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87rx7chick View Profile |
Plant care 101
LIGHTING : uvb damages plants if over exposed. dead plants with brown spots could very well be as a result of uvb. try to place the plant on the oposite side of the enclosure plants love fluorescent lights, infact they can live off fluors with out any natural light. hence why plants in the office do so well. plenty of fluro lights. compact fluorescent lights are ideal for growing plants. daylight (6500k) color temp lights work well with a nice blue glow to them, there are also warm white fluorescent lights that are 2700-3500k color temp. which give a nice warm glow similar to incandescent (normal house bulbs) you want to shop for a 26+ wat bulb. equal to 100 watts of light from normal house bulb. 26 true watts!!! not 15 or anything like that... 26!!! of course if you have some reptile that doent require warmth u dont want the warmer one, geckos should get 15 watts but its not necessary since the heat is not intense by any means. the heat doesnt actualy come off the glass , the light doesnt create heat. what creates heat is the basllast, the base of the bulb with the electronics inside. so the warmth is more soft. PLANT"S NEEDS: plants require nutrient soil and air to flurish. if you notice growth stopped you either dont have enough water, have to much water (which can kill the roots) or dont have enough food. a nutrient soil will help plants grow but you also have to keep in mind your reptiles are in the enclosure. there are vitimin supliments like superthrive that can be used in mild doses every few weeks that can help but not risk your reptile. with this u must use your best judgement. a little goes a long way, infact use 1/4 the amout of plant food recomended on the bottle. if your reptile likes to hang out in the plant then this food stuff wont be for you... like i said use your best judgement. roots also need room to grow. if your plant grows so do the roots and if your plant doesnt look good and u went over all the above. then most likely your "root bound" to many roots for small pot and soil. u must repot into a larger pot and give a dose of super thrive and hope for the best!!! so reasons plants die off in enclosures: uvb exposure no flourescent exposure (not enough usable light) to much water not enough water not enough nutrient soil/food in soil roots have no room to expand :) heres a link for safe plants http://www.beautiful dragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html |
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| 11/01/09 10:56pm |
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