Plants for veiled

[python146]

does anybody know where to find alist of plants good for a chameleon cage?

[Trace]

I sure do!

http://www.anapsid.org/resources/plants.html

I personally use Pothos in all of my Chameleon cages. It grows very quickly, creating nice hiding areas for chams and it's a very hardy plant holding up well to all the water I use on my chams.

Hope this helps!

Cheers!

Trace

[Jaylyn]

I use pothos, too ... and schefflera (I like this best as it provides alot of horizontal branches which my chams seem to prefer) and fiscus. With the fiscus - if your cham is eating it or you trim it - watch for milky sap as it can be irritating to chameleon eyes. If I prune it - I let it sit overnight before putting it back in the cage.

Jaylyn

[Jaylyn]

Just a note - pothos is high is oxalic acid (like spinach) which binds with calcium and prevents it from being metabolized. It forms calcium oxalate - a salt that accumulates in the kidneys. :(

My veileds have never eaten the pothos - but if yours like to munch on them (or the fiscus) the schefflera (umbrella plant) or hibiscus (forgot that one!). I really like hibiscus for little chams - it has lots of grooves on the leaves which hold water droplets well.
The hibiscus probaby won't be sturdy enough for an adult veiled - unless you can find one in tree form. You can get the schefflera for about $10 (3-4 feet) at Home Depot or Walmart.

Jaylyn

[jameswork1]

Are there any particularly good plants for keeping up high humidity? Or is just having the misted plants in the cage ok?

[jameswork1]

Can I complete that thought? I'm trying to ask if any live plants raise the humidity in the cage significantly more than others. I know the humidity levels to keep, but I would say a live plant could assist in keeping it up.

[Jaylyn]

That's a good question! I don't know - maybe one that has more texture to the leave like hibiscus to hold more water droplets??? I'm not sure what your ambient humidity levels are like - but right now on the prairies it is cold and dry!! I use an ultrasonic humidifer in the room most of the chams are in and supplement with an ultrasonic fogger with the montane species.

Jaylyn

[Trace]

Yeah.... that's a tough question! I don't think that there are any plants that are better than others for maintaining a high humidity level. You've piqued my curiousity though.... so I will do a little research into that!

I will say that live plants are far better than plastic ones for keeping the humidity up. (and look nicer too!)

Cheers!

Trace

[Jaylyn]

Trace,

Everytime I look your list get's a little longer! Awesome!

Jaylyn

[Quervo]

I would think anything that holds a supply of water. Many bromeliads keep a supply in their leaves, any of the plants that have fuzzy or textured leaves that can hold a small amount of water. Most tropicals are designed to get the water off as fast as they can, but some do hold a bit.