Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know this is more of a question for the "habitat/cage design" forum, but nobody there seems to respond as much as you guys to beginner questions. I've had a giant day gecko for about 2 years now, so i'm familiar with the basics of cage setup. I will be getting a veiled chameleon at the next All-Ohio reptile show, and i'm really interested on creating a moderately nice setup. The only thing i have a question about is live plants. I've tried them before, but haven't had luck. Does anyone have some tips on the basics of keeping plants thriving.....Lighting, Watering, etc. Any input would be very helpful. Thanks.

Heya,

Well lighting has always been the biggest problem with plants. I tend to always use tube lighting (cool white). They are cost efficient and produce a nice white light which promotes good plant growth (in ficus species and Umbrella palnts mostly). It's very importent to have high light intensity for your plants as well as your chameleons (sun loving species that is).

Tube lighting is only sufficient for your plants. Your chameleons will need other light and heat sources, as you probably know.

I find that the best plants for cages and chameleons in general are like I said:

Ficus sp,
Umbrella plants,
Pothos.
etc

Go for plants with strong climbing branches. As you know veileds can get rather big and rather heavy. Water your plants twice a week moderatly and they will do fine. The above noted species do like moderate humidity (between 70 and 80% for most of the day).

Oviously you can go a lot deeper when it comes to plants but if your looking for nice, strong and easily available ones, then those are your best bet.

Good luck.

René Imming.

It seems to me that the basic problems with plants in cham terrariums are not enough light over the entire plant, too much water soaking the pot soil, and getting cooked by a hot basking spot. If your cage is over 4' tall, most of the plant won't get the benefit of the typical top-mounted lighting. I often add a strip light vertically down one corner of the cage to even out the light and run the light on the same light schedule as the others. You can make use of one of your "used" ReptSuns or a growlight. If you are spraying your setup multiple times a day your potting soil won't get much chance to dry. Put a layer of fast draining sand, gravel etc. in the bottom of the pots so the roots don't rot. Don't let water sit stagnant in pot saucers. Trim plant branches that will get too close to your basking spotlight to avoid burning them. I feed all plants a dilute fertilizer once a month. If a plant starts looking stressed I rotate it out of the cage with another.