in there if they feel like chomping on plants they will go for the real one.

 

[jojackson]

has anyone had a problem with chams eating real ficus leaves? how common are eye problems from sap? i bought one but im not game to use it, he seems happy with live hibiscus, so i will buy a few more and rotate.

 

[dodolah]

has anyone had a problem with chams eating real ficus leaves? how common are eye problems from sap? i bought one but im not game to use it, he seems happy with live hibiscus, so i will buy a few more and rotate.

I used hibiscus in all my panthers.
They all seems to be very happy with the tree.
I used ficus in my veiled's cage for 2 years now.
So far so good. He eat the leaves occasionally.

I say go ahead and use it.
just be careful if you start seeing him eating the leaves excessively.

Of course, if you have no problem keeping hibiscus alive... then i see no reason to just use hibiscus.
So far, it is the best chameleon plant for me.

And to answer Nick's question, I used to have fake plants in tandem with the real one.
I realize over time, I ended up stripping the plastic plant one by one.
Now, I only use real plants.