live plants with a tokay (gekko gecko)

[BigMike315]

I am interested in putting some live plants in my tokays enclosure, any ideas? I dont know what would be dangerous if eaten or in some other way.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

I tend to like to keep things simple and easy. So, what I do is use about half fake plants and then a cheap, simple, easy to grow, hardy, live plant like a pothos. The fake plants can be more exotic looking but the pothos makes it look "real" and adds a good deal of humidity and whatnot since it's an actual real plant. However, if you want to get more fancy, here's a list of plants that are safe for dart frogs (which in turn one would presume should be safe for geckos as well): http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/plants/35324-guide-popular-terrarium-plants.html

 

[BigMike315]

thanks for the help and link.

 

[Dyesub Dave]

I don't keep Tokays but along with Pothos I also use Umbrella, Snake and Pepperomia plants with many of my gekcos. All are hardy and safe to use. Just make sure to rinse the plant thoroughly to remove any pesticide or fertilizer residue and re-pot in plain soil.

Dyesub Dave. :biggrin:

 

[aquapimp]

I think some of the giant leaf type Philendendrons are great for large geckos. They grow nice vine like aerial roots in tropical conditions, too. They do get large though!

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Dave makes a good point about changing out the soil and washing the plant of any variety that you get prior to putting it in with your gecko. Fertilizers and pesticides will kill your gecko. That's another reason I like pothos. When I need more plants, I just take some cuttings from one of my existing pothos and root them. They're very easy to clone. And that keeps me from having to worry about introducing anything dangerous from new plants. But like I said, I like to keep my stuff very simple and easy. I wish I had the time to do full blown live vivs for my animals.

 

[Ingo]

I use all kinds of plants needed for a dense rainforest setup with my tokays. I do this since the 70s with no negative effect at all.
For smaller setups, plants with strong leaves should be preferred (like Dracaena, Platycerium, Pothos, Philodendron....) but in larger (300g and up) setups also delicate plants find their place and thrive.
Of course, you have to wash off pesticides before using plants. But do not worry about fertilizer. When necessary, you can use liquid (not pellets) fertilizer in your tokay tanks without any need for concerns.

Best

Ingo

 

[BigMike315]

thanks for all the suggestions, a friend has a pothos and from what ive heard they are easy to split off so I'll have to try it.