# How do i keep plants in coconut fiber substrate/watering in my enclosure?



## Ben Do (Jul 4, 2018)

So I want to put live plants in my A. Avic enclosure

Right now I took some small pothos that I have around the house and propagated some of my own, but I was wondering how I will eventually plant it in my terrarium.

Soon I'm getting an arboreal tank for my sub adult avic, I'm waiting til she molts and gets larger but I'm unsure how I will plant the pothos into her enclosure.

I heard that you can bury the roots inside the coconut fiber substrate just fine, that's what I have now, is that true? Or should I put it in a pot with organic potting soil and cover that with coconut fiber so that my T doesn't get to it?

Also watering. I heard that too much moisture in the terrarium risks mold in the tank which is harmful for the T, so how could I water the plant in the terrarium without that risk of mold? I saw someone use a turkey baster and poke it deep to the roots to water it, but i'm unsure if that solves the mold issue.

If you can also give me any other types of low lighting plants I can use in my enclosure that'd be great, I thought pothos would be good because its vine like that she can climb on when draped over a piece of wood.

EDIT: I've also seen someone put a fertilizer stick in the roots and buried it into the fiber, is that safe for the T?


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## MintyWood826 (Jul 5, 2018)

Ben Do said:


> so that my T doesn't get to it?


Don't be worried about the roots as Avics are arboreal Ts and should stay off the ground.



Ben Do said:


> Also watering. I heard that too much moisture in the terrarium risks mold in the tank which is harmful for the


If you get a spot of mold it's fine, just take it out. What's bad is if it takes over the enclosure. With moisture, you need to worry about it getting too stuffy and killing the Avic. It's better to use a fake plant. I think pothos don't need much water. Maybe I'm wrong? It could work out though.



Ben Do said:


> I've also seen someone put a fertilizer stick in the roots and buried it into the fiber, is that safe for the T?


Well I found this post in a 2014 thread:



vespers said:


> The bigger question is, why are you worried about using "fertilizer" at all? Many low light plants don't really require any, such as pothos and spathiphyllum. I've had pothos grow like crazy using nothing but coco fiber substrate.


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## Anoplogaster (Jul 5, 2018)

You can also just leave the plant in its pot, and bury the pot. Water with a turkey baster directly to where the pot is.


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## arachnidgill (Jul 5, 2018)

Avics are kept dry. Live plants need watering and they create humidity. Stick to fake plants.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## boina (Jul 5, 2018)

Ben Do said:


> I heard that too much moisture in the terrarium risks mold in the tank which is harmful for the T


Mold is not harmful, but humidity is. Live plants give off moisture through evaporation from their leaves. You need really superior ventilation to make that work for an Avic (don't trust youtube!). Avics and life plants is nearly always a bit of a gamble and the price is your tarantulas life... I'd really leave life plants to the very experienced keepers, especially when it comes to Avics.


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## Ben Do (Jul 5, 2018)

boina said:


> Mold is not harmful, but humidity is. Live plants give off moisture through evaporation from their leaves. You need really superior ventilation to make that work for an Avic (don't trust youtube!). Avics and life plants is nearly always a bit of a gamble and the price is your tarantulas life... I'd really leave life plants to the very experienced keepers, especially when it comes to Avics.


 what about some succulents that require little water? Pothos also require very minimal water as well


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## boina (Jul 5, 2018)

Ben Do said:


> what about some succulents that require little water? Pothos also require very minimal water as well


It's not about the water they require, it's about the water they give off. Every plant evaporates water from their leaves. That's why it's supposed to be good for your room climate to have a plant - a plant _humidifies _the air. That's exactly what you don't want for an Avic. The more leaves the more dangerous they are. Take a succulent if you just can't help yourself, but I'd really advise against the Pothos.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## schmiggle (Jul 5, 2018)

As others have said, plants increase humidity. I know nothing about avics, but a lot of organisms expect higher humidity at night. If you go with a CAM photosynthesis plant, the stomata won't be open during the day, so the humidity will only rise at night (CAM plants are usually succulents or cacti), and probably not by a huge amount even so. Pothos, on the other hand, is probably a C4 plant (maybe C3), so it will have its stomata open more often and will raise humidity throughout the day. 

Unless you have strong lighting, you're likely to have weak and unhappy succulents.

Reactions: Like 1


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## The Snark (Jul 5, 2018)

Thinking back. My buddy, green houses - 2500 sq ft floor space, Humboldt County (cool and damp). In order to avoid tomato blight, air exchange required, 2 cubic feet per second. Two 3 foot across 3 horsepower fans did the trick. 
Around here, hot and damp, screens replace the walls. ALL the walls. Plus ceiling ventilation the entire length of the enclosure of 1/4 the floor space inducing natural convection.

If you want to introduce animals into environments like this you are going to want extremely well adapted species. Nephila for example. 

Let's cut to the chase. An enclosure + plants + watering = How to make compost.  Essentially, an incubator for every airborne mold, fungus and a few thousand types of aerobic bacteria in that area and what you carry in on your clothes and shoes.


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