Hi Julie...Ficus and pothos are both good for the cham's cage...you should just rinse the plants off with a hose [ or in your shower ] to get any possible traces of plant fertilizer off.The plants will raise the humidity in the cage and are safe to chew on !! Until you get some plants,try getting a veggie clip and putting a leaf of turnip or mustard greens in there....he may enjoy that and leafy greens are full of vitamins calcium.