Live Plants

But if it will grow fast, whats the point of getting a smaller one, it'll just out grow the terrarium aswell. Now I'm not a plant expert here, but does it grow vertically or is it more like a vine. A long vine won't matter too much. Trimming would also work, trim once a week to keep it the same size.

 

i just ran into a bigger problem
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
so i start the repotting process right.
i take my small pothos i just bought today, get rid of all the old dirt, give it a good cleaning. open up my new bag of unfertilized soil, and what do i see? PERLITE. so i red the bag and sure enough says perlite right on the bag.....
thank god it it was only a $2 small bag of soil

i just cant win!
so now i gotta go back and see if they have anything unfertilized and without perlite

ps....whats so bad about perlite?
is it just because of the possible ingestion?
could i just soak the soil and run it through a fish net to rid myself of the perlite? or is it some bigger reason?

 

It looks really bad - once it is watered it floats to the top.
If the gecko does eat it - it will cause dehydration. It sucks up all the water and retains moisture. So no water for gecko, can't poop (no water) so it would also cause impaction. Also if it is large enough in a small crestie it will cause impaction right away.

 

wow
that a pretty horrible way to go!
i decided shortly after i posted this that it was just going to be too much trouble to try and rid the soil of all the perlite, even if filtered through a fish net. so i repotted the pothos and save the project for tomorow. ill just go to the same place and see if they have anything else...they only sell unfertilized soil, so one of those many different bags has to not contain perlite

 

ya its bad...if they eat it they could die of impaction or because the perlite is toxic...no good
and dont bother picking the perlite out, cause if u leave some it tends to make its way to the top...another thing u could do is just get some soil from your garden...look for good looking soil...let it sit for a few days outside in ur garage, so all the bugs and what not get out...ppl say it could be a bad idea, but thats what i did, no perlite or fertilizer, and no problems yet
ur best bet would be to go back to the same place u got it, and ask for non fertile PLAIN soil...and give that other soil to ur mom or smthin, for her garden or indoor plants

 

The first half of why pearlite is bad is correct. However pearlite is not toxic. It is a substance that holds moisture very well which is why they put it in soil. They couldn't use it in soil with plants if it were toxic plus you incubate your eggs in vermiculite or pearilte, doesn't matter. Vermiculite is basically the same stuff just not white.

I wouldn't let it sit in the garage, bake it instead to kill the bugs. All the bugs just won't up and leave their home and try to find somewhere else to live in a concrete floored building. Not only that bugs in the garage could come and take up residence in your new soil. I don't know how long you back it at, think it is 20-30 min at one of the lowest settings on most ovens.

 

is perlite not a fertilizer...id think that would be bad...theres 2 different kinds...little styrophome balls, and little white chalky chunks, which is fertilizer, which cant be good.

good call with the baking...do that

 

http://www.perlite.net/ its not a fertilizer its a generic term for naturally occurring siliceous rock... lol I sound smart

 

hmmm...news to me, thanks! lol
i didnt know that...o well...i still dont think id be good if injested

 

no it wouldnt because of reasons stated above, I wasn't making a point that it would be good, I was just letting you know its not a fertilizer...

 

yesyes, i didnt mean to sound rude if i did, i was just saying thanks, lol
all in all real plants are sweet, and dont use soil with perlite in it lol

 

wow, good stuff
i went to the garden center yeserday and was able to purchace a big bag of PLAIN organic soil
i have enough to do like 10 tanks though, lmao, and i only needed it for a few pots.
i do the gardening at my house, so i know my soil is very heavily fertilized, lol, so that was not one of my option

after alot of time, i repotted 3 of my plants, the hoya brom and pothos....
so far my gecko doesnt seem too interested in them(little bugger doesnt appreciate the hard work i put in)

it doesnt look great, because its basically a tank with 3 potted plants, but i took a few pics anyway..im sure hed like it more if there were no pots involved, but hes a few months away from that
ill post pics one day this week, thanks for the help everyone