Thirsty for plant information.

[Tegufy Me]

Hello everyone.

I am actually a tegu owner. I have infiltrated your ranks to learn information that I could apply to my tegus care.

So I am looking for plants that can be used to grow in the enclosure that if he got curious and nibbled on it, it wont hurt him.

He is an absolute beast, very clumsy and looooves to dig.


I really liked the idea of kudzu growing on the wall of the enclsure as its very fast growing and sturdy.

I can"t seem to find them for sale, except some seeds...

Also thought of a palm but doubt even a dwarf palmetto would be good.


The enclosure will be 8x4x5 .

Trying to find stuff he wont be able to bulldoze. I will be planting them in modified ceramic pots, with some galvanized steel mesh to put inside the pot .


Looking for non toxic, fast growing, sturdy as hecc and very newb friendly.

I kill everything I touch . ?

Going to get ultra strong plant lights 20k lumens. 6,500 k color.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Pothos plants/vines are always good, as are Spider Plants. Both are safe to feed/nibble & grow quickly.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Pothos plants/vines are always good, as are Spider Plants. Both are safe to feed/nibble & grow quickly.

Spider plants and Lyriopi can be trampled, crushed and still recover.

 

[Tegufy Me]

Spider plants and Lyriopi can be trampled, crushed and still recover.

Yea looking for stuff that wont get ripped apart easily, trampled, basically looking for aesthetics.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Yea looking for stuff that wont get ripped apart easily, trampled, basically looking for aesthetics.

Most indoor reptiles will walk around the outside perimeter of it's enclosure.
You'll see where they travel and where they don't.
You can place your plants there where they mostly ignore. But it will take some tweaking to figure that out.

 

[Tegufy Me]

Most indoor reptiles will walk around the outside perimeter of it's enclosure.
You'll see where they travel and where they don't.
You can place your plants there where they mostly ignore. But it will take some tweaking to figure that out.

Yeah he wont free roam.

 

[KarenSoCal]

You do need to be concerned about pesticides and any other chemicals that commercial growers use. Plain fertilizer is fine, but sometimes there are toxic chemicals in the fertilizer. These are systemic in the plant...rinsing them won't help.

For torts, we advise trying to get cuttings from family and friends, or starting from seed.

If you do buy commercial plants:
1) take it out of its pot and wash all the soil off of the roots.
2)Repot it into fresh soil with no additives (perlite, vermiculite, or chemicals)
3)Wait a year to put it into the enclosure. With pothos, after 6 months I took a very small cutting from the mother plant and started a new plant. I let it grow for the remaining 6 months.
A few months later the 'child' plant was completely consumed in one day. ?

Karen (also mama to a blue tongue skink)

@Chubbs the tegu
Could you help here?

 

[Tegufy Me]

You do need to be concerned about pesticides and any other chemicals that commercial growers use. Plain fertilizer is fine, but sometimes there are toxic chemicals in the fertilizer. These are systemic in the plant...rinsing them won't help.

For torts, we advise trying to get cuttings from family and friends, or starting from seed.

If you do buy commercial plants:
1) take it out of its pot and wash all the soil off of the roots.
2)Repot it into fresh soil with no additives (perlite, vermiculite, or chemicals)
3)Wait a year to put it into the enclosure. With pothos, after 6 months I took a very small cutting from the mother plant and started a new plant. I let it grow for the remaining 6 months.
A few months later the 'child' plant was completely consumed in one day. ?

@Chubbs the tegu
Could you help here?

I live in the USA, new jersey in specific.

Are you aware of any online store you would trust to be without any nasties?

Also after reading someones post in a tegu based server they had compiled their own list. One of the plants they mentioned was kudzu.

Looked for them could not find any.

This one party is selling seeds for 14 usd.... but its on amazon... not sure I trust. lol

 

[KarenSoCal]

I live in the USA, new jersey in specific.

Are you aware of any online store you would trust to be without any nasties?

Also after reading someones post in a tegu based server they had compiled their own list. One of the plants they mentioned was kudzu.

Looked for them could not find any.

This one party is selling seeds for 14 usd.... but its on amazon... not sure I trust. lol

I'm not aware specifically for kudzu, but there are online stores that specialize in seeds.

Are you familiar with kudzu? Have you ever been to the southern states? AL, MS, LA?

 

[Tegufy Me]

I'm not aware specifically for kudzu, but there are online stores that specialize in seeds.

Are you familiar with kudzu? Have you ever been to the southern states? AL, MS, LA?

I have passed through the east coast but only ever stopped in GA, FL.... and i didnt pay attention to the flora

 

[Tegufy Me]

dont know how to grow from seeds

 

[KarenSoCal]

The reason I asked about being familiar with kudzu is because it is an extremely invasive, parasitic plant. In the south it's everywhere there's a tree to grow onto. It grows very fast, and spreads itself out and smothers trees and plants under it. In some states it's illegal to plant. Maybe I'm being overly cautious here, but if any of your plant escaped to the outside, you could be overgrown before you knew what happened. Maybe NJ is too cold for it, but personally, I wouldn't have it in the same county with me.

As far as growing from seeds, most seed packets come with directions for planting. If there are no directions, a google search will give you help. Some seeds need a cold period before planting...I can't remember the term for that right now.

 

[Tegufy Me]

The reason I asked about being familiar with kudzu is because it is an extremely invasive, parasitic plant. In the south it's everywhere there's a tree to grow onto. It grows very fast, and spreads itself out and smothers trees and plants under it. In some states it's illegal to plant. Maybe I'm being overly cautious here, but if any of your plant escaped to the outside, you could be overgrown before you knew what happened. Maybe NJ is too cold for it, but personally, I wouldn't have it in the same county with me.

As far as growing from seeds, most seed packets come with directions for planting. If there are no directions, a google search will give you help. Some seeds need a cold period before planting...I can't remember the term for that right now.

Well do you have any alternatives for wall growing plants that grow super fast but wont be that problematic? Anything that could hold the weight and power of a 30lb animal? lets say 35lb for overkill

 

[KarenSoCal]

Whew! that really is BIG!

The only plants that come to mind are vines. If they are long enough and interwoven enough maybe they could support such a monster.

Wisteria is a tree, but could be kept cut back. I have no idea if it would survive indoors.

Pothos is a vine, but it would have to grow for a while to be suitable.

How about grape vine? It gets tough and knarly when it gets older. You'd need really bright lights, but who knows? It might do OK.

If I think of anything else, I'll post it.

 

[Tegufy Me]

Whew! that really is BIG!

The only plants that come to mind are vines. If they are long enough and interwoven enough maybe they could support such a monster.

Wisteria is a tree, but could be kept cut back. I have no idea if it would survive indoors.

Pothos is a vine, but it would have to grow for a while to be suitable.

How about grape vine? It gets tough and knarly when it gets older. You'd need really bright lights, but who knows? It might do OK.

If I think of anything else, I'll post it.

Much appreciated. Yes he's already a big boi.

Wisteria is toxic apparently. By grape vine do you mean like actual edible grapes? if so. I am trying to avoid fruits in his diet due to sugar content.

The wall of the terrarium I was going to silicone textured wall veneer. Some look as if they could be useful for that. Not sure if I should go a different route but thought it would be nice and not heavy. lol

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Hello everyone.

I am actually a tegu owner. I have infiltrated your ranks to learn information that I could apply to my tegus care.

So I am looking for plants that can be used to grow in the enclosure that if he got curious and nibbled on it, it wont hurt him.

He is an absolute beast, very clumsy and looooves to dig.


I really liked the idea of kudzu growing on the wall of the enclsure as its very fast growing and sturdy.

I can"t seem to find them for sale, except some seeds...

Also thought of a palm but doubt even a dwarf palmetto would be good.


The enclosure will be 8x4x5 .

Trying to find stuff he wont be able to bulldoze. I will be planting them in modified ceramic pots, with some galvanized steel mesh to put inside the pot .


Looking for non toxic, fast growing, sturdy as hecc and very newb friendly.

I kill everything I touch . ?

Going to get ultra strong plant lights 20k lumens. 6,500 k color.

I gave up on trying to use plants in the enclosures. They just push them around, dig them up and make a mess. Just stick with logs and rocks for decor

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Most of the plants advised here were used for torts who cant climb and dont have razors at the end of their fingers lol

 

[Maro2Bear]

I have passed through the east coast but only ever stopped in GA, FL.... and i didnt pay attention to the flora

There are literally tons of Kudzu vines along the Anacostia River here in Maryland. It reproduces pretty quickly from cuttings…. I wouldnt pay for seeds…. Cuttings are the way to go.

If you do get any, don’t clip & throw away…it’s so invasive.

personally, id get some Pothos & let hang down. Go to any Lowes or HD. Or garden center. All you need is one pot.

Savior to Scourge in Only 7 Inches a Day - Maryland Invasive Species Council

Contact: Heather Coiner, University of Toronto | [email protected] | 416-946-8115 ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 4, 2008) – Once hailed as the “savior of the South”, now reviled as a “scourge”, kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) has consistently excited popular passions. Kudzu’s fast-growing vines...

mdinvasives.org

 

[Tegufy Me]

Most of the plants advised here were used for torts who cant climb and dont have razors at the end of their fingers lol

oh darn. there has to be something to keep it in place.

 

[Tegufy Me]

There are literally tons of Kudzu vines along the Anacostia River here in Maryland. It reproduces pretty quickly from cuttings…. I wouldnt pay for seeds…. Cuttings are the way to go.

If you do get any, don’t clip & throw away…it’s so invasive.

personally, id get some Pothos & let hang down. Go to any Lowes or HD. Or garden center. All you need is one pot.

Savior to Scourge in Only 7 Inches a Day - Maryland Invasive Species Council

Contact: Heather Coiner, University of Toronto | [email protected] | 416-946-8115 ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 4, 2008) – Once hailed as the “savior of the South”, now reviled as a “scourge”, kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) has consistently excited popular passions. Kudzu’s fast-growing vines...

mdinvasives.org

I am unfortunately with limited transportation as I am disabled.

If I do get any, how would you thoroughly destroy the clippings?

I would look for it myself but I am poor at identifying plants.

As for pothos, I actually just liked the idea of like a garden wall covered in ivy(not poisom kind- heavy cringe on that).

I thought of adding grasses to the enclosure bit im 99% sure he will just destroy it. ?

Do you know anyone who would give me a big *** kudzu clipping? I would want it when the enclosure is built.