# Using Live Plants From Lowes?



## ARACHNO-SMACK48

Hey guys I have a question. I am doing a planted terrarium for my big T. Stirmi female and I bought some plants from lowes are these ok to use? Should I be worried about any pesticides etc? I am planning on burying the plants in the eco earth substrate I am using along with the potting soil from the pots that the plants came in.

---------- Post added 08-30-2014 at 09:43 PM ----------

Anyone have any advice?


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## pyro fiend

ARACHNO-SMACK48 said:


> Hey guys I have a question. I am doing a planted terrarium for my big T. Stirmi female and I bought some plants from lowes are these ok to use? Should I be worried about any pesticides etc? I am planning on burying the plants in the eco earth substrate I am using along with the potting soil from the pots that the plants came in.
> 
> ---------- Post added 08-30-2014 at 09:43 PM ----------
> 
> Anyone have any advice?


personally id let it sit out a while..like 6months =\ maybe try a organic store? or a organic ebayer? as not all stores treat the plants the same. a friend of mine works at our local lowes and they tell their employees to use some ferts and seven dust [and more] from off the counter and "store use them" .. to where a lowes in kc does nothing but water them...so its hard telling whats used id sit them out for 6months also some o fthose pots have time released ferts which imm told is also bad for T's


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## ARACHNO-SMACK48

Maybe I could just wash the plants off? 6 months is a long time.... I don't want to endanger my favorite T either.


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## MatthewM1

I used pothos from Lowes with a few frogs. Rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, roots and all. Then rinsed several times again. Then planted it, never had any issues been using it for well over a year


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## JZC

If you want to be completely safe, I'd suggest ordering plants from a vivarium specialty place. I could recommend a few if you'd like to PM me.

Reactions: Like 1


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## freedumbdclxvi

I've used plants from Home Depot and from online vivarium specialty shops.  Never had issues with plants from either.


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## ARACHNO-SMACK48

I am thinking about just washing them off really really well and planting them. But will they even grow in straight eco earth? This is what I am using for substrate. I apologize for my ignorance.. I am not much of a plant guy.


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## ratluvr76

Tarantulaguy1976 on YouTube uses pothos from lowes or walmart I think he said. Pulls them out of the nursery pot, sticks a fertilizer stitch in the rootball and plants them in the ecoearth. His enclosures are always beautiful.


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## iemmaamme

I have read that plants will grow for a while in Eco earth but will eventually use up all the nutrients. I think it our best bet would be to to bury a pot with 100% potting soil, after rinsing the leaves & roots thoroughly - plenty of people do this for vivariums with no issues. Don't forget to look for plants that match your T's habitat - low light & water requirements that match your Ts humidity needs. Pothos will grow in almost any conditions, & is a fast grower, & you can use the vines to grow more plants if you like.


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## ARACHNO-SMACK48

I actually followed Robc's tutorial and went ahead and planted them. Thx for the help everyone!! Also I know this is unrelated but I just now noticed one of my versi sling's abdomen growing at an alarming rate even though he/she has not eaten in about 2 weeks.  It is now really big and almost entirely bald all the way around. I wish I could post a picture but I really can't right now. Could this be a growth. I know this is not much to go on but any help would be much appreciated!


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## The Snark

Have these plants been sprayed?

Huge nursery operation raises up several million plants from seedlings. Marketable size is X which is obtained in say, 10 weeks. The greenhouses are massive affairs, often up to a quarter acre or more. There is no way of keeping the plants isolated from invasive organisms. Mites, thrips, blight, etc etc etc. And then once at marketable size they get shipped and usually warehoused at distribution points. Sometimes there are federal regulations regarding shipping certain plants interstate. Some states have regulations regarding shipping live plants. Some states have regulations regarding warehousing live plants. Some warehouses have requirements regarding live plants. If you ship infested plants it is pretty easy to get on various blacklists the feds some states keep to track problem repeat offenders. Some stores, especially the big chain stores, are going to notice the flowering perennials from ZZ Farms are loaded with bugs and now the entire gardening area has got them flying/crawling around so we are no longer going to buy from them.
Avoid all the issues. Spray with pesticide A, or sometimes A,B, C, and D combined, fill out a certifying form and no problems.

Have these plants been sprayed? If you have to ask, they have been.


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## ARACHNO-SMACK48

I washed them off very well but I suppose it is just a risk I am going to have to take at this point. I appreciate you taking the time to explain the process Snark. But I could really use some advice with the possible parasite/ growth on my sling that I described. The abdomen is way bigger than it is supposed to be and appears to be bigger on one side than the other. Should I isolate this T from the rest of my collection?


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## The Snark

ARACHNO-SMACK48 said:


> I washed them off very well but I suppose it is just a risk I am going to have to take at this point. I appreciate you taking the time to explain the process Snark. But I could really use some advice with the possible parasite/ growth on my sling that I described. The abdomen is way bigger than it is supposed to be and appears to be bigger on one side than the other. Should I isolate this T from the rest of my collection?


We can narrow that down pretty easily. Parasite, carcinoma, genetic deformation, internal lesion etc etc. The only thing you could probably rule out is scar tissue from mauling by a tiger. Isolation is always a good idea. Accurate diagnosis almost invariably means gross dissection, and maybe sectioning and microscopic analysis.


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## ARACHNO-SMACK48

I will isolate it and see how it goes from there... it's not looking too good. This may be a bit harsh but should I consider putting it out of its misery? I do not want it to suffer unnecessarily.


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## ratluvr76

Could just be pre-molt too... J/s


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## ARACHNO-SMACK48

I hope it is but i don't think it is.. The abdomen is literally the same size if not bigger than the rest of the body.. It looks like it is about to pop....  I have another T from the same size from the same sack that is being kept under the same conditions with the same feeding regiment and it is a healthy size but the other one's abdomen is huge and uneven and it really doesn't look natural.


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## pyro fiend

ARACHNO-SMACK48 said:


> I hope it is but i don't think it is.. The abdomen is literally the same size if not bigger than the rest of the body.. It looks like it is about to pop....  I have another T from the same size from the same sack that is being kept under the same conditions with the same feeding regiment and it is a healthy size but the other one's abdomen is huge and uneven and it really doesn't look natural.


Hmm hard telling but could be about to molt. Their abd gets huge (a.genic 3" had eaten a adult dubia then went premolt and had just as big of a butt has her leg span lol litteraly looked like she was gona pop) and not all T's molt the same time. My gbbs came in told dif sacs but maybe had 1/4 in dif.. now the bigger one pushing 3+ as smaller ones 2.25"-2.5" their first molt was within 2 days of each other, last one was about a week. Now looks like ones off feed and ones still eating lord only knows for how long xD been like 6 days so expecting any time the other will right after this one pops

Reactions: Like 1


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