Which plant suitable for moderate webbers and low light?

Gogyeng

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 19, 2019
Messages
311
Which plants do you use in preference for your arboreals? Eg Avics.
I am thinking the norm English Ivy or Pothos. I have the odd orchidea and bromeliad but not sure how much they can cope in low light and webbing (potentially heavy).
 

Frogdaddy

Arachnoprince
Joined
Nov 13, 2019
Messages
1,067
Pothos should be a good choice. Low light and low water requirements.
I would avoid any Broms or Tillandsia as theu need high humidity.
Some standard houseplants like Crotons like higher light conditions and your T's might not like all that light.
Sansiveria sp. like drier conditions but can grow pretty tall.
Pepperomia sp. might work. As would some ferns. I personally would stay away from any creeping fig as they will take over a terrarium and you will disturb a T's webbing when you have to trim the plant every month.
i hope this helps.
 

Feral

Arachnobaron
Active Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2019
Messages
407
My thoughts...
I wouldn't use live plants with Avicularia et. al. Their non-negotiable need for low to no moisture makes live plants too dangerous to try, in my opinion, except by maybe the most experienced and knowledgeable. (Same with C. cyaneopubescens, imo.) I wouldn't be willing to put an animal in harm's way to try it.

I also wouldn't use English Ivy/ Hedera species. They secrete an oil that can be irritating with topical exposure in vertebrate species, and I don't know how inverts would react to that.

Otherwise, I think plants can be amazing and beneficial, if done carefully and properly.

The plants you chose depend on what light you're using and what moisture level the invert requires. So I'd need more info before I could recommend specific plants for you, other than various Epremnum sp./Pothos varieties.

Each situation is unique, but often the easiest I think, besides Pothos, are "common" Philodendron, Chlorophytum sp./"Spider Plant", Tradescantia sp./"Wandering Jew", and Scindapsis sp.
What I like about all those is that I could root cuttings/pups in water, then plant into an enclosure, thereby bypassing possible exposure to chemicals in the potting soil from the grower.

"Parlor Palm" could be used in an arboreal enclosure, if from a clean source, and pruned to avoid it getting too tall.
There may be a species or two of fern that could work, depending.
I don't have any experience at all with "Croton".

I think the various shorter Sansevaria species can be too pokey for terrestrials and present a fall hazard, and the taller species often get too tall for arboreal enclosures (but they also grow pretty slow, so maybe).

A lot of the succulents need a lot more water and light than people think, plus most of them do not hold up well to abuse.

Mosses need way to much moisture and light for tarantulas.

So telling us more about your chosen invert species, light situation, moisture levels, the size of the enclosure, and your substrate will let us give you a better idea of what plant/s might work best.
 

l4nsky

Aspiring Mad Genius
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Jan 3, 2019
Messages
1,074
I think Pothos is one of the gold-standard plants, but I'm not completely sure.
I swear, we need to make a thread titled "Best Plants for Tropical Tarantulas" and just say Pothos. Lock and pin it lol. It really is wonderful. It's probably the only plant I would use for an Avic. A large enough one would be able to have enough leaves that arent webbed up to sustain itself and could tolerate the drier conditions that suit Avics.
 
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