Where does everyone get their plants? I have been looking around fish stores, and the selection is very limited. If I go to a plant store, finding appropriate plants with very little knowledge is going to be difficult. Plus most will be closed for the season. If I go up to a worker and ask for pothos, I have a feeling they are going to look at me like Im crazy. I am sure most plant store workers can not recommend good vivarium plants.
What do I do?
Honestly I get most of my plants from Walmart/Home Depot/ Lowes. They usually have a pretty decent selection and right now there are probably some nice end of season deals. I got a brom for $2.50. For more exotic plants you can order from Welcome to Black Jungle Terrarium Supply - The Natural Choice! , they have a great selection and shipping usually isn't too bad.
I like to get mine from tropiflora.com especially their ferns.
Ok, what are some names that I look for. I see mostly scientific names listed, and it is difficult to find these in a store. What are some common viv safe plants available in a typical walmart, or nursery?
Have you actually tried at a dedicated plant store or garden centre? If I had a quarter for every time I've gotten funny looks when searching for frog related stuff when I tell store employees what I plan to do with the items I'm after... well I'd have ample spare change that's for sure.
Some garden centres will carry appropriate house plants and anyone who actually sells house plants should know what a pothos aka devils ivy is. They might not be able to tell you what's frog friendly, but they should be able to tell you want will be good in a viv and you can do some more research once you know what's available near you. I get most of my plants from a garden centre that has a huge houseplant selection and I also check out walmart/homedepot/grocery stores whenever I go near one. I'm cheap so I usually only buy a type of plant once then propagate it if i need more and I aim for the cheapest discount deals I can find.
My usual favorites (for my treefrogs):
Pothos,
Sansevieria, aka Snake plants aka mother in laws tongue,
Peperomia, many varieties,
Dracena, also many varieties,
Maranta, aka prayer plants
But I suggest you have a look around you and make some notes on what's available then look them up online for frog friendliness.
I agree with the above poster
I'm currently using
Pothos,
Dracaena
Dieffenbachia (Be careful with this if you have cats/dogs/other pets that may swallow this, It's cells irritate the throat and cause it to close (kind of like anaphylaxis) Frogs usually dont eat it, so it's pretty safe for them.
Ficus Pumilia (Creeping Fig)
Snake plants are great, especially for heavier frogs
Also some random Bromeliad that I got from walmart
Plants I'm not using but will in the future:
Ananas lucidus, available from Black jungle
Any "earthstar" bromelaid...earthstar being a common name.
Calathea pretty common large leafed plant
Those are just some of the many plants available. Like Brian said, look around and then make sure it's safe for frogs. Have fun, and good luck!
A list of plants hazardous to cats and dogs is enormous, pothos is always on it but I think must be pretty low as my cats have eaten a good amount of it over the years. Dracenas are often listed as well, as are Philodendron, Ficus, and many others common to frog vivariums. The general rule is to try not to let your furry pets eat any of your plants as it's potentially harmful to the animal and generally not in the plants best interest either.
I don't use Dieffenbachia partly because I don't really like the look or feel of them and Tony has mentioned it has a possible frog hazard a few times: http://www.frogforum.net/tree-frogs/...html#post59559 How dangerous it turns out to be for frogs I don't really know though.
I know some people say that the dieffenbachia is more dangerous than pothos because of higher concentration of... the posionous stuff. However, I've never actually found anyone that've actually had a bad experince or accident with them. I'm guessing it's because the zap is never in contact with the frogs anyway, unless you actually use a knife to cut the "veins" and rubb the zap all over the plant.
Just for the record, I'm no biologist, zoologist or anything. Just recapping what I've read and encountered on forums and from talking to people.
^^ agreed :P
is the soil that the plants are in from home depot/lowes safe for the frogs? i noticed white things,i have no idea what it is, in the soil. i wanted to make sure it was okay to still use those plants before i bought any.
The soil is not safe due to fertilizers...Basically re-pot them in un fertilized/pesticide/fungicide free soil or Eco-earth or similar product and let them grow in that for about 3-4 weeks for the fertilizer to grow out of them.
well, im going to a reptile expo tomorrow, so should i just wait and buy plants from there that already are fertilizer-free? i have never been to one of these expo's, so i dont know what to expect.
I agree with viper...you may get a better selection at an expo though
thanks!
No problem, here to help :P
It's probably perlite, little bits of volcanic glass used to help prevent soil compaction. This stuff is an impaction risk to your frogs and make absolutely sure that you remove all of it before putting the plant in your vivarium. I just rinse the potting soil off, rinse the plant, and triple check that no perlite is still attached to the plant before using in a vivarium.
I've only been to a handful of reptile expos, but I've found much better deals on plants elsewhere. It's a good place to go for ideas though, you'll hopefully find a few planted tanks on display.
It could be that it will never cause problems for frogs, I don't really care for the plant in any case so I don't bother with it.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)