Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi was looking on cham condo's website at their list of safe plants,. i didnt see Schefflera, i bought a nice one, but wanna make sure it isnt toxic, b4 i change the soil and what not, i also have a hanging pothos, thos are ok i gather cus i've seen em the cages at reptile depot.But is Schefflera ok?, and do i need to knwo anything abotu using it
almost hav ethe jungle recreated, i'll send a pic
when it's done, tnx Dave

Dave,

There is more than one variety of scheffelera... if you got the "umbrella" variety (with oval leaves that are about 2" and it is bushy and compact), then it is most likely the good kind.

If you have a scheffy with 4-5" leaves, and taller and thinner, it is the other kind. I only use one of those scheffelera with one cham - a quadricornis. No problems after a year - but he doesn't chew on the leaves either.

Hope this helps,
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well upon loking at the plant it does have longer leaves, the tag that came with the plant only says, Schefflera, so i would say that this is not the good variety,i saw a nice jasmine plant i may go buy, but there are alot different jasmine plants, tnx

If your cham doesn't chew the leaves - you will be alright.
If you have panthers... they will chew leaves - mostly dry ones. Not good with a regular scheffy.

Camellias are another good plant - bigger leaves and tasty flowers. If they don't have good, bright light though - they won't do well.

Try a croton... or add wax plant (hoya) as a climbing plant on the screen. They make great plant for drinking from. Jasmine are generally benign plants... but may get scraggly in time. Their stalks are not as thick as a camellia either.

Too many plants.. not enough that will do well in a cage.
*LOL*
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cool, i'll look for one this week, i found a sticker on the scheff, say scheff ABRORICOLA, doesnt matter, my cham loves dried ficus leaves, so i do thinki will use it, Thanks again morgana.

Great - it is a dwarf scheffy.... not the real "ify" one. Most of those varieties say "umbrella" scheffelera, but it is the same. The leaf palmates (fan clusters) have 7-9 leaves on the stem, right? It is okay to use it.

The other scheffy has much longer leaves, not as thick, and only 5 leaves per palmate (fan cluster).

I do like the petra crotons though... and most of our panthers like them too. We use both - the umbrella scheffy and the crotons.

Hope this helps,
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Yep, 7-9 leaves, , so i will be transplanting tomorow. i have some potting soil with no fertilizer in it, imma add a little vermiculite, but it will be under the dirt. i need to trim the thing too.....thanks again for you input. Dave