Trimming a Ficus?

[SoCaliSon]

I have my male Rudis in a 16x16x30 screen cage with a pretty dense ficus. I want to move him into a cage that measure 13x16x24, as it seems it would be a more appropriate sized cage for him, and this cage will also be "fly proof", which his current cage is not. I want to transfer his ficus over to this cage but it is a bit large for it and would need a good trimming before I could do this.

Aside from removing the dead stuff I have never pruned any of my ficus. I read that they excrete a milky white substance from the stem when they are cut, could this be irritating to a cham?

Any "Green Thumbers" have any pointers on trimming back a ficus?

Thanks!

~Joe

 

[dodolah]

Yes, they exude milky sap when cut.
and the sap can be an irritant to your cham.
I would generally set a temporary tree for him in his old cage.
and then take out the ficus and trim as much as you want. let it overnight so the sap can dried out.
After the sap dries, the ficus can be safely put in his new enclosure.

I have my male Rudis in a 16x16x30 screen cage with a pretty dense ficus. I want to move him into a cage that measure 13x16x24, as it seems it would be a more appropriate sized cage for him, and this cage will also be "fly proof", which his current cage is not. I want to transfer his ficus over to this cage but it is a bit large for it and would need a good trimming before I could do this.

Aside from removing the dead stuff I have never pruned any of my ficus. I read that they excrete a milky white substance from the stem when they are cut, could this be irritating to a cham?

Any "Green Thumbers" have any pointers on trimming back a ficus?

Thanks!

~Joe

 

[Orchidartist]

You can use powdered charcoal to stop the flow of sap. Save all your bits for cuttings

 

[AncientCritters]

You can use powdered charcoal to stop the flow of sap. Save all your bits for cuttings

How do you save it for cuttings?

 

[Sang]

i have trimmed a few ficus back, and they have always bounced back strong, i tried to focus on the innards leaving the outer limbs still dense in foliage. and trimming back the inner branches to provide crawl space.

trim close to the branch were the piece you want to cut off so its almost flush, but don't leave a large wound on the branch.