Plants dying in vivarium from UVB??

[brantan]

Hey guys,

I need help! I recently set up a new bio active terrarium and am still waiting to introduce my Pygmy once the temp and humidity are a-ok. The plants I have are: aloe Vera, rosemary, oregano, succulents and Chinese Jade. They’ve taken really well the past 2 weeks but just noticed the rosemary and oregano dying this weekend since my lights arrived (I have both LED and 14% UVB) - not sure if my UVB lamp is too strong and burning the plants off? What should I do to prevent that and are there more hardy plants you guys have planted successfully with the strong UVB around?

Many thanks in advance!!

 

[Sadie]

Hey guys,

I need help! I recently set up a new bio active terrarium and am still waiting to introduce my Pygmy once the temp and humidity are a-ok. The plants I have are: aloe Vera, rosemary, oregano, succulents and Chinese Jade. They’ve taken really well the past 2 weeks but just noticed the rosemary and oregano dying this weekend since my lights arrived (I have both LED and 14% UVB) - not sure if my UVB lamp is too strong and burning the plants off? What should I do to prevent that and are there more hardy plants you guys have planted successfully with the strong UVB around?

Many thanks in advance!!

Its possible the 14% is too strong - how far is the distance from the plants? I am going to see if I can get some help w/ this --

 

[brantan]

Its possible the 14% is too strong - how far is the distance from the plants? I am going to see if I can get some help w/ this --

Hi Sadie,

Thanks for getting back to me - the distance would be roughly the height of the tank so just under 60cm.

 

[Sadie]

Hi Sadie,

Thanks for getting back to me - the distance would be roughly the height of the tank so just under 60cm.

Ok let me see if the person I reached out to can help on this

 

[Sadie]

Ok let me see if the person I reached out to can help on this

It's hard to say for sure. I haven't had good luck with live plants in an enclosure but it can certainly be done. Having grow lights in place is important- it sounds like they have that with the UVB and LEDs. Temps can play a part. If they don't do well in warmer areas, move them to cooler areas and vice versa. I'd imagine the soil would also have an effect. They may not like something about the soil consistency, drainage, or acidity. Adjusting those is beyond what I've tried so I can't be of much direct help on those. Trampling was a big issue when I tried adding live plants to Dundee's enclosure. I think this is also a common problem. Plants get bitten and dug up and just stomped on sometimes when they're in an enclosure. Using hardy things like grasses tends to be the solution that I've read about the most.