Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my male veiled eats his plants all the time and its starting to take a toll on one of them. ive got a pack of "jobes fertilizer spikes" they look just like the miracle grow kind. if i stuck these in the soil to help the plant would anything harmfull be transmited into the leaves and then into my cham? i dont know if this will help but, on the guaranteed analysis list i see : 2% nitrae nirtogen, 2% urea nitrogen, 2%, other woter soluble nitrogen, 7% water insoluble nitrogen, 4% available phospate, and soluble potash 5%. i know i posted this question a while back ago but i totally forgot what the answer was.

-jon

hey jon

it's best not to use synthetic fertilizers. Plants take them up thru their roots and they end up throughout the plant. A small amount may not be harmful, but it is not worth the risk (in my opinion). Also, you need to know what the problem is with the plant to determine the correct remedy (just like the cham )

If it is simply b/c he is eating it - well, the answer is a new plant lol! (I rotate b/t a scheff and a ficus). It might be suffering from too much/not enough water, too much/not enough light, an insect problem, etc. if you can describe the problem (and what the plant is) and pix, too if possible, I will try to help. Look under the leaves and at their base as well as along the stems to see if there are any mini-6 leggers hanging out.

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

If he's eating the plant, maybe you can feed him some more veggies yourself? He may not want to eat his plants as much this way and it will cause you much less trouble. I just started upping the veggies im feeding my veileds, i found them eating more and more of the leaves due to low humidity (wintertime in Canada!).

Try that out perhaps, and maybe the plant will rejuvinate itself with a few weeks of not being gnawed upon!

how do you all go about offering veggies to your chams? what types or veggies do yours specifically go for? thanks.

-jon

The vet I saw today for one of my chams suggested strawberries as a source of calcium, but he did not elaborate on the extra veggies... What else do they like? or should they have?

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

I was wondering, Miracle Grow can be fed to vegetables, so it is safe for humans to eat plants that have been Miracle-ized. Would it not be safe for chams as well?

I believe Miracle Grow is just nutrients that are naturally in the soil anyway, just more concentrated.(I could be wrong.) I realize chams are a lot smaller than people, so maybe what's safe for us is an overdose to them.

I don't use any fertilizer for my plants, just wondering though.
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~Melissa
1.0 Ambanja Panther (Diesel)
0.1 African Hegdehog (Kaimah)

Yes & no. They are synthetically produced; man-made. It is similar to taking an aspirin vs. willowbark infusion (salicin is a constituent of willowbark and a few other plants - the precursor to aspirin.)

Using compost (broken down organic matter) on a plant allows for natural, slow release - just like Mom nature planned But b/c we live in an "I want it now"/instant gratification world synthetics allow for the quick fix. They are basically salt compounds containing naturally occuring nutrients (nitro, phos, pot, etc.) so they are immediately released - thus the almost overnight greening or blooming. However, using synthetics has its downside and excess salts carry with them many problems - but I will spare you from a plant nutrition lesson

As for safety - it is up to you. I personally eat as much home grown and/or bought organic f's & v's as do my feeders, thus Luna, but that is my own choice; not only for putting fewer chemicals into my own and my animals bodies, but to avoid the environmental problems as well. But that is me

To ward of a debate, I am not saying that all synthetically produced things are bad.

Probably more then you needed to know...

lele & her organic cham LOL!
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

the plant is a creeping fig. i looked around and found little tiny bugs crawling around. there too small to get a good pic of. any idea what they would be and how to get rid of them?

-jon

Do you have any idea how many possibilities there are from your description? lol!

Give me as much info as possible - pretend the plant is your cham and the bugs are symptoms of an illness and you need to describe detail so we can dignose:
where on the plant are they? what color? are they clustered together? do they fly? does there seem to be damage where they are (if at base of a leaf is that leaf yellowing? pale green?, etc.) Is there webbing? and any other things you notice.

If you place a white piece of paper under an area where the bugs are and tap the branch/leaf they will fall onto paper. Look at them with a handlens or magnifying glass.
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

yeah that was a pretty vague discription. im really busy but within i week ill get you some info and pics and stard a new thread.

-jon