Live plants in the terrarium

schlinkey

Arachnoknight
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I collected two different kinds of moss today and planted them in my parahybana tank. One of em from the peatmoss group, the other.. well dunno.. ;) anyway, i tried to get wild ivy to grow in my regalis terrarium as well, but it didnt work out.. sooo any tips on live plants? how? what sp's? humidity? ???? think the moss will grow in there?
 

Tito

Arachnosquire
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Hey Schlinkey,

did you just collect it from the woods and put it into the tank? I've been considering doing this in my Blondi tank, but I've been afraid of what might live in the moss.

I've actually ordered some dried moss, that will start to grow when you water it again. But this costs an arm and a leg, nearly 10 bucks for a bag with 2 kilos.

Let me know how this works out.

BTW
Starting to build the enclosure for the regalis slings today, only downside is I still haven't got all the fake plants and a fake background that I'm gonna use.:(
 

schlinkey

Arachnoknight
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yup took it from the woods.. might be taking a risk, but damnit, these bugs did cope with small critters where they used to live right? (hehe captive bred.. ;)) i've bought lots of lots of fake plants so my tanks look neat :) one downside though: if i toss a cricket it there and the spider's not hungry, it takes ages to get the cricket out of there again :p I just put some wild ivy in a glass of water.. trying to get em to grow roots (or something, aint no expert) hoping for the best

And about the regalistank you're fixing; mine is about the same size.. but only one adult regalis in it ;) havent bought a background or it yet though... but i have lots of logs/bark and stuff in there
 

Tito

Arachnosquire
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Do you have ONE T in a tank thats 60x40x70 cm? You've got be crazy=D
 

schlinkey

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whoa! i misread those measurements! ;) mine's only 50x30x40 cm so it's a WHOLE lot smaller than yours :?

BTW is your tank an aquarium?
 

Tito

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Nope, I make all my own tanks. Custom is the thing! Besides, in this one dog town the petshop went out of business for the 7'th time in 5 years or something so there ain't any tanks on the market.

You don't know any online shops that sells crickets, preferably in Norway? I have one, but he's kinda expensive, 40-50 cents a cricket...
 

schlinkey

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Do you use you Icq? or Msn messenger? Anyway; the only onlinedealer in Norway (that i know of) is Holte.. what was it, 750kr a year for 50 crix a month? or was that the price for half a year?

AND: how do you make your tanks? and of what material?
 
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Tito

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ICQ:12440359

I use glass, bought cut to my measurments. The regalis enclosure cost me 500,- NOK.

To glue the glass together I use silicone, man's best friend...:}
 
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Botar

Arachnoprince
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Originally posted by schlinkey
I just put some wild ivy in a glass of water.. trying to get em to grow roots (or something, aint no expert) hoping for the best

Vermiculite is great for rooting plants. If you've got any on hand, I'd use that. There is also a "rooting compound" you can use on cuttings to assist the rooting process. I've used it on several different plants with success.

Botar

PS- Keep in mind, I'm no botonist... I lost all of my plants to a mealy bug invasion.
 

JacenBeers

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Moss is my favorite thing to have in a tank. I just go in the forest and pick some nice thick moss and sometimes that is all i have at the bottom of the tank. I wash it well and then let it dry in the sun on a table. Washing it gets rid of pine needles and small bugs and the dtying allows lots of other bugs to leave it as well. THen I line the bottom of the whole tank. It is great.
 

schlinkey

Arachnoknight
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Ooh, so it's ok to dry the moss first? guess i'll do that next time.. just hope i didnt introduce some nasty bugs to my parahybana now ;) (totally off topic but whattaheck; the giant mealworm that disappeared in the tank emerged.. as a friggin huge beetle! i'll give it to one of the T's when one gets hungry..)
 

Vys

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For a Parahybana, which is kind of rainforestish, you can get Philodendron, Peperomia, or Fittonia species of plants. Among others. I have a Philodendron in an inner-pot in there with my Avic. It doesn't need that much light, so I've kept it alive for some time. Although it is a bit crowded , between the waterdish, corkbark, my arm, and any eventual fugitive cricket :p
It's real cool to see her creeping around on it though, like sometimes when I scare her (not on purpose) and she ends up clinging precariously to a soft leaf just above the waterdish :D Never seen her fall in, luckily.
For more desertish species, get succulents (without sharp barbs) or just fakes.

A question about moss, is it neigh impossible to keep it alive in the tank? It needs to much moisture and sunshine, does it ?
Doesn't dried moss get kind of ..icky, if you mist the tank regularly?
 
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Valael

Arachnodemon
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Anyone ever try that "pet" grass some petstores sell?


Or would grass just be a pain for the T to walk over?
 

schlinkey

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Thanks Vys, I've never heard of any of em, but i'll sure check em out! :) The Phildendron looks neat! guess it's an easy-to-get-by plant as well. I need an innerpot then, or can it grow just as well right in the peat? (which is best?)
 
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Gail

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I don't want to rain on the parade here but ever since I had an avic enclosure become infested with white nematode worms because the pothos I planted in there apparently had them in it's roots, I use only silk plants. The t's really don't seem to mind - they always look good and I don't have to worry about providing any light for them. Hummm... maybe I'm just too lazy to take care of live plants and the t's too :D

Gail
 

Botar

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I'm with you on this one Gail. Since my own personal mealy bug invasion and reading about Atrax's flies from hell, I think I'd stick with the silk/plasitc variety as well. With that being said, I must admit some of the pics I've seen posted with a "naturalistic" environment are beautiful... I'm just not up for the challenge to maintain that type of enclosure.

Botar
 
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Vys

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Yah Philodendrons come in a variety of sizes and looks. They all have kind of the same leaves though, and (mostly) general structure.
Anyhow, it's easier to keep it in an inner pot, buried in (maybe just halfway, depending on how much peat is at the bottom of the terrarium) the peat, since it is alot simpler then if you have to rearrange things in there, or clean it, or something. And if you get a plant from the store - do clean off the soil they have it in, since who knows what flowery people put in their soil :) , and put in the pot just peat or peat mixed with soil or just soil without any fertilizer (and without anything ending with -icide).

About bugs and things :
I've never had any bugs (except for a gazillion tiny crickets ..tried keeping many alive in a petbox, it ended up with one very fat cricket ) because of my philodendron, but I guess it could very well happen. However, if you make sure to clean it (in the shower is easiest) to the roots when you've bought it, and keep it in a pot in the terrarium, it shouldn't be toooo hard to deal with eventual bugs.
 
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Arachniphile

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I HIGH-ly recomend using vaireties of hemp... It grows in spite of you... and it has this really cool medicinal property.... Smells good too... :}
 

Botar

Arachnoprince
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Does it smell good while growing or burning? Where in Oregon did you say you lived?=D Just kidding... I closed my eyes while reading that.:rolleyes:

Botar
 
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