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Live Plants

Shaun Bradshaw

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
18
Location
England
GBB (Luna) Happy as Larry against all the controversy of live plants.. cacti and succulents.
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kormath

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nice! i like your setup. I've considered using succulents for some of my Ts as they don't need much water. I think cacti and succulents are an exception to the live plant debate ;)
 

WolfSpider

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@Will. Cactus potting mix with a little bit of vermiculite and then some sand/rock mix from the pet shop, just to finish the look of the top layer
...And you have the perfect spider for the set-up: quick growing web builder who is not likely to crawl on the top aluminum mesh.
Well done Shaun. I am envious.
 

kormath

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What is the live plant debate? Do Tarantula keepers recommend against using them? What are the reasons?
the bit that i've read - one side says live plants make enclosures to moist for most T's, another is the live plants introduce pests into the enclosure that wouldn't be there otherwise. There's probably more to it but that's the latest discussions i've seen on other forums about it.
 

Team Gomberg

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
40
the bit that i've read - one side says live plants make enclosures to moist for most T's, another is the live plants introduce pests into the enclosure that wouldn't be there otherwise. There's probably more to it but that's the latest discussions i've seen on other forums about it.

Ok thanks
 

Team Gomberg

Member
3 Year Member
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40
Sorry but you'll have to Google it

it is too much to get into and I don't want to start a debate lol

Ok. Although, isn't this the point of the forum?

When I Google information, I don't know if the source of the opinion can be trusted.
I asked my question here because I think the veteran members can be trusted to know what they are talking about.

As a T newbie, I had never heard anything about live plants one way or the other until I read the above comment. So, I asked.

I'd still prefer to hear more about it from you guys than from a general google search.
 

kormath

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Ok. Although, isn't this the point of the forum?

When I Google information, I don't know if the source of the opinion can be trusted.
I asked my question here because I think the veteran members can be trusted to know what they are talking about.

As a T newbie, I had never heard anything about live plants one way or the other until I read the above comment. So, I asked.

I'd still prefer to hear more about it from you guys than from a general google search.
From what i've read:

The debate - (my quick, off the cuff thoughts)

Live plants require more moisture than some T's can handle. - (guess that depends on the plants and the T's right?)

Live plants can introduce pests into the enclosure. - (guess if you buy infected plants sure, just due diligence on our part to make sure they're "clean" like anything else we put in their enclosures)

Terrestrial T's will kill the plants - (Possible, all of my Brachy's and Gramm's like redecorating their own enclosures)

Live plants require lots of sunlight - (not all, depends on the plant, but direct sunlight is bad for a T enclosure for extended periods).

Personally i'm going to copy @Shaun Bradshaw and start using cacti and other succulents in my enclosures when my T's get to be adults and in their final homes. They may get dug up but that's an easy fix. They're cheap if my black thumbs do kill them, or the T's do, and they need little moisture to survive, so no worries about that with my desert T's.
 

Whitelightning777

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Baltimore MD
The temp and humidity requirements of the T obviously have to match the requirements or whatever live plant your use.

I don't have any live plants in my enclosures.

Since you have to maintain, prune and water plants frequently (depends on the plant) this just create another chance for escape or perhaps even getting bit because I doubt you can manipulate a plant with feeding tongs or a paint brush.

I'm 100% certain that if I stick my hand into my scorp's cage mommy or scorpling--zap!!

Every critter is different.
 

Grizzly

New Member
3 Year Member
Messages
13
What kind of lighting do you use. And do you spray on top with water or do you have a whole in a corner where you put water down
 

Metalman2004

Well-Known Member
3 Year Member
Messages
810
Does your T hide from the light or is it out and about plenty? I’ve tried aloe and a couple of low light plants before but all died from the low light that I offer my Ts. Partnof that problem is that all my Ts are on the same desk (don’t have much choice) and I’d never see my pokies if I gave enough light for cacti to grow...
 
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