Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello, everyone i have a concern i am misting my cham who lives in my scheffellra. the only thing is the plant is always soaked.sometimes puddled and i have to dump it. this cannot be good for the plant. any suggestions would be good thanks

You can do several things. If the potting soil itself is puddling and not draining you can make a soil mix that drains faster by adding a layer of pea gravel down low in the pot, or add perlite (but not in the surface layer). If the plant hasn't been repotted for a year the soil may be compacted with roots. Repotting to a slightly larger pot and a soil change can help. If the pot sits in a saucer remove it to let the pot drain onto your cage bottom.

Scheff's are not happy with wet soil (will eventually kill it) so you do need to have well drained soil. As Carlton said, the layer of pea stone, small gravel or broken terracotta pieces in the bottom is necessary and adequate size and amount of drainage holes. Most pots have holes but some of the decorative ones have none or only one off to one side - not suffcient. You can also add some sand to your potting soil which will help with drainage.

If the plant pot is draining well, then use a plate, bowl or plastic plant tray and put some stones or other items to raise the pot. Keep in mind, too that soggy soil is a lovely home for fungus gnats. They won't hurt you or the cham, but are annoying.

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
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha