Risk of pesticide transmission?

[Kada]

I feed my crickets Purina Start & Grow chick feed. The non-medicated variety. My mealworms seem to like it to.

I've been wanting to try a sweet potato plant in a terrarium. It's at least as pretty as Pothos.

Actually they do VERY well in terrariums/vivariums in my experience. My notes (On a species level, not a specifoc varietal level) for sweet potato are:

They need light. Makes sense in well lit tanks. Spider tanks it might be a fine balance.

They grow insanely fast. Far faster than pothos, they are a morning glory....after all. This means constant maintenance so far as pruning, which in spider tanks tends to be more problematic than beneficial in my opinion...meaning escape risks, web destruction and etc.

They don't just have roots, their stems and somewhat their roots become proper tubers. meaning they get ultra fat. Which has an aesthetic appeal if the environment is right. This creates issues on quantity of space if freely grown in say a fossorial setup. I would use them in arboreal setups as I worry less about digging room and more about canopy...but then, pruning becomes a pain and stress on probably most tarantula species suited for such a plant. at least in small enclosures.

I would suggest keeping the root/tuber contained and buried in a container with no holes and perhaps let the plant have a whole in which the stem can escape the vivarium and grow as a houseplant. Meaning, pot it up in a pot with Jo holes under the substrate, and let it climb outside the tank for a cool affect. this makes maintence very hard though. Given the light requirements, this would need extra attention for a spider enclosure. But I could see it being amazing in a large reptile enclosures. I've fed these leaves to bearded dragons, uromastyx, iguanids etc . Large tanks for omniverous or vegetarian reptiles.

I do have a project for a sweet potato tuber/wood decoration for pokies. But I only just started the growth of the plants. Will take a year or 2 before the animal might be incorporated. They are great plants.

Any left over trimmings from the plants will be greatly appreciated by the crickets. That's for sure. And if you get the right variety (softer fibres), Google sweet potato leaf recipes from Taiwan. Quite good as a stir fried leaf vegetable

 

[Introvertebrate]

Actually they do VERY well in terrariums/vivariums in my experience. My notes (On a species level, not a specifoc varietal level) for sweet potato are:

They need light. Makes sense in well lit tanks. Spider tanks it might be a fine balance.

They grow insanely fast. Far faster than pothos, they are a morning glory....after all. This means constant maintenance so far as pruning, which in spider tanks tends to be more problematic than beneficial in my opinion...meaning escape risks, web destruction and etc.

They don't just have roots, their stems and somewhat their roots become proper tubers. meaning they get ultra fat. Which has an aesthetic appeal if the environment is right. This creates issues on quantity of space if freely grown in say a fossorial setup. I would use them in arboreal setups as I worry less about digging room and more about canopy...but then, pruning becomes a pain and stress on probably most tarantula species suited for such a plant. at least in small enclosures.

I would suggest keeping the root/tuber contained and buried in a container with no holes and perhaps let the plant have a whole in which the stem can escape the vivarium and grow as a houseplant. Meaning, pot it up in a pot with Jo holes under the substrate, and let it climb outside the tank for a cool affect. this makes maintence very hard though. Given the light requirements, this would need extra attention for a spider enclosure. But I could see it being amazing in a large reptile enclosures. I've fed these leaves to bearded dragons, uromastyx, iguanids etc . Large tanks for omniverous or vegetarian reptiles.

I do have a project for a sweet potato tuber/wood decoration for pokies. But I only just started the growth of the plants. Will take a year or 2 before the animal might be incorporated. They are great plants.

Any left over trimmings from the plants will be greatly appreciated by the crickets. That's for sure. And if you get the right variety (softer fibres), Google sweet potato leaf recipes from Taiwan. Quite good as a stir fried leaf vegetable

You've sold me on sweet potato plants. Do you give them natural light or a light fixture? Could you recommend a fixture?

 

[Kada]

They do require light. I've had them under T5s before (6500k). They etiolate a bit but no bigger. If it's just for food. If you have an outdoor area or a bright windows, that would be best. If i n aTerrarium lights are necessary.