Reptile & Amphibian Forums

About to buy a veiled, first branch into Chams from pythons and rat snakes. Got majority of cage set up, just a quick question, does anybody recomend any plants that are preferably "branchy", look good, provide enough cover, but allow enough openness so the cham can be viewed? Also, can anyone tell me if a "Texas Mountain Laurel " would be harmful to a veiled? I bought one of these from the garden center today, just noticed it's not on a "safe plant list."
Scrap it? or will it work. Perfect Looking plant for the cage.

Well, mountain laurels in NC are rhotodendrons - not just "not safe". If it's rhotodentron, don't use it for veileds.

I will use soem plants that are slightly toxic for other species, using discretion, of course, but not with veileds. They eat too much vegetation to take the chance with poisonous plants.

If the plant in this site is the Texas Mountain Laurel you are talking about, it contains toxins....
http://texnat.tamu.edu/CMPLANTS/toxic/plants/texasmountlaurel.html

Here's a different "mountain laurel" found in the southern States...
http://www.caf.wvu.edu/~forage/library/poisonous/page6.htm

knowing a common name is never sufficient to find out for sure if a plant is toxic. ALWAYS be sure to get its scientific name. Int his particlualr case they are both toxic.

The one Eric refers to is in the same family as Rhododendron - Ericaceae (not the same plant) and the Sophora in the pea family (Fabaceae). Both are toxic.

Schefflera and Ficus are commonly used. They each have minor toxicity, but your veield would have to eat an awful lot. If ficus sap get in the eye an infection can occur. You will also find varying claims on different plant sites. A few reliable ones are:
www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/
lancaster.unl.edu/factsheets/031.htm
www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm
lancaster.unl.edu/factsheets/031.htm

keep in mind that your cham will spend much of its time in the upper part of its cage basking so you will have an opportunity to see him. If he is deep in the plant he is hunting, cooling off or simply doesn't want to be seen

see the link below to other cham resources as you get ready for your new guy/gal

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1 Side-blotched lizards - swifty and blotcha for now
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

great info, thanks alot guys
I like the look of those umbrella plants, i'll check 'em out.
Cheers.

I use pothos plants in the female cages and umbrellas and hibiscuses in the male cages (they are taller). However, I am talking about panthers, which normally don't eat too much vegitation in general. I have never gotten the knack to keep ficuses alive. Each one seems to loose all its leaves in a week or two, but maye your experience will be different. The umbrellas (sheffelera) are my favorite.
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Adam - don't give up on the ficus. They are rather "tempermental" plants and if they are moved from a place they have gotten comfy (right light, humidity, etc.) then moved they do tend to drop their leaves - fast! But it you look close you will see lots of little green leaf buds which will grow back relatively quickly. I'm not using them now, but I did with Luna and always had a backup so I could switch if one got upset! lol!!
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1 Side-blotched lizards - swifty and blotcha for now
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet