[Kribensis]

Hello everybody,

I have a large, 25+ year old, potted dipladenia that belonged to my grandparents until earlier this year. It became too large and heavy for them to bring indoors every autumn, so they gave it to me. It never dropped many leaves for them, but now it's being kept in entirely different conditions than it's used to.

It ended up dropping every leaf, and getting them all over the floor. It's growing back well now, but I was wondering if I could use the leaves for a viv. They're a perfect size and have good moisture resistance, so I would love to use them. I'm just wondering if it would be safe. When alive, the leaves are toxic. Are they unsafe when fully dry? I have hundreds of leaves, and it would feel horrible to waste them.

I've used them for isopods before, and they didn't show any negative effects, but frogs can be so sensitive to this sort of thing that I don't want to take chances.

Thank you!

 

[DPfarr]

I didn’t recognize that name, but if it’s a Mandevilla I would assume the leaves are toxic. It is part of Apocynaceae, and most have a toxic latex sap.

 

[Kribensis]

It’s basically a mandevilla, but it has smaller leaves, brighter flowers, and a more bushy growth habit. I honestly use the two names interchangeably because they’re impossible to tell apart at a distance. Thanks for the info. That’s what I thought, but I wanted to make sure. I’ll adjust find something else to do with them.