Orchid Suggestions for a Vivarium

[connorology]

Originally Posted by Paul

A cautionary note for you, Connor... The cham's weight and grip strength would not be healthy for the plants.

A very good point. I am keeping that in mind, and it's part of the reason I am only now adding orchids. I wanted to watch how he'd interact with the environment for a few months before adding anything rare or expensive.

By and large he doesn't seem to mess with plants that are on the walls. I have some fragile(ish) plants he can get at - there's a Nepenthes sanguinea in the back corner mounted into the backdrop, and he has yet to cause any damage to it, and I have bromeliads that he'll occasionally walk around but he doesn't show a ton of interest in. He will crawl all over anything mounted towards the center of the enclosure, though he never did break the Phal's flower spike when it was in bloom, despite frequently poking at it. He also hasn't killed any of my Tillandsias yet.

That said, chameleon damage will eventually occur, though if trends hold it should be mild. I was actually at a local botanical garden yesterday looking at their orchid collection to try to assess durability. They had some mounted Restrepias that felt to me like they wouldn't be immediately destroyed if the chameleon decided to crawl on them, that's part of the reason I am interested in the genus.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by connorology

A very good point. I am keeping that in mind, and it's part of the reason I am only now adding orchids. I wanted to watch how he'd interact with the environment for a few months before adding anything rare or expensive.

By and large he doesn't seem to mess with plants that are on the walls. I have some fragile(ish) plants he can get at - there's a Nepenthes sanguinea in the back corner mounted into the backdrop, and he has yet to cause any damage to it, and I have bromeliads that he'll occasionally walk around but he doesn't show a ton of interest in. He will crawl all over anything mounted towards the center of the enclosure, though he never did break the Phal's flower spike when it was in bloom, despite frequently poking at it. He also hasn't killed any of my Tillandsias yet.

That said, chameleon damage will eventually occur, though if trends hold it should be mild. I was actually at a local botanical garden yesterday looking at their orchid collection to try to assess durability. They had some mounted Restrepias that felt to me like they wouldn't be immediately destroyed if the chameleon decided to crawl on them, that's part of the reason I am interested in the genus.

How large are your terraria? If they're suitably sized for a mature Nepenthes, you should consider some full size Cattleya. They're easy to care for and will tolerate being climbed on by all but perhaps the largest species of chamaeleon.

[connorology]

The vivarium that houses my chameleon is 36'' by 36'' by 18''. Based on what I've seen in local botanical gardens there will be room for the Nepenthes to grow in (it's not fully mature, maybe 1/2 size), but likely not room for another plant that size.

I ended up being gifted a Bulbophyllum makoyanum and a Rhyncholaelia glauca by a local hobbyist who had quite a few of those species. I have the R. glauca mounted up in the backdrop where it's very light and dry, and the B. makoyanum suction cupped to the glass where it will get both light and spray from my misters.

We'll see how they work out and if I'm every able to get them to bloom. At the very least, it's decent practice - I get a chance to experiment with multiple care requirements and see how plants might tolerate chameleon damage. I've already learned one important lesson: the orchids cannot be mounted higher than the chameleon's highest perch, or they will become the new perch.


My chameleon attempts to destroy my new Bulbophyllum makoyanum

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It might snap new leads or new spikes the way it's behaving.

Nice chameleon.

I used to keep Carpet Chameleons (Furcifer lateralis lateralis). I love these guys. I just didn't like having to deal with sending them to the vet after paying a good amount of money for them and then having to assist feed them if they are not in the greatest of health upon purchase. If I didn't have to deal with these issues, I'd try again.

[connorology]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

I used to keep Carpet Chameleons (Furcifer lateralis lateralis). I love these guys. I just didn't like having to deal with sending them to the vet after paying a good amount of money for them and then having to assist feed them if they are not in the greatest of health upon purchase. If I didn't have to deal with these issues, I'd try again.

Yikes. I'm not particularly familiar with carpet chameleons, but I know they were a species that used to be sold primarily as wild-caught individuals (and if they are available captive bred now I do not believe it is particularly widely). In my experience, wild caught animals make terrible pets, and this applies even more to fragile species like chameleons.

For what it's worth, captive bred panthers appear to be fairly hardy as chameleons go. Veiled chameleons are also hardy and widely available as captive bred animals, but are more inclined to eat foliage and thus are probably not as good of an animal to keep if you're planning to plant your enclosure. Jackson's chameleons are also fairly common, but are a bit harder to keep healthy and are also fairly often wild-caught.

If you do want to try again, I'd recommend a captive bred sub-adult male panther chameleon purchased from a breeder or reputable reptile store.

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

It might snap new leads or new spikes the way it's behaving.

Regarding chameleon damage, I have moved his climbing vine to just above the orchid, and he seems less interested in crawling on it now. I do worry that if I manage to get a spike he'll snap it off, but I've had a few Tillandsia blooms and a Phal bloom in his enclosure and he really didn't damage those. That said, the possibility of damage to delicate flowers is essentially inherent in the project of trying to grow blooming plants in a chameleon vivarium. I am doing my best to select plants I think will survive an occasional pawing.

Incidentally, I saw that you've commented on a couple Bulbophyllum makoyanum posts. Are you familiar with how to get these plants to bloom? I currently have it at about 75-80 degree F day temps, high sixties at night, and about 1500 foot candles. It is mounted to a stick with some sphagnum and it gets hit by my mister. I haven't found much in the way of concrete culture information.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The trigger to get any Bulbophyllum to bloom are seasonal temperature changes.

Some bloom easier than others. You just have to be patient.

Yours is blooming size. You should see it bloom either this spring/summer or next season.

I've been eyeing Panther Chameleons in the past. I've always liked their colors. Cost and size were always the issue. Thank you for the suggestion. Maybe next time I will give them a try.