live plants in the cage...

kidchameleon · 02-17-04, 09:58 PM

im planning on putting a live plant in my chameleon cage, but i was wondering how it will live. i cant put the cage near a window because if my chameleon sees his reflection, he will become stressed.
i have a ReptiGlo 5.0 uva/uvb bulb. will that be good enough to give my plant the sunlight it needs to grow?

meow_mix450 · 02-17-04, 10:02 PM

It will grow no worries, i would put the plant under the basking lamp, it seems to help me. Just keep giving it water, make sure its not posionus to the chameleon. If its a fucis tree, make sure when you cute the thing, to wash the sap off, cause its not good, if a chameleon gets that stuff in the eye. Other then that live plants are great, they keep up the humdity

Meow

Collide · 02-17-04, 10:13 PM

plants need almost the same requirements as chams so it sould do fine, i dont think that having the cage infront of the window should be a big problem mane are... humm bit my windows are high and not exacly spotless lol

kidchameleon · 02-17-04, 10:25 PM

i am going to get a umbrella schefflera. i heard those were ok to put with chameleons, and i have one in my house so i let him hangout on it a lot and he seems to really enjoy it.

Collide · 02-17-04, 10:36 PM

thats the only plant i cant keep alive lol good luck with it...

kidchameleon · 02-18-04, 08:56 AM

oh, haha. thanks
what live plants do you have in your cage that you find are easy to keep alive?

Collide · 02-18-04, 06:15 PM

pothos is super easy (some chams will eat thses like crazy)
ficus benjamina (hard but easier then the umbrella for me) and dracaena there are other plant tu could use but thats what i have

meow_mix450 · 02-18-04, 06:56 PM

ficus for me

Meow

kidchameleon · 02-18-04, 10:11 PM

i think im going to get a schefflera because like i said before, i have a big tree in my house, and he seems to really enjoy it. i also would like to get a potho because i heard a lot of chameleons eat them(like collide said)

meow_mix450 · 02-18-04, 10:14 PM

yup its true, lol my chameleon eats my ficus tree! ugh, i never see him eat it tho, but you can tell, cause half of the tree's leaf is gone lol

Meow

K1LOS · 02-19-04, 12:12 AM

You shouldn't have any trouble with a plant in the cage. Right now i have a ficus benjamina, ficus rubber plant, umbrella schefflera, and a dracaena. I'd like one more 8-12" plant just to fill up some unused space. A few fake vines and plants and stuff in there aswell. All of the plants seem to be doing okay, and some have new growth aswell. I have only had the cage set up for a few weeks, so we will see how it goes.

Geoff

kidchameleon · 02-19-04, 08:58 AM

i wish i could fit all that stuff in my cage.
my cage dimensions are 16.5 deep, 30 high, and 28 wide.
i want to get atleast one real plant in there and maybe take out of the fake vines i have. ill see what i can do though.

and by the way, how big is your cage kilos?

choriona · 02-19-04, 12:14 PM

I have a 4 foot ficus benjimena and a 4 foot hibiscus tree that keep as "away from home" plants to hang out on in front of the window. They really enjoy their time there. The veileds LOVE to eat the hibiscus flowers.
I have a hard time keeping a pothos alive. They come as a huge bushy hanging plant, but eventually I only have two long vines hanging out. And these vines seem to migrate away from the light.
I also have an several umbrella pants (veileds will munch on these) that do quite well with lots of water (soil always moist) and bright light.
My one veiled has a favorite plant to hide in... an aloe vera plant. He loves sitting on the stick I put in the dirt. He becomes one with the plant. Never takes a bite out of it.
A spider plant is almost impossible to kill. And gives you plenty of offspring plants. You could put one on the outside of the enclosure to make your cham feel more hidden and stress free. These plants seem to like light and dark areas and tolerate forgotton waterings.
I have the best luck with plants that have waxy leaves. (Like a rubber plant). I am a sucker and always pick one or two up when I'm getting groceries at safeway for $2 (1-2 inch plants). They're tiny and come in many different varieties. They don't seem to mind being dry for a long period of time and their leaves make the water ball up quite nicely for the cham to drink from. Under the UV light, they grow wild and get big in no time. And if they die, I just start again. The chams don't ever seem to eat the waxy leaves either.

Collide · 02-19-04, 05:27 PM

Kid your cage is going to be too small for a adult veild in my opinion, my cages are 2'x2'x4' screened inclosures you gonna need something semi close to that bigger the better...

K1LOS · 02-19-04, 05:32 PM

my cage dimensions are 4' H x 3' W x 2x D. It's for a Nosy Be panther cham. There are pics of it when it was empty in the enclosure forum that you can go check out.

Geoff