Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and have been searching everywhere for a ficus tree. We finally found one at Sobey's when we were getting groceries in the middle of the fruit section. There was only one ther so we baught it in a heatbeat. Now we have it home, sitting in front of the window, waiting for the fertilizer to get out of it's system. But every time we even look at it or breathe on it the leaves fall off. It looks really healthy, but the leaves won't stop falling off. This usually happens with any plants we buy from stores. Get it home and put it in sunlight and watch it die. Now I have a tonne of plants, given to me by friends and family and they are all doing great.
Anyway, is there any trick to keeping it alive or from the leaves dropping off. If this one dies, lord knows when we will find another one......

well, ficus are known for doing that when they go into shock. just leave it alone, water it plenty, and don't move it. i really don't think that hibiscus is all that great of a plant for use in a cham cage, because of it's nasty sap. i prefer hibiscus, and so do the veileds........
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
2.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1 Chameleo Melleri

Did you mean that you like hibicus more then a ficus tree?

I have both a ficus and a hib.

I am going out today to rid myself of the ficus. getting another hib.

Why?

Not harmful to my cham

the leaves of a hib are cupped - so hold pools of water for drinking.

The branches are sturdier (is that a word)? The flowers are great!

They also dont drop their leaves at the touch of a hat

they have larger leaves as well - which makes feces removal easier

I think that covers it.

have fun!

-adam

A few tips to dealing with Ficus sap. First, unless your cham actually rubs an eye on fresh sap it isn't that dangerous. Dried sap is not likely to cause any problems. Occasionally a cham with a cut on its foot could get an irritation from sap, but it is rare. When you first get your Ficus prune/thin it so there are clear pathways through the plant for your cham to travel so it doesn't break off lots of little twigs and leaves trying to force its way through. This also exposes more of the remaining leaves to light...a good thing. Dead leaves or twigs won't ooze sap. Then shower the sap off the plant and let it dry thoroughly. This pruning will cut down on how often your cham breaks something. Ficus drop leaves when they are moved or stressed. I would suggest that you get your new plant used to the general light level it will be exposed to in the cham cage by putting it nearby in the same room if you can. The leaves should come back. Take advantage of the plant shock to repot, wash, prune, etc. all at once and then feed and leave it alone to recover. Ficus like to be slightly rootbound so don't use too big a pot. If you have to move it again into a really different light level later it may just drop leaves again. Many many cham keepers use Ficus with no trouble. It also helps to find a different variety of Ficus called Ficus alli. It has longer tougher leaves and branches than Ficus benjamina and breaks less. It also gets much taller. I have one that is 9' tall and fills a lot of a room. I have to do serious pruning about every 6 months so it doesn't block my ceiling lights.

ficus are actually a pretty good plant, as long as they are big enough, and strong enough. i have a ficus that is about 4' tall, and it won't even support one of my veileds anywhere but the bottom 2' of the branches. i have just switched over to all hibiscus plants that i bought at lowes for 10 each. they are between 3' and 4' tall, and they support my ch. melleri just fine. i have also never been able to keep a ficus alive in a cham enclosure, they eventually die.
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
2.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1 Chameleo Melleri