# orchids and moss for crestie tanks



## gryfer29 (Feb 12, 2019)

So I'm building my 6-year-old crested gecko a vivarium this summer, after finding success using a vivarium for a trio of pd tincs and I'm wondering what orchids and mosses would thrive in those conditions, any other plant suggestions are welcome to, also can I use marcgravia in those conditions or not?

thanks guys


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

If you are doing a bioactive tank down near the bottom its very similar to dart frogs. As you go higher you just get more air and more options for epiphytes like tillandsias, Bulbophyllum and so on. 

I grow on of my best marcgravia stands in a crested tank you can see it here. 

http://rudy.sloup.org/pics/plants/Marcgravia Sp Peru.jpg

The only thing you have to watch out for would be especially feeble plants but it all depends on what you are willing to risk my cresties will knock plants over occasionally if they are not well secured.


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## gryfer29 (Feb 12, 2019)

Pubfiction said:


> If you are doing a bioactive tank down near the bottom its very similar to dart frogs. As you go higher you just get more air and more options for epiphytes like tillandsias, Bulbophyllum and so on.
> 
> I grow on of my best marcgravia stands in a crested tank you can see it here.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply, those marcgravia look amazing


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## Pitbull (Feb 11, 2017)

Humidity and temp wise, I'm sure orchids would do fine. The issue is whether or not they're about to take a beating from your gecko. Some individuals will trample down everything but a pothos, and others are graceful ballerinas that won't do too much damage. Whatever you plant in there, be prepared to either remove it or replace it if trampling and squishing occurs. Mounted epiphytes may be knocked down or heavily disturbed by a crawling/jumping gecko.

Fittonia is a great ground cover plant for cresties. It's more on the fragile side, but it is very cheap and easily replaced. Lemon button ferns are actually fairly hardy and can take the weight of an adult gecko without snapping the frond stems. Pothos or other fast-growing vines are great because the gecko breaking off bits and pieces while running around can help keep it "pruned" and stop it from taking over a tank as easily.


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## jgragg (Nov 23, 2009)

I think the dimensions of the enclosure will help determine your plant options. More space would permit larger plants, which in many cases will be more robust.

I had a trio of cresties for several years about 20 years ago, and kept them in a custom glass tank very comparable to a 36wx18dx36t Exo. I had some big tall _Sanseverias_ in there that they really seemed to appreciate. Not a moss or orchid, I know, but..._a bulletproof choice_ that's almost made for a stout, active arboreal sticky-finger. Besides jumping around on them like moneys, they love sleeping down in the nooks.

Aside - I wonder if cresties would appreciate the high humidity required for mosses??? My tank definitely would have killed nearly any moss, but the lizards did just fine. Perhaps just offer a moist area (where the moss could live), with some drier options available too? Just throwing it out there. I know nothing of your knowledge & experiences.

A smallish, robust, vertically-oriented orchid I use quite successfully with some subtropical arboreal snakes is _Dendrobium kingianum_. My snakes prefer a cool dry hibernation and a warm humid active season, which is perfect for this orchid too. Not sure how you winter your cresties - back in the Stone Age when I had them, it was same-old same-old all year round. Perhaps now they are known to take some cycling?

A fern genus I like in my enclosures is _Microsorum_. Some species, like _diversifolium_, are pretty large & vigorous and could definitely stand up to your geckos. The genus is also great for "tropical effects" and is super easy to grow epiphytically (e.g., just on the back wall), and to propagate from stem cuttings.

Anyway - good luck!


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## gryfer29 (Feb 12, 2019)

jgragg said:


> I think the dimensions of the enclosure will help determine your plant options. More space would permit larger plants, which in many cases will be more robust.
> 
> I had a trio of cresties for several years about 20 years ago, and kept them in a custom glass tank very comparable to a 36wx18dx36t Exo. I had some big tall _Sanseverias_ in there that they really seemed to appreciate. Not a moss or orchid, I know, but..._a bulletproof choice_ that's almost made for a stout, active arboreal sticky-finger. Besides jumping around on them like moneys, they love sleeping down in the nooks.
> 
> ...


The enclosure im working with is an exo terra 18 by 18 by 36. My Crestie is relatively small since she is a female so I dont think she will do too much damage. My plan is to have a large cork tube in the corner of the tank somewhat like a tree stump, it'll be hollow so my gecko can have an option to hide, i will also include some cork flats and smaller tubes on the background for more hiding options. For plants i think ill put some parlor palm behind the tree stump as a hardy background plant for her to climb on.
On the floor my candidates are some type of cream cryptanthus, maybe snow goose, a brown jewel orchid, pilea cadierei, and lots of ferns(autumn,lemon button,button). for the background, a large species of marcgravia like burgandy or sintenisii. A group of small bromeliads like chiquita linda will quickly shoot out pups which will create a beautiful cluster of broms. Some epiphetic ferns would be cool too. I think sphagnum moss will work, I live in southern California and that stuff seems to thrive here even in the somewhat arid summer, ill try dusk moss mix. Im also think about ficus quercifola for some background cover.


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## jgragg (Nov 23, 2009)

Sounds like fun. I think you will be surprised at how small your big tank actually is. And how big small plants actually are, and want to get.

One thing I have learned, is to not try and have a little of this, a little of that in every tank. Across the population of tanks I now have quite a few kinds of plants. But no tank has more than about 5 species of vascular plants and honestly, I've come to feel that 3 to 5 is about right. I mass them for effect, and seek tranquility in balance and contrast.

So for example, in my current favorite tank I've got 2 kinds of mini broms (red & lime green) up top, some epiphytic ferns and a variegated Hoya vine mostly in the middle heights, and a couple of high-red Maranta clumps on the ground. There are some juniper branches criss-crossing the open space, that some of the broms and ferns, and the Hoya are mounted / self-rooted on. The background (which laps onto the sides about halfway) is a cork mosaic, that the ferns and brom pups and also the Hoya adventitious roots happily "invade". Various mosses occupy the packed dripwall sphagnum between the cork pieces. The substrate is just oak leaf litter. The overall effect is pleasing, with a nice balance of colors and shapes & textures. But the massing & repetition are...I don't know quite how to say it. More restful, than having your eye always landing on something new? That's the problem - to my aesthetic - of having one of everything in a single tank. The eye is always searching, striving, restless. Different strokes for different folks though, right?

Heads up - _Nephrolepis_ is kind of the creeping fig of ferns - it can be pushy if you make it happy. You may find yourself doing a lot of pruning...I've found it best to contain that sucker, and kill all the pups. It's good in a background-mounted cork half-round filled with ABG or a facsimile. Anything that comes out for a walkabout - whack it.

Anyway - good luck, have fun!


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

jgragg said:


> So for example, in my current favorite tank I've got 2 kinds of mini broms (red & lime green) up top, some epiphytic ferns and a variegated Hoya vine mostly in the middle heights, and a couple of high-red Maranta clumps on the ground. There are some juniper branches criss-crossing the open space, that some of the broms and ferns, and the Hoya are mounted / self-rooted on. The background (which laps onto the sides about halfway) is a cork mosaic, that the ferns and brom pups and also the Hoya adventitious roots happily "invade". Various mosses occupy the packed dripwall sphagnum between the cork pieces. The substrate is just oak leaf litter. The overall effect is pleasing, with a nice balance of colors and shapes & textures. But the massing & repetition are...I don't know quite how to say it. More restful, than having your eye always landing on something new?


I only paid for a coach seat, and this is a first-class-with-free-drinks-and-everything kind of request, but: do you have a picture of this you would share? This viv sounds excellent!


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## gryfer29 (Feb 12, 2019)

jgragg said:


> Sounds like fun. I think you will be surprised at how small your big tank actually is. And how big small plants actually are, and want to get.
> 
> One thing I have learned, is to not try and have a little of this, a little of that in every tank. Across the population of tanks I now have quite a few kinds of plants. But no tank has more than about 5 species of vascular plants and honestly, I've come to feel that 3 to 5 is about right. I mass them for effect, and seek tranquility in balance and contrast.
> 
> ...


ur probably right, nature is usually simple, you wont see more than 5 or 6 species in a 1 sq ft area. That's what we're trying to mimic here right?


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