which house plants are ok for chameleons to climb on?

Question

i have a veiled/yemen chameleon and she wants more exercise so i thought to get her a big house plant to climb on, i know they don't eat them but does that mean that all of them are ok for her to climb on? at the moment i've got her a scindapsus mosspole, i know yucca is ok but they're not very leafy so she can't hide if she wants.

Answer 1

The use of natural plants is beneficial when keeping chameleons. The plant naturally increases humidity, and some species will browse leaves. Veiled chameleons in particular like to eat vegetation. If you want to prevent your plants from being munched on by your chameleon you can use clothes pins to clip collard greens, mustard greens, and dandelion greens to the branches which will allow for grazing. Just replace the greens every day and remove any dried or yellow leaves immediately.

Avoid substrates other than clean soil that does not include fertilizers, pesticides or other additives such as perlite, or small bark. A chameleon that injests such additives could experience an intestinal blockage serious enough to cause death.

New plants should at least be cleaned topically before introducing it to an enclosure. Nurseries are notorious for using topical and systemic pesticides. We recommend that you spray the entire plant with a mild soap and water solution (2 tablespoons soap to one quart water). Make sure to get the underside of the leaves. Allow to stand for 20 minutes then rinse until no soap is left.

Trimming the root ball will encourage new plant growth. For added safety you can remove all soil and hose the roots, then repot in clean soil without additives. Allow the plant to rest for a few days before using it.

Special care should be taken when trimming ficus trees. The leaves and branches leak a milky sap when cut or broken. This can be very irritating to a chameleon's eyes, and potentially cause infection. To avoid this, remove the chameleon from the enclosure, trim the tree and rinse. The rinsing seems to help the cuts heal but we like to have an extra tree or two to allow the tree to rest.

Commonly used plants are :

China doll
Ficus ali
Ficus benjamina,
Hibiscus
Pothos
Shefflera
Hostas

Choose a plant that is the right size for your animal, make sure branches will support your chameleons weight without breaking. The most important thing to remember is to make sure that the plant is not toxic, as many chameleons eat foliage. For outdoor cages Grape and Kiwi vines are excellent.

Make sure when you introduce a new plant that you wash the plant and wipe off all surfaces on the plant. Most nurseries and plant stores use pesticides and fertilizers so wiping off the plant can help remove these. The best way to make sure a plant is pesticide and fertilizer free is to immediatly re-pot the plant in a new pot with clean non fertilized soil and keep the plant outside, watering frequently, for 3 weeks. This will allow any fertlizers and pesticides to leach out in the water.

Answer 2

Plants For Chameleons

Answer 3

i also have scindapsus plants and what is really good is cissus, also a creeper, hardy enough to be kept in terrarium, but with stronger stalks than scindapsus. i put tree branches (dead) in the terrarium and let the creepers climb on it so the chameleon can be more confident if he is surrounded by leaves to hide behind if he wants. also you can cut some leafed tree branches (mapple, lime, oak, etc) and put these in the terarium and change them when not fresh until your terrarium potplants grow large enough. i did it and it was good - the easiest way to make the terrarium full of something green. dead twigs are enough for just climbing but green ones will make the animal happier and better color. ( wash the branches with soapy water and then clean water to remove dust and dirt especially if u live in a city) however, chameleons DO EAT the green leaves occasionally, so never use anything poisonous or sprayed with pesticide and if u buy the potplant u MUST leave it outside the terrarium for two weeks or at least one - they spray it massively and also fertilize it way too much and the chameleon WILL eat the soil if she feels like it!!! so u should also take it to the bath and spray the plant with soapy water and clean water and pour a lot of water through the soil to get it rid of as much stuff as possible. make sure the soil doesnt contain tiny little capsules with fertilizer (little round balls that can be crushed in your fingers) these are irresistible and deadly - if u see these u should take out the upper soil and put some clean soil instead.

Answer 4

Tropical plants that have a need for humidity work well. If you are worried about poisoning talk to your local garden store employees. Ask what plants are safe for children and dogs to ingest without harm. Stay away from plants that have a strong smell with no flowers present ( some plants can irritate the skin of some animals. A strong scent can be a clue that it has this defense.) If you decide to use sticks found outside it is never a good idea to just put them into the cage. First you want to ether put them in your oven wrapped in foil at 200 for about an hour to kill any mites or other pest you don't want in the cage. Another method is to soak it in a 10% bleach solution for at least a half hour and let it dry until the bleach smell fades away. Silk flowers purchased from a craft store work well. Just be sure to tape off any sharp ends wih florists tape.

Answer 5

the common Pothos is one of the best when grown through branches and sticks or up post. There used to be a deal called the Chamelon Condo. It had a dripper and feeding station and basking and U.v lights. It hung from the ceiling and was about six feet tall. It had planter pots and branches in a macramae deal it was cool looking. Chameleons such as the Veiled will eat plants also they tend to snack on Pothos regular. Best place to find more info is on the Chameleon forum on www.Kingsnake.com. They could tell you if the condo still exist amd where to purchase.

Answer 6

We have had possums climb up a wisteria and then use the gutter for a litter box. A neighbor has grape vines covering his house and the raccoons seem to live on top when the grapes are ripe. So not just bugs, but larger animals will climb. I have heard of pack rats, attic rats and snakes climbing strong vines and would for that reason recommend against covering your house. Also, almost all vegetation drops leaves which will make cleaning off roofs and gutters more of a hassle.

Answer 7

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which house plants are ok for chameleons to climb on?
i have a veiled/yemen chameleon and she wants more exercise so i thought to get her a big house plant to climb on, i know they don't eat them but does that mean that all of them are ok for her to climb on? at the moment i've got her a scindapsus mosspole, i know yucca is ok but they're...

Answer 8

why not just put some branches together, you can always change them to suit how big or small you require

Answer 9

all sorts strong ones

Answer 10

ivy