Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a med. dwarf umbrella plant in my female veiled's cage, and it is dying!!!

I last fertilized about a month ago, which is when i started seeing the topmost leaves burning. They are the closest to the UVB lamp, and are about 8-12" away from it. I figured it was a UV overdose, but then I noticed the leaves on the top of the trunk (if that's what you wanna clal it) farthest of the lamp beginning to burn. The third trunk has an army of wilting stems on it. About 10% of the plant has been eaten by my non-drinking female (grr, i hate chams that don't like drinking!!!). It seems to be giving her plenty of water, as with the pothos in the cage. The pothos is fine despite having 15% of its leaves being devoured.

only ever water my hanging plants because dripping water from mists and water drippers keeps the soil quite damp.

Anyone got any tips???
Thanks!!!!

what are you using for fert? an ocassional top-dressing of compost is all you need. I would stay FAR away from synthetic fertilizers (miracle-gro, etc.) if your cham is eating the plant!

The burning leaves are likely from either too much fert (no-need to fert that often (how much are you givng it?) but most likely it is from overwatering. Scheff's HATE too much water and will die quickly. The bent/collapsed branches are a sure sign. Depending on how damaged it is there is little you can do, but you can try. Remove the plant, put it in a warm but shaded area outside and it let it dry out almost completely. Cut it back to about 6-8" from soil line. Always cut just above a plant node (That's where the stem reaches the main stem or branch) so that it grows back in a normal fashion - hope this helps!

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Thanks lele, I dont have any plants to replace the umbrella at the moment so it will have to wait until the end of the week or early next week when I can get out to Home depot or another store. I am using the miracle-gro drops, which were reccommended to me by someone in this forum...
I usually drip about 4 drops on the top of the soil once a month and then spray with a water jet where the drops were dripped so the fert goes deep in the soil.

thanks for your info, I will try to get the plant back to normal soon.

Did you say 8" from the soil line? Thats about 1/3 of its height at the moment, won't that stress the plant to death?

As for stressing the plant - well, unless you get it dried out it will most likely die (provided that is the problem - is the soil very wet?). I would not do it while it is still in the cage b/c your cham needs it for cover but make sure no more water gets in there. I have mine on rocks in a saucer so that it is never sitting in water. If the saucer does get too filled up I remove the standing water with a turkey baster!

As for the fertilizer - plants take up nutrients via their roots which gets into all the plant tissue so if you have a cham that eats it I would not recommned using anything synthetic. If you have panthers or others that don't eat vegetation than it's OK but I would go to occasional top dressing with some good compost. It does sound like you are over fertilizing, too. I would cut back on that altogether for awhile.
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

umbrella's are low maintenance.. I could be wrong but I think possibly your plant is recieving TOO much care. Try watering it only once every 2-3 days if you keep your cham misted every day. Clip off the smaller branches that are hanging down with a vertical cut. If you clip them horizontally it won't grow back right. Do this so the branches hangin over don't stress the rest of the plant and suck up water they don't need. To tell you the truth.. I don't really do much to my umbrella, and it stays healthier than a horse.

Yeah, less is more with the DUs. I water mine once a month, with a few drops of fertilizer in the water. The plant mainly gets enough water from the spraying and my mister.

They have to dry out between waterings. I killed my last one because the soil was always wet. And you may try a light lower down on the side of your cage. I put one down low and cut back on watering and now my DU is out of control healthy!