Parlour Palm (Chamaedorea elegans)

[sl808]

Hi to all!
A year a ago I was visiting tarantula expo and I saw a beautiful enclosure with Parlour Palm in it and it was fabulous.
So finally i both one for my A. geniculata. I would like to know if any of you used this plant for your spiders and if you can send a picture of your enclosures where you have planted this palm would be nice. Also, sharing some experience would be very appreciated
Cheers, mates!

 

[The Seraph]

Make sure that it does not have pesticides on it. That would be detrimental to the spider.

 

[The Snark]

Make sure that it does not have pesticides on it.

VERY SURE. Many expos and plant exhibitions that tote the plants around have loaded them to the max with pesticides.

 

[l4nsky]

Hola,

While I haven't used any of mine in a terrarium (yet, I have plans to though), I can offer some advice. These are fantastic palms and one of the few that do well in lower light situations (for the most part, all palms prefer as much sun as they can get, but some can survive with less). In addition to their light tolerance, these are amazingly slow growers. Even in optimum conditions, it will take over a year for a 8" palm to double in size. Standard palm rules apply, they like plenty of moisture, snug containers, and as little disturbance to the roots as possible (repotting etc). In a terrarium setting, I would bury the palm in a pot to restrict its growth as much as possible. I would also use a "flavor injector" or other large bore hypodermic device to directly water the roots to keep the substrate on the drier side for the T's. As mentioned before, make sure to thoroughly clean and/or repot the palm to remove any pesticides or fertilizers that may be harmful. Best of luck and hope that helps.

Thanks,
--Matt

 

[l4nsky]

Thought I'd add a picture. This one has been with me for about a year and I would consider one of the three clumps to be a perfect size for a vert 10 gallon

 

[schmiggle]

Even in optimum conditions, it will take over a year for a 8" palm to double in size.

That's lightning speed for most of my plants lol