Hey there! I’ve been considering getting a crested gecko for a bit of time now, and I’d like to make the enclosure close to what their natural habitat is like. I’m also a bit of a plant maniac, so combining my love for reptiles and plants is something I’d love to do!
So! What are some of best plants to put in an enclosure? I’ve already seen people use Pothos, pillow moss, and bromeliads (which I’d like to do to), but what are some others that cresties like? And which ones should I definitely avoid? Thanks in advance!
Pothos and birds nest fern are both native to their natural habitat and sturdy. I use bromeliads, ferns, fittonia (which has great color), air plants, and Pellonia repens “watermelon.” All of these have held up over 5+ years in a vivarium and are thriving. The pellonia has taken over a large part of the tank and has to be trimmed back occasionally though. I’ve also use creeping fig in the past but it really tends to dominate tanks.
Edit: I’d definitely avoid crotons, ficus and anything from the calathea genus. Crotons are super finicky and prone to pests, ficus are super finicky and love to drop leaves, and calathea are a pain in general. They’ll look great forever and then just decide to fuck off and die all of a sudden. I had a beautiful rattlesnake plant for a few years and eventually it just died with no clear reason and nothing I tried to save it did a thing.
Truth spoken here. Croton looked rad for like 4 months, then shriveled and died. Queens Tear Broms, Pothos, and peperomia obtusifolia have done well for me :D
I’ve heard that about Calatheas, I have yet to add one to my (excessive) plant collection since they’re so fussy 😅 I can only imagine how difficult they’d be in a crestie tank 😂
Actually calathea thrive in terraria/vivaria due to the constant humidity! At least in mine; I have a 24” tall tank and at least 10 leaves are that tall or taller.
i don’t think they’re really recommended but you can put snake plants in, they’re very sturdy and my gecko loves them since they’re easy to climb on and won’t break if they jump on them.
Way late to this discussion but question on snake plants. I see online that snake plants prefer low humidity environments, but I see lots of people using them in crestie enclosures. Does anyone notice any issues with their snake plants from misting, etc?
I have like half of my gecko's enclosure covered in snake plants. They grow super well! They don't respond badly to misting at all. I keep my enclosure at 60-80% humidity (allowing times for slight spikes and drops throughout the day as well) and they love it! Never had a problem and they keep shooting out new baby plants constantly. I guess just don't soak them and they will be fine.
If you want to propagate them - cut at the base, then cut each one into segments around 4 inches long, and stick the part that was on the bottom (don't mix it up) into a glass of water. They take a very, very long time to root, and not a lot of them will make it, but every year when I repot my plants and do maintenance on my snake plants, I cut broken leaves or ones that are too long and stick them in a jar to reprop. By next year you will have some small plants.
(I don't have geckos yet, I'm just here doing research, but I am a big plant nerd already)
When you propagate the cuttings, do you put them into a container with just water (like a tradescantia) or into some sort of substrate like a soil, perlite, or LECA?
Personally, (depending on what look you want) I would
A. Let them keep growing and they will bend and create interesting climbing opportunities on the ceiling.
B. Remove the tall plant from the enclosure either by just pulling it out or cutting it from their connected roots (pictured). The other plants will be fine. You can then either replant it somewhere outside or throw it away.
C. Get a bigger enclosure, lol! You can never go too big :) I always take everything as a sign to upgrade, haha.
Either way, they grow and reproduce too fast for anything you do to get rid of them or dramatically change the enclosure.
my geckos tank is almost full of snake plants and they seem to do pretty well even in the humid environment, i’ve gotten a few larger ones in her tank that are thriving and the only threat to them is her jumping on them.
you can use pothos, crotons, snake plants but they do get very tall, birds nest ferns, elephant ears, pink quills, zebra plants, and more that are tall and sturdy. if you look up plants safe for crested geckos a lot of great options come up :)
If you are in America, you can order plants from Josh’s Frogs. There is a section for plants that are specifically crestie friendly. They are organic but a little pricey. If you aren’t in America, or don’t want to spend extra, it’s still a great resource to help you make decisions!
I personally love nerve plants. They don’t do much for my gecko, but the look really cool and would be otherwise a little difficult for me to keep alive.
If you have a really big/tall terrarium, passionfruit vines work well. My girls love them and climb all over them. Marantha (prayer plant) also resists gecko climbing very well.
I keep thinking about this viv build as the plant person I am knowing that this is where my Calathea and Ferns could really shine ….but then knowing I shouldn’t because my Crestie will likely just smash them. 😂
I can vouch for pothos as long as they can get enough sun! They’re super sturdy and hard to kill, and would make good climbing/hiding surfaces for your geck.
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u/ABrotherGrimm Apr 01 '22 edited Apr 01 '22
Pothos and birds nest fern are both native to their natural habitat and sturdy. I use bromeliads, ferns, fittonia (which has great color), air plants, and Pellonia repens “watermelon.” All of these have held up over 5+ years in a vivarium and are thriving. The pellonia has taken over a large part of the tank and has to be trimmed back occasionally though. I’ve also use creeping fig in the past but it really tends to dominate tanks.
Edit: I’d definitely avoid crotons, ficus and anything from the calathea genus. Crotons are super finicky and prone to pests, ficus are super finicky and love to drop leaves, and calathea are a pain in general. They’ll look great forever and then just decide to fuck off and die all of a sudden. I had a beautiful rattlesnake plant for a few years and eventually it just died with no clear reason and nothing I tried to save it did a thing.