Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm hoping to put live plants in my Panthers new terrarium but I'm having problems with hows and ifs.

1. How do I put the plants in? in the pot? Somehow planted in a substrate? If in a pot will the water leak all over the Terrarium when I water the plants?

2. With the presence of soil and live plants there will inevitably be an increase in bacteria do the benefits outway the risks? What are the benefits and risks?

I've read alot about the benefits of live plants but the details seem a little vague.

THANKS ALL

*****I'm hoping to put live plants in my Panthers new terrarium but I'm having problems with hows and ifs.

1. How do I put the plants in? in the pot? Somehow planted in a substrate? If in a pot will the water leak all over the Terrarium when I water the plants?

2. With the presence of soil and live plants there will inevitably be an increase in bacteria do the benefits outway the risks? What are the benefits and risks?

I've read alot about the benefits of live plants but the details seem a little vague.

THANKS ALL****

Hi Caine!

Take the plants (hopefully theyre easy to repot) and re-pot them using CLEAN SOIL (no fertilizer or vermiculite in it). You can buy at any Kmart, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. for a couple of bucks per bag and the bags are rather large. Be sure it's natural potting soil without any of the white granules that super soil has. You can leave them in a small pot and set that pot in a plastic drip pan (any drip pan will do as long it has no holes that water can leak out of). This keeps the water from leaking below the reptarium from the dripper or dew from spraying. Empty it daily. What I have done with my cages is gone to the dollar store and bought a bunch of the cheap aluminum disposable cookie sheets and used them as drip catcher inderneath the cages I have (all my cages are hung so I can hang the cookie sheet underneath with xmas ornament hanger hooks and placed some newspaper in the trays to help with overflowing).
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Raf

1.2 Jacksons Adults (Frank, Patty, Lucille)
0.0.1 Jackson's baby (George, R.I.P. 11/17/2003)
1.1 Nosy Be's (Mars and Roja)
1.1 Veiled - No Names Yet
0.1 Adult Sulcatta (POOPIE,I bought it from Victor at Kobey's in SD)
0.0.2 Baby Sulcattas (frick and frack)
1.0 Home's Hingeback Tortoise (SPEEDY, From Victor as well)
1.2 Red ear slider babies (Hingis, Dingis and Dorkus)
0.0.1 3 toed box turtle - No Name Yet
0.0.1 Gulf Coast Box Turtle - No Name Yet
1.0 Red Siberian Husky (Harley)
0.1 Black Lab (Krissy)
0.1 English Bulldog (Alice)
0.1 Blue Merle Great Dane (Wednesday)
Saltwater Fish and Inverts too

One thing I wanted to ask you...is this a screen cage that somehow allows you to add substrate at the bottom or is it a glass enclosure?

Most people suggest not using a substrate other than paper towels so that they can be changed out easily. Ideally, this would be in a screen cage with just the paper towels at the bottom and the plants sitting on top of them in their pots.

Take care
Kristen
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1.1 pygmy leaf
1.1 carpet
1.0 jackson
0.0.3 red eared sliders

We use Live plants in just about all of our Chameleon cages with great success. We use Sphagnum moss as substrate as well as cover the soil in the pot with it. The moss helps absorb excess moisture as well as keep the humidity up as well as prevents the animals from accidentally ingesting anything from the soil. It is an inexpensive substrate to use that can be easily cleaned and give the enclosure a naturalistic look.
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Rob Trenor
RK Reptiles
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Chameleons from around the World

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