Plants in your Enclosure

Do any of you have any suggestions as to real vegetation I can put into my enclosure. Just for color and humidity really, preferably cheap but nice.

You might want to try searching through the "Vivariums-and-Terrariums" section of AB for an answer to this.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/forumdisplay.php?81-Vivariums-and-Terrariums

Pothos seems to be a common suggestion for hardy plants that look fine and can tolerate lower light levels. Definitely make sure you do the proper amount of research before you start adding plants in with your Ts...

WickedOdie said:

Do any of you have any suggestions as to real vegetation I can put into my enclosure. Just for color and humidity really, preferably cheap but nice.

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Phalaenopsis orchids or pothos. I think small orchids look nicer and the leaves are sturdier. The only problem is they typically like to be very root bound so i would surround the roots in sphagnum moss, then compact the substrate really firm around it.

Selaginella sp is a great fern for ground cover and humidity. Some species can make your terrarium look like a miniature forest even. They are generally slow growers and do not require much maintenance. I personally prefer slow growing plants that dont require a lot of sun light to grow, and Selaginella fits the description quite well. Cheers

Pretty much anything low to medium light that isn't a natural pesticide works great. Walmart is probably the best place to acquire cheap, neat-looking plants. The "Exotic Angel Plants" are what I use, they are generally $2.75 each, look great, and are easy to care for in terrariums. That and I work in the garden center so I pretty much get first dibs on anything that comes in haha. I've even contacted the distributing company asking about toxicity in their plants; none of the plants they sell produce natural pesticides. Check out my photo thread for a few ideas of what you can get

There are a number of threads on this topic. This one might be helpful:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?210921-Vivarium-Live-Plant-Master-List

tyrantuladub said:

none of the plants they sell produce natural pesticides

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All plants produce their own natural pesticides.

Most of them aren't harmfull to spiders though, but they do produce them.

Real plants can be frustrating to use but if you pick the right ones then they make the enclosure look spectacular! Just be sure to get something that doesnt require much sunlight and to make your life easier does not require much water. Also make sure the plants you’re getting are safe for your T ae.

You can get some really good plants actually, I use real for my a.avic and a.genic, the genic has destroyed her plants (go figure) but the avics plant has been in there for nearly a year, i never water the thing really and its still green and has barely grown

Kazaam said:

All plants produce their own natural pesticides.

Most of them aren't harmfull to spiders though, but they do produce them.

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'Tis what I meant, was in a hurry to leave for work as I typed haha. As far as it goes though, I wouldn't be concerned so much about the T, it's not like they're going to eat the plants... I'd be more concerned about feeder insects that weren't eaten immediately munching on said plant, and then getting munched on by the T.

Mello said:

Phalaenopsis orchids or pothos.

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Phalaenopsis orchids are reasonable for a large tank but won't thrive without a fair amount of dappled light. They'd be ideal in a huge viv style setup for a burrower. Exceptional webbers will negate flowering. Pothos really are a "go to".

I've been wanting to experiment with dwarf species but so many of them require humidity far and above the average tarantula's comfort zone. Maybe something that will only thrive vertically mounted with a moisture tolerant T species.

zonbonzovi said:

Phalaenopsis orchids are reasonable for a large tank but won't thrive without a fair amount of dappled light. They'd be ideal in a huge viv style setup for a burrower. Exceptional webbers will negate flowering. Pothos really are a "go to".

I've been wanting to experiment with dwarf species but so many of them require humidity far and above the average tarantula's comfort zone. Maybe something that will only thrive vertically mounted with a moisture tolerant T species.

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Personally I would try to avoid high maintenance plants such as Orchids. The thing about Phalps is that they require a lot of fertilizer in order to flower. Fertilizers may be poisonous to your pet T. Even for a large tank, the fertilizers may seep into the soil and may irritate your pet T.

A good choice of plants will probably be anything that falls under "Terrarium Plants", go google for it. Terrarium plants are most of the time, low maintenance and slow growing, which is great, no need to give the plants a haircut every now and then! And most of these terrarium plants do not require any special potting mix nor fertilizers, another big plus here. And these terrarium plants do thrive in the terrarium set up so long they are given adequate water (from the soil). They do not require misting IMO. Another plant that I like is the tropical pitcher plant, Nepenthes sp. I usually like to use it as a feature plant in my terrarium.

With regards to food thats left running around inside the terrarium, thats going to be quite challenging to remove them. I know those damn cricks love to hide under the ferns and its almost impossible to fish them out without causing too much of a mess inside.

Have a quick read from these articles to see what kinda plants and ideas you can use for your terrarium:
http://cosmone.com/life/exclusives/build-your-own-terrarium#ad-image-0
http://containergardening.about.com/od/floweringcontainergarden/ss/Terrariumht_4.htm
http://www.greenculturesg.com/forum/index.php?/topic/21588-looking-for-terrarium-plants/

Disclaimer: I live in Singapore, where the temperature and humidity is quite high. I'm not sure how these plants will fair during winter or in cold climate without proper heating.