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I have had about 2-3 of them in my cham's cages. And have only been able to keep them alive for a couple months. I watered reguarly, and they had the light source on about 8 hrs a day. Two of them were fairly tall and were in my big reparium, the top reaching about to the lights. The other one was bonsai size I and in my smaller reptarium, about halfway to the light. Any ideas? I like the way they look but not when they get all dry an dead looking =P

Thanks all!

Erin

Plants in general need 12-14 hours of light, though I know not all cham lights are on for that long. If they are getting "dry" as you say, then you may not be keeping it watered due to it being root bound. Some ?? for you:

Do you repot it with fresh soil when you bring it home?
Are the roots taking up more than 75% of the pot?
Are the roots growing around in a circle (following pot shape)?

Ficus don't mind being a bit root bound. You will often see a lot of root close to the soil and so long as it is not pot bound this is OK. These plants sometimes sit for a very long time in the nursery/store and are rarely re-potted. When the roots displace the soil you can water all day and the water will run right thru. Repotting using a pot with 1" diameter larger than current and using good potting soil will help.

Another possibility is that it dried out completely and the soil pulls away from the side of the pot so when you water it just flows out. If this is the case you ned to drench it by siiting it in a tub or bucket and fill with water. Leave it for several hours to make sure it is saturated. let it drain for a few hours/day and then return to cage.

If the leaves are too close to the lights you could be frying it. You could have a spider mite problem, though unlikely b/c they thrive in a very dry environment and I assume your cham cage is not dry.

Ficus drop their leaves all the time and are always being repleced. They go thru "shock" easily, but also get over it fast, too! LOL!

Hope this helps!

lele

>>I have had about 2-3 of them in my cham's cages. And have only been able to keep them alive for a couple months. I watered reguarly, and they had the light source on about 8 hrs a day. Two of them were fairly tall and were in my big reparium, the top reaching about to the lights. The other one was bonsai size I and in my smaller reptarium, about halfway to the light. Any ideas? I like the way they look but not when they get all dry an dead looking =P
>>
>>Thanks all!
>>
>>Erin
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta