Growing plants in the enclosure

[prophet224]

Hi all!
I did search around and I see a lot of posts and questions about which plants are safe, but not about
actually growing them, which seems to be our problem. I'm new here but I have had my beardie Figment for about 2 years. Hoping some friendly folks can provide insight to my issue.

The problem:
I can't keep plants alive! I have tried a number of different plants with different care levels and they all die. Maybe it is my black thumb, but I thought I would see if anyone had any ideas.

The current plant:
Simple "cat grass" from PetSmart. She LOVES this stuff as you can see in the picture below. I put it in a ceramic container with Orchid/Bromeliad mix in the bottom (to hold water), then the soil, and soil around the edges. Then I covered the small amount of soil that still showed with sand. All of this absorbed water fine, and she didn't get into the soil at all. Unfortunately the plant had to be removed as it withered up and died, just like all the others. :-(

The Enclosure
The enclosure itself is an Exo-Terra low-profile (36"x18"x12"). I've put stone backsplash material along the back which she can climb on, the rest of the surface is removable slate or stone squares, and I blocked off the far right side with more of the same to fill with sand and give her a place to dig.

The stone she is on in the picture below is the 'winter' one which I have since exchanged for her non-enclosed 'spring and summer' version. I've also moved the bath to the non-sandy side since she filled it in with sand.

There is a UV light inside the enclosure attached to the ceiling, the basking light sits on top, and in the corner over the water I have a low-wattage ceramic heater that runs 24/7 (unless it really gets warm in the house but it is usually ~72 degrees).

Here's Figment hanging out; it only shows half her enclosure.

Here she is hugging her bed of grass:

 

[Taterbug]

From my experiences most enclosures do not have nearly enough light for most plants, especially grasses. I have to have a separate light just for my plants to keep them going in my dragon cage, and they aren't growing very fast. I liked cat grass but had the same problem. Th only plants I have good success with are a snake plant in my beardie enclosure (and it has its own LED light on it quite close) and pothos/devils ivy in my other enclosures. Everything else just gets unhappy and dies. Which is fine, dead grass isn't terribly unattractive. Unfortunately pothos isn't edible so its nto suitable for a beardie.

Catgrass is hard to keep happy in an enclosure I think. It is very thirsty and likes a moist soil, and you may not have been watering it enough. Again, light is probably a big problem, as its a full sun plant which to grow well indoors would want to be very close to a florescent light (3-4"). I found it easier to swap it out with a different pot and just refresh the whole thing when it got too long/droopy. You can get seeds and grow it pretty quickly and easily.

https://www.burpee.com/herbs/pet-friendly-herbs/cat-grass-prod000463.html

 

[Cimorene]

Hello prophet! I have had my beardie for about two weeks but I have been obsessed with houseplants for around twenty years. I am very excited to see a current discussion of growing live plants in the enclosure because I would love to figure this out, too. Plants are obviously a big part of their native habitat and Figment looks so happy interacting with them!

I just wanted to comment on your "black thumb" - one thing I have learned by watching houseplants is that in almost all situations where you think they look impeccable, there is some trickery going on. Magazine/instagram photos are posed with plants in situations that could not possibly survive long-term... hotels and zoos often bring in greenhouse-grown plants and take them away again when they look shabby... and even the botanical garden that I used to live near, full of scientific expert professionals, rotated potted plants between the greenhouse that was open to visitors and the 3-4 that were not in order to give the appearance that there were always blooms. So even though this answer may not be helpful for our shared goal of a sustainably planted vivarium... this is definitely success! You have a green thumb. I have come to the conclusion that some replanting is going to be part of maintenance since beardies are hard on their plants.

 

[prophet224]

Wow, thanks folks for the replies!

@Taterbug - The moist soil was what sparked me to try the bromeliad mix in hopes that it would soak up extra water and supply extra moisture, giving me some flex room. I wasn't originally worried about the light since it in the low profile, with the light on the inside, there's a fair amount of UV, but maybe I will get a separate plant light. <Trip to the store>

@Cimorene - Welcome to keeping beardies! They are wonderful! So regarding the "beardies are hard on their plants", it definitely seems true. Grass is so thin, with her laying on it all night it doesn't get a chance to recover. My mom and dad raised orchids for years, and he has even won awards for the National Orchid Society - I guess I didn't inherit that. But your insight into the world of 'display plants', if you will, is welcome and good to know.

I'm going to try the cat grass once more (because I already have a new container sitting here) and I'll go get a light for the plant. I'm wondering though if some of the previous issues with other plants wasn't more about the containers they were in not retaining water with the two heat lamps nearby. My new plant container MIGHT just keep one of the hardier plants alive. We shall see!