Non-toxic plants for reptile enclosures

Two questions, and the second is the one people skip

"Is this plant safe for my reptile" is actually two questions. The first is about the species: does this plant produce compounds that are toxic if chewed or ingested. The second is about the individual plant you bought: what was applied to it in production.

Keepers research the first and almost never the second, and the second is the one that reaches an animal faster - a systemic insecticide is inside the plant tissue, not on the surface, and it does not wash off.

Checking the species

Use a toxicity reference rather than a reptile forum, and look the plant up by its botanical name. The ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list is the most accessible general reference, and it is searchable by botanical and common name.

Common names are the trap. "Dumb cane", "philodendron" and "ivy" each cover several different plants with different profiles. The botanical name on the nursery tag is the thing to search.

Dealing with what was sprayed on it

Nursery and garden-center plants are produced commercially, which usually means pesticides, fungicides and often systemic insecticides. Systemics are taken up into the plant tissue and persist; surface sprays can be rinsed off. Neither belongs in a sealed enclosure with an animal that may lick condensation off the leaves.

1. Remove all the nursery soil. Bare-root the plant and discard the original potting medium entirely - it carries both residue and whatever came with it.
2. Rinse the foliage and roots thoroughly under running water.
3. Repot into clean substrate and grow it on outside the enclosure.
4. Quarantine the plant for several weeks before it goes in, watering normally. This lets surface residues wash out and gives systemics time to decline, and it also catches any pest the plant arrived with.
5. Prefer plants grown for the hobby where you can find them, from suppliers who state they are pesticide-free.

The physical risks, separate from toxicity

• Spines and sharp edges. Succulents and cacti are popular in arid builds and some of them are a physical injury risk in an enclosure with a large active lizard.
• Structural failure. A plant that cannot take the weight of an animal climbing on it will be climbed on anyway. Anchor it properly.
• Sap. Some species exude irritant sap when broken, which is a different risk from systemic toxicity and is triggered by exactly the kind of damage an enclosure plant receives.

Lighting the plants without breaking the UVI target

Live plants need light, which tempts keepers to add a lamp. Two cautions. First, any additional lamp changes the thermal picture, and the species targets - especially the crested gecko ceiling of 82-85 F (28-29 C) at the top of the enclosure at the top of the enclosure - are hard limits. Second, if the extra lamp is a UVB source, you have changed the UVI the animal receives. Re-check the distance figures rather than assuming the setup is unchanged.