Wood & Vines... Fake or Real???

[Itwas]

I use willow branches which my GF buys for weaving etc. they are thick at the bottom and thin at the end so you get a good range of widths, flexible and surprisingly strong. Im not sure if they will take a mellors weight or even a large veiled but for now they work for me.

I have got a fake exoterra vine but its rubbish. when it came it was folded and when I opened it out it all split, bendable my arse, and unless jungle vines are made of sandpaper glued to wire then i cant imagine its all that authentic feeling either.

 

[SonTigerPantherCham]

I live surrounded by some of the most fertile soil in the world, and because of that I have the ocean on one side farm fields on the other 3. We can smell, depending on the seabreeze the pesticides poured onto thousands of acres of fruits and veggies.
So one would think, pesticides would not be a natural for their habitat?

 

[iLik3LIzards]

Currently use bio vine, but soon as i own my own house and build my custom cage im going all natural.

 

[Takara]

I just grabbed a vine from the park, pulled the roots and cut the top. I planted it and it starting sprouting a week later. I'd like to start growing some more in the yard and then cut my own from them.

 

[Chamamature]

i use fake vines from exo-terra of various sizes and they're water proof

 

[lindawaz]

I have a large and small scheflera, pothos and I use grapevines and jewelry wire to secure them to the sides of the cage. It is small enough to go through the screen and doesn't rust.

 

[ncrippen]

Real Plants and wild branches

When I use real plants I always replace the soil with organic soil. Baking your wild branches and sticks at 300 in the oven kills most everything. If I use bleach to clean a screen cage and any plastic plants, I wash it with fresh water and let in dry in the sun.

Thanks,
Nan

 

[PantherEnvy]

Mixture of both real and fake.

 

[Red7ny1]

I have a very hearty scheflera ( 42" tall and about 22" wide and full) and I have a pothos on a post right now but that is only because I am having a hell of a time hunting down a Ficus this time of year. Cripes are they out of season???

Anyhoo thanks to all for jumping in this all helps

Go to classified section and look for Tiki Tiki Reptiles . Go to their supplies and if you scroll down far enough .... there's your ficus you're looking for

 

[leviw06]

Im currently using store bought fake cines and climbing gear. but when lil loki get bigger i plan on upgrading her terra and putting in live foliage.

 

[EvilLost]

If you wish to make your own vines, many members over at dendroboards have adapted the background technique...


take SILICONE
add TOLUENE (or XOLUENE, but other thinners will NOT EVAPORATE OUT!! so dont use them)
this should water down your silicone nicely....

pour in DRY coco coir (i like to add shredded sphagnum too)

dip ropes of various thickness (bought by the foot from home depot or wherever)

VOILA!



An alternative to silicone is to use TITEBOND and thin it out, but I don't know if TOLUENE works with titebond or what other product should be used (you can just use the TITEBOND straightup, its just a bit thick is all)

 

[frankiie]

I'm useing bamboo canes and natural rope on one side of my viv also some natural branches with Ficus and a plam. Eco terra jungle vines and some home made ladders. There is a really good cocco background that is awesome for them to climb on.!!


Frankiie

 

[PappaRONzi]

I use bamboo and jungle vines. I like the bamboo because of the flat ends that are easy to thumb tack through the screen cage and it is cheap and availble year round. I also have two pothos, one high, one low with vines running through them. I do have two fake plants at the back to fill in the enclousre and add to the places for the cham to get away.

 

[Sleaper88]

I use jungle vines, some other type of vines of random thicknesses, I also use bamboo sticks!! But I'm now thinking of doing away with the bamboo nd using rope

 

[stacy76]

walmart usually carries pothos,at least here they do..

 

[poppototamus]

I also use manzanita, I'm lucky enough to have a father who lives up in the foothills and doesn't mind if I harvest my own so it's been a really good and cheap alternative for me. I make sure I cut it at the time of year when the bark isn't peeling and I've found it lasts really well even with scratchy claws walking all over it.

 

[jabushey]

I use an epiphytic cactus that runs the length of my greenhouse. Since it runs horizontally over 12 feet it is supported on a chain, which is also used to hang other plants and feeding trays. The cactus vine has a few soft spines but nothing dangerous. It will grow indoors and will bloom if you have fairly bright light. It is a great highway in the sky for my jacksons, anoles and tree frogs. Interestingly, the jacksons likes the supporting chain just as well.


Not my photo, but here is one in someone's home:

http://greenforks.com/asset/greenforks/2008/05/epiphyllum-oxypetalum-07.jpg

 

[Kaianuanu]

Real 'woody' vines from outside are the best, IMO. I have a tree in my back yard that is covered with these vines, in diameters varying from a few millimeters to about an inch. They look much better than the fake vines. And once you have them fastened, they are much sturdier. Them being thick wood, it's amazing how flexible they are. I just grab a machete, chop a few off(live), rinse them in the hose, and their good to go.

 

[Psychobunny]

I use a combination of stuff.
Flukers pothos, ivy vines, and 'bend-a-branch' plus real branches from my
dogwood tree, and sometimes I buy sand blasted branches online and
small fake trees.

 

[Jupiter]

I've got a schefflera and some apple and crab apple branches. My breeder recommended natural sticks as the varying shapes and thicknesses will promote dexterity and strength development in their feet/hands, as opposed to walking on an artificial vine that is exactly the same diameter all the time. As far as sterilizing goes, it seems like its really not that hard to just play it safe and throw em in the oven for half an hour, especially relative to waking up and finding a bunch of fat termites and a gleaming white cham skeleton or something haha