Hisser Safe Plants?

B

burrito foot

Ootheca
Hi,

I just started keeping Tiger Hissers and I've seen a few threads about live plants, and done some research - I was going to go for Pothos but I've read it's poisonus here and here.

So I'm considering Dracaena, maybe a spider plant or ivy but I'm having a hard time finding any solid information. I've even tried googling for plants that live on the forest floor in madagascar, found rose periwinkle, but that's all so far so I'm a bit stuck.

I don't want to risk their health just for a nice looking enclosure, the aim is to make it more natural for them - I'll be adding some moss, and I'm assuming I can plant cress, clover, maybe mint or other things that might end up in their feed anyway?

Just wondered if anyone has any long term experience with live plants in their enclosures (ideally hisser) or can offer any suggestions?

Thanks.

 
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I've had my hissers set up for nearly a year now with live plants. Pothos, ivy, and a dracaena (which is normally considered more poisonous than pothos). No deaths aside from the original mom and dad, and the nymphs do munch on the dracaena and pothos occasionally. They completely destroyed the ivy as they became subadults and I have no plans on replanting it. I think they've even started to work their way through the dracaena now that the ivy is gone. <_<

I have pothos in nearly all my roach enclosures and I've never noticed any adverse affects or any deaths even though there are small munch-marks on the leaves from time to time. I also have some nypthytis starts in with my Giant Peppereds that are doing well, but the plants will get huge as they grow and it's not a permanent set-up. There are also some fancy fern starts that the Peppereds have so far been leaving alone and that look really nice. :) Not sure I would trust the ferns to last for very long with the hissers though!

 
Thanks wodesorel - sorry for not responding sooner. Interesting that you haven't had any issues with Pothos, despite what I've read I've also seen a lot of people use them for roaches so maybe I'll give them a try, particularly if they're less of a risk than dracaena!

I'm expecting to have to change it around quite a bit as things get eaten or die, but I think the more natural I can make things the better.

Thanks for the advice.

 
I've tried to feed them pothos a number of times and they never ate it, a few nibbles. They do like the Hedera ivy.

 
I have a sansevieria trifasciata in mine and my colony pretty much ignores it. I have one male who does like to hide in it, but other than that they do not eat it at all.

 
I have some Coleus cuttings sitting about at home. would they be a safe plant to put with my roaches?

 
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