live plants

[daydreaming]

i know i have had this chat with a couple of people on the forum about different plants you can use in a set up with tree frogs.


i have also noticed on other forums that there are many debates about plants that are safe and plants that are not safe.

obviously bromeliads, i have heard orchids too but is it only certain orchids that can be used?

what live plants do you use in your tanks?

[daydreaming]

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the possible plants you can use in an enclosure. The following lists of plants have been found in two or more herpetoculture books or articles.

Plants for Desert Environments
The following are suitable for architectural and topographical interest but are generally not suitable as basking and perching plants.
Snake plants (Sanseveria sp.)

S. aethiopica

S. caniculata
S. kirkii pulchra
S. parva
S. pinguicula
S. sinularis
S. thyrsiflora
S. trifasciata

Caudiciforms ("caudex" refers to the stem which stores water for the plant) such as Aloes:

Dwarf Aloe (Aloe variegata, A. jucunda)

Climbing Aloe (Aloe ciliaris)
Lace Aloe (Aloe aristata)
Bromeliads (except species with spines)
Caudexed Figs* (Ficus petiolaris, F. palmeri)
Ceropegias vines
Cow- or Oxtongue, Bowtie (Gasteria) - cut off any sharp tips
Elephant Trees (Bursera)
Gasterhaworthia "Royal Highness"
Geraniums (Pelargonium)
Grapes (Cissus and Cyphostema)
Haworthias
Ponytail Palms (Beaucarnea recurvata)
Thornless cacti

Most of these plants fare well in daytime temperatures in the mid-80s (29-30 C), and can tolerate nighttime drops into the mid-60s (18-19 C).

Bromeliads (Aechmea, Billbergia, Guzmania, Neoregelia) - clip spines
Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum)
Creeping Fig* (Ficus pumila)
Corn Plant (Draceneas - until they outgrow enclosure)
Dwarf Schefflera (Brassaia actinophylla)
Earth Stars (Cryptanthus)
Gesneriads (Aeschynanthus, Nematanthus)
Orchids (Dendrobium, Epidendurm, Haemaria, Oncidium)
Peacock Plant (Calathea stromata; Marantaceae)
Peperomia (Peperomia obtusifolia, Piperacaeae)
Ponytail Palms (Beaucarnea recurvata)
Pothos (Scindapsus aureus, Epipremnum aureum)
Rosary Vine (Ceropegia woodii)
Sanseveria trifasciata, including the following cultivars: Bentel's Sensation, Laurenti, Moonshine, Gray Lady.
Sanseveria parva, including cultivars: Hahnii, Hahnii "Loop's Pride", Hahnii Silver Frost, Golden Hahnii.
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus inserta)
Virginia Spiderwort* (Tradescantia virginiana)
Wandering Jew* ( Tradescantia zebrina)
Weeping Figs* (Ficus benjamina)
* = There has been some concern expressed about the milky sap that oozes from broken leaves and twiglets of the various Ficus species. The sap may be an eye/skin irritant to the animal that brushes up against it and gets it in their eyes (as may happen by accident in passing or when rubbing the eyelid against it as it gets ready to shed).

just found this information but this was published in 2007 and i have realised that not all previous information is still relevent for today

[John]

Right now I only use pothos - my baby Gray Treefrogs love it. How boring am I?

[daydreaming]

Well I have read that
1- live plants dont always last too long
2- they make it sightly harder to clean the tanks
3- they can also take over a whole tank
4- you have to keep the plants to what they are acustom too

I have been thinking that maybe I am making too much hard work for myself, but I have 3 plastic vines in my set up and the plastic stems annoy me because they don't look realistic. Also some times the stems are not that smooth and one of my whites has scratches on its back so i would prefer to remove them all together.

I have just bought a branch and some fake branches that I will be able to bend and twist to connect it with the real branch just to make it as nice and exciting as possible for the frogs.

I have also bought a fake orchid for some colour injection into the tank and with the addition of the bromeliad that should inject colour and hiding places for them, as well as the leaf's hold water which I'm hoping will keep the humidity up.

Or this could all just be wishful thinking and go completly wrong lol

[John]

Jennifer Macke from Caudata.org has some great suggestions, tips and photos on this page.

[SludgeMunkey]

I have been purchasing plants from Josh's Frogs over the years with great success. They have quite the stock list which expands a bit on the previously posted list.
http://www.joshsfrogs.com/catalog/ca...rrarium-plants

Outstanding work!