The serious truth about plants!

The real truth about what plants to use with your chameleon is a mystery as far as I can see.
I have been pulling my hair out over this for some time now. I wish there was some one who could really clarify the truth about what plants are okay to use. I have read so many different opinions. Chameleonnews.com, an online chameleon magazine states that some plants are poisonous and to stay away from them. Like they say that the pothos plant is okay but one species of pothos is not okay. I have talked to a Gardener that said that all pothos are toxic to some degree. The same with Schefflera. I have read the arboricola is okay but the actinophylla is toxic. I have found an umbrella tree that I think would be perfect but the place can not tell me what the actual scientific name or even botanical name, besides "umbrella plant", so how can I tell if its okay.

I have also read on the chameleon company web site that all indoor plants are okay, because the toxicity is only a concern for humans and mammals and so far has shown no adverse effects on chameleons.

How can two different seemingly respectful sources be on opposite ends about this. What if some one was to say that any indoor plants is okay and it kills my chameleon?

What can I do. Like I said, I have found an umbrella tree and a really nice pothos vine plant that I would like to use, but how can I know for sure?

Thank you in advance for any information?

The only plant I have used with chameleons has been Schefflera and there was no problems at all.
The majority of the toxicity issues with plants only applies when the plant is ingested. If a plant secretes a toxin, then it would be an issue, but otherwise I wouldn't be concerned.

As an aside, I have used pothos with several species, just not chams, and it has been completely safe as well.

Not only do you have to worry about the toxicity of the plant itself but what kind of pesticide was sprayed on the plant before you bought it? I'd be as worried about that as to the plant being toxic.

I have never heard of a pothos being toxic.

Well, if you can't find a schefflera that you are sure is not toxic, or are worried about pothos, get a ficus or a hibiscus or another plant that isn't toxic. There are numerous safe plant and alternately, poisonous plant lists online that you can use to help. Common plants for chameleons include (but are not limited to) various ficus species, scheffelera arboricola, pothos and hibiscus.

Pothos is noted for being a source of oxalates which can potentially cause hypercalcemia and kidney damage but the amount that would need to be injested for this to be a problem is significant and generally not a problem for chameleon keepers as long as the animal isn't actively eating the plant bare. I use pothos in numerous of my enclosures and have never had a problem with it.

Chris

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

Hello everyone. I recently acquired some giant millipedes and need some plants for my new tank. I moved into an apartment and all my books including all the American Tarantula Society forum books are STILL under a pile of boxes. I remember reading somewhere a place called "Fauna (something)" and they sold plants for terrariums..

I had it in my mind that Faunaclassifieds sells PLANTS, but i guess not!. In the winter time, it's hard to find plants that i want for the tanks. I'm looking for Philodendron, pothos, aloe vera and some Chinese evergreen plants. These are the plants i buy for my millipede tanks. Can somebody tell me where can i buy these plants ONLINE??? I appreciate it very much... Robert Szymanski

while maybe for the " anesthetic " < correct word ? > look or feel of live plants in the terrarium, is there a real need for live ? With using silk plants and many look almost to real these days..............? Unless it a humidity thing but but light misting of even silk plants.

Robert, I've never bought from this place, but you could check out www.houseplants4less.com I did just a really quick check and it looks like they have plenty of houseplants to choose from. I usually just stick to Lowe's, H Depot or WalMart when I want to replace live cham plants.

old guy...I think the word you are looking for is "aesthetic" Of course an anesthetic plant just might make a cham feel better on those crankier days! LOL

But at the same time I think you need to take a step back, and look at your own question ......

I have been pulling my hair out over this for some time now. I wish there was some one who could really clarify the truth about what plants are okay to use.

..... and then tell us how we would get the information that you would seek? It is nice to have someone able to readily provide you with accurate answers to your concern, and you have gotten good input both here and in the websites that you noted. But unless someone has an experience using a commonly available plant, and then can report accurately that it caused harm or death to their chameleon, what are we to say except that "I had no problem using .......", or "I know of no reported ill effects using ......." In a perfect world, we would have ready access to the plants that these animals frequent in the wild. We don't. Beyond that, we can only give anecdotal information about where we have not encountered problems using those plants most commonly available to us. In my website, I did specifically mention that many lists are not based on such observation, but rather cited information with regard to consumption by mammals, and then shifted the same results to chameleons. Many of the common household plants that we use with our chameleons are on these lists, and I feel that speaks droves for such lists. On the other hand, we have some specific information, as noted by Chris Anderson and others, that doesn't pretend to extrapolate results onto chameleons, but is there for you to weigh. I have quite a few panther chameleons and others, and might have a decent amount of knowledge about 15-20 species of plants that seem to be OK. But neither I, nor anyone else, can afford to set up a large quantity of animals to test them on a wide variety of plants for an extended period of time, and see what does, or does not, happen. In our world, if it ain't broke, we cannot afford the time or cost of fixing it. Several commonly available plants have been used for years by many with no observable ill effects, and they have been mentioned in just about all the literature that you cite, as well as by others in this thread. Maybe some day someone will find the funding to do a doctorate thesis on this subject, and even then the results will be very limited. But for now, you have, and have had, all the information that there is, which is far more than there was just a scant 5 years ago. So stop pulling your hair out (it will fall out when it is ready), look at the information that fortunately is available, and decide! Good luck with all.

I know it's been a while and I hope you have found some plants that work for you, but if you are still wondering about toxic plants, this website may be of help. It was put together by one of the DVM's at CSU's veterinary school and is one of the leading veterinary toxicologists in the country.
visit: http://southcampus.colostate.edu/poi...ants/index.cfm

-Julie