platic plants for pygmys???????

[thechameleon]

hello everyone.
i've been thinking of buying a pygmy chameleon and i want to know if its ok to put plastic plants on their enclosure. i know some species of chameleons such as the veiled chameleons are omnivores and will eat the plants. i know that real life plants is better but i have problem on keeping them alive. any suggestions?
thanks in advance

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Fake plants will be ok but dont do all fake plants. Offer some real plants to

 

[Lizardlover]

hello everyone.
i've been thinking of buying a pygmy chameleon and i want to know if its ok to put plastic plants on their enclosure. i know some species of chameleons such as the veiled chameleons are omnivores and will eat the plants. i know that real life plants is better but i have problem on keeping them alive. any suggestions?
thanks in advance

bouganvilia, pothos, ferns, philedendron, and various species of live vines do well in pygmy enclosures. Stay away from schefflera though, they normally die in the dim lighting conditions.

 

[thechameleon]

bouganvilia, pothos, ferns, philedendron, and various species of live vines do well in pygmy enclosures. Stay away from schefflera though, they normally die in the dim lighting conditions.

thanks for the suggestions, i'll try to look for them

 

[Lizardlover]

thanks for the suggestions, i'll try to look for them

Yellow Trumpet vine does well also.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

i disagree with the quote from lizardlover about scheffleras. they inhabit shaded areas, and some keeps captivate various genus of pygmies without any lighting at all. obviously i say dont stick any type of large foilage in there, you still want to see them right? and with a 2.0, they will have no problems. i use a 4" schefflera in my enclosure and the little girl loves it, i also have ficus.

 

[Lizardlover]

i disagree with the quote from lizardlover about scheffleras. they inhabit shaded areas, and some keeps captivate various genus of pygmies without any lighting at all. obviously i say dont stick any type of large foilage in there, you still want to see them right? and with a 2.0, they will have no problems. i use a 4" schefflera in my enclosure and the little girl loves it, i also have ficus.

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Being that I have numerous vivariums that have had schefflera in them, I think I can say that after a few months they beging to drop their leaves, and eventually die. Obviously this isn't sudden, but if you provide the right lighting for your pygmys, your inevitably not providing the right lighting for your scheffs. All too often I see people worried about seeing their chams, instead of their chams not seeing them and being content in their enclosure. Pygmys need lots of foliage.

 

[robmd1]

i tend to disagree with lizardlover too i have a sheff in my viv and it thrives and i only use a 2.0 the leaves arnt fallin off it its growing its been more then a few months also...

 

[VeiledOwner87]

that is true. my schefflera is starting to wilt, ive had it planted in a viv for about 3 months, it was thriving when it was in my 38g flexarium for my veiled before i enclosed her in her perminate cage. about a month ago, i transfered it into a 12x12x18 exo-terra when i first got my pygmies, after some cage switching, and a mating male fore my crested geckos, the schefflera has been put in the permanate pygmy enclosure posted above. like i said, it was thriving even at the bottom in my veiled tank, i was of course running a 5.0, i have a schefflera tree thriving in my veileds large enclosure, thriving as well. 2.0 wont do it for most plants, ferns seem to work great in low lighting. but i live 45 minutes away from a large tropical plant tourrist place where i can pick up perfect 4'' varieties of scheffleras, ficus, chicken hens, ect for 2.49 a plant, so i have no problem picking up a bundle every few months.

i dont think pygmies need ALOT of foliage, but obviously next to bare is not acceptable, as long as they each have their own plant, hiding places, more coverage towards the back of the viv more so then the front, you will be fine. regardless if pygmies realy do need a source of light, you still want to give something for showing off your enclosure. thats why i am using an exo-terra compact top. i used a 2.0 which i agree is pretty bright. but i have taped off the underside only letting so much light into the front of the enclosure where too much foliage isnt present. they are comfortable and yet visable to the eye in the 2nd half of the tank.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

i tend to disagree with lizardlover too i have a sheff in my viv and it thrives and i only use a 2.0 the leaves arnt fallin off it its growing its been more then a few months also...

i was actually at the place i was talking about the other day, buying new plants for all my smaller vivs. what the girl was telling me was, they will sometimes go through a period of establishment. climate change, setting change, ect. so they tend and seem like they are dying off, when realy just dropping everything to restart. my hibiscus tree is recoverying from this in my veiled enclosure, and it is right under a 5.0 and a 6500K. but recently a ficus that i had in my pygmy enclosure crumbled up and died, i just sniped off the stems and kept em in there, they look cool

 

[thechameleon]

thanks for the information about the plants guys that also brings me to another question, is it ok to use 5.0 lighting on them. i heard it's ok to use used 5.0 bulbs, but what about new ones? will the pygmys get burned when i use the new ones. or should i just go with 2.0. any advice?
thanks in advance.

 

[ChamLady]

I, also, have a problem with the schefflera slowly dying in the brev habitats. Philodendron isn't on the safe lists that I've looked at, but I'm having surprising success with spider plants! They're doing well, & have a grassy look that compliments the surroundings.