Fake plants in crabitat

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 4:12 am

Hi all,I'm new to all this and have, perhaps, a stupid question. Are fake, aquarium-type plants ok for hermies? I have two E's and two PP's and they really like crawling up and down them, but I was concerned about them possibly getting ill if they decided to start chewing on them. Help!!

tnyfootprntz · Post by **tnyfootprntz** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 5:03 am

Welcome! There are no stupid questions here - you feel free to ask whatever you need to know and it'll most likely get answered. I don't have plastic plants but I know lots of others who have posted photos of their crabitats use them with no apparent problems, so it must be o.k. My E's would climb the aquarium sealant in the corners if they didn't have anything else to climb!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 5:21 am

I've only been at this for just over 2 months, but so far so good with the plastic plants. They like to climb up them and seem pretty healthy so far. I have little palm trees that Hamtaro climbs and then hangs upside down in, and some trailing vines going down the wall against the coco wall.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 7:33 am

I've been keeping crabs for 8 months(almost 9!) and have had no problems at all! Sometimes the fake plants end up being a snack for hermies, but I read a post that they'll eat practically anything...(sand, plastic plants, ect.)

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 7:56 am

Hi and welcome! My hermies LOVE climbing fake plants and vines, and yes, they do try to munch on them...I have not seen any evidence of my crabs being successful of actually eating them though, just *trying* Anyhow, once a week or so I throw some lettuce leaves in the tank for them to eat and that seems to take care of the greeny craving

Katy · Post by **Katy** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 8:07 am

Welcome to LHC.Yes, plastic (aquarium safe) plants are just fine. My crabs love them and I love decorating the tank w/ them. They give the tank a very natural look which I like.

KittyCaller · Post by **KittyCaller** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 8:16 am

My crabs shred them, but I never saw any evidence of actual tasting. Then again, hard to tell what they've eaten.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 8:34 am

My crabs absolutely love the fake plastic plants in their crabitat. They climb all over them and hide behind them. They even use a couple of them to get up to the second level. I like to change the plants around about once a week and my hermies seem to love the change in scenery!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:39 am

Just wondering, you have BIG plants? Small crabs? Because the only fake aquarium plants I have seen are way to flimsy for most of my crabs to actually be able to climb....

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:47 am

You can get these vines that are strurdy, bendable and have big leaves on them at Petsmart. I got mine there and the hermies climb it and sit on leaves. I'm wondering if the addition of a big fake plant is why Karma is staying up. She was ALWAYS dug down before but since the new addition shes been up, maybe she feels more at home with the coverage? I think fake plants, or realy plants, give the crabitat a more natural feel/look. Jumbos might have troubles climbing some fake plants but if it was sturdy I think they could do it.

Willow · Post by **Willow** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 1:17 pm

I bought some of the fake plants from Wal-Mart...not made for pets, just regular fake plants. They have wire in them for bendability, so I keep an eye on them to make sure they're not rusting. I got some suction cups with metal hooks on them and hung the plants from those and made one corner of the crabitat into "the forest". It works great, no problems so far.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 6:38 pm

I've got three of the plastic suction cup plants, and they work great, I got an Ampallo mandarin and croton. They like the Croton the best, maybe the pointy leaves are easier for them to grip... I don't know but that's the one I always see them on top of. But I bet you could find a longer vine (Garland I guess) with pointy leaves at wal mart or Michaels. I saw some really long ones at Michaels for around $7 I think, and the suctions cups could only be a few dollars at the most. I'd get some but I odn't have a Michaels or Wal Mart in my one horse town. Anyways, yes platic plants are great.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 4:42 am

The plants in my crabitat are from Walmart... I think that they were like $2.99 Decent sized plants and sturdy enough for all of the crabs... I have them hanging on suction cup hooks and we haven't had any problems yet!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 1:03 pm

I got some fake ivy from the "fake flower section" of WalMart and they like climbing on it and hiding under the leaves. It's in 3 sections. I stick the ends in the sand, kind of like an arch, and they look really nice.