I'm thinking about a planted home for my crested.. but

[aocain]

I was wondering wont the plants quickly out grow the area? I know i can trim pothos but how about the snake plant ( mother in laws tongue) I only have a 12x12x18 can I even do a planted in that with substrate and my cresty have enough room to move around properly? Hes currently in a small container wont be in the large one for months. how deep and what mix of substrate should I use? .. I'm reading about eco earth and peat moss like 1:2
mixture.
I'm guessing if I feed crickets to pull him out into another container to do that if its planted in his large one?
What plants have you used that stand the test of time?

 

[Aimless]

pothos is the bomb.

snake plant is great, but will not work well in a viv only 18" tall, in my experience. you can try philodendron or some moss if you like, but 12x12x18 isn't a very big viv and the pothos will fill it nicely.

 

[CrestedRick]

I have pothos, snake plants, moss some vines and they're thriving. I also have a 18-18-24 Zoo Med so they have lots of room.

 

[savannah blue]

I have had good luck with Anthuriums (Flamingo Flower). I read somewhere that Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) is also good for Crested Gecko vivariums so I took cuttings from my garden and rooted them before adding them to the enclosures. Its a tough little plant and I have the yellow cultivar so it adds a dash of colour in an otherwise mono chromatic palette. Snake plants did not do well for me as they need to dry out between waterings so mine drowned. I have bromeliads that have done well. Pothos is okay but tends to be slow for me. Ficus pumila is okay too although a bit scraggly. Stephanotis develops beautiful fragrant white flowers and twines everywhere. Its definitely a favourite. I need to add that I have 2 CFLs just for the plants and since then I have had no issues. My vivariums range from 18x12x12 to 18x18x24 and so far growth rates have not been so vigourous that I have had to edit my enclosures. Having said that, I am just about to take a cutting of my Anthurium for my next viv ;-). You could also prune the plants roots to inhibit growth.

 

[CrestedRick]

I would like to add some type of flowering plant to my viv to add some color and pop.

 

[savannah blue]

Anthuriums come in a range of flower colours. Currently I have a white flowered cultivar in my year old viv that needs pruning and a mauve coloured cultivar in my 18x12x12 viv. It is the only plant inside this tank. The juvie crestie inside, Rowan, loves to sleep in the flowers and leaves. Bonus is that leaves are arranged horizontally so no FTS !!!

 

[savannah blue]

Here are some pix of the vivariums I have set-up.

The newest one that needs to cycle for approx 2 months:


My juvie enclosure 12x12x18


The year old Viv Banjo's Home


Holly's Place


Thanks for looking

 

[aocain]

Those are beautiful! What is the veiny looking round leafed plant next to the bromeliad?

 

[savannah blue]

That one is called Fittonia. The flash of the camera has faded it a bit...it has pretty pink veining on a dark green ground.

 

[aocain]

Do you know of any other vines besides pothos that holds up to a cresty?

 

[savannah blue]

Stephanotis and Ficus Pumila both worked for me.

 

[CrestedRick]

Very nice! I want to add some color to mine just not sure where to put them.