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Chris,
Actually, Ficus, the plant itself is poisonous, but the fruit are not. I am sure you know where we get figs from (not carcasm). You and Clay are correct in that ingestion of mass amounts of a particular poisonous plant for herbivorous animals is the culpret.
I have used Ficus religiosa in the past and would like to experiment with more species. But I generally use plants that meet several needs:
1. Esthetically pleasing.
2. Grow fairly quickly.
3. Tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions.
4. Provide ample leaf area for water availability.
5. I suppose are not poisonous or less than others.
6. And locally available, either native or exotic.
Personally I have utilized Pothos, Schefflera arbicola, Hamelia patens ( a coffee relative), Coffee, Cocoloba diversifolia, Episicia sp, various Bromeliads, Heliotropium angiospermum, Clusea sp., Bamboo, Talinum fruiticosum, Pepperomia sp., Ipomoea batatas (Sweet Potato), I. carnea, Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, Tecoma stans, Pereskia sp, Myrtaceaeous shrubs (Eugenia sp., Jaboticaba, Wax Myrtle), Tithonia sp., Citrus spp., Lantana camara, Psidium guajava (Guava), Malpighia glabra (Barbados Cherry).
I mainly use what I grow locally in my yard. I switch out plants as needed with cleanings and allow a couple of weeks for them to recouperate and get rid of bacteria/feces via rain and watering. I really use little pothos because it is invasive here.
BTW, No one ever mentioned what cham species we were talking about. I am assumming veiled. I have never raised them, only panthers and lateralis in the past and their ingestion of plant material has been negligible.
I now have a melleri, werneri, and oustaleti.
Michael
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