I don't know if this is the right place for this question, but here it is: I'm looking for recommendations for live plants that will survive on an upper platform in my BP's viv that is heated from below by a RHP mounted under the platform. The platform is well-insulated from the RHP, so the warmest it gets is 90°-ish in the winter when the RHP is mostly running at full power. In the summer the RHP hardly comes on at all, so the platform is more like 80°-ish.
But I'm not sure how "belly heat" affects plants - even in very warm environments, the soil an inch or two below the surface is usually a good bit cooler than the air. In this case, it's the other way around. I need a plant that will tolerate "belly heat".
I tried a bird's nest fern and a spider plant in that location, and both died because their roots rotted from below. The container I was using didn't provide very good drainage, which was presumably also a factor. I'll do it differently the next time, so a requirement for well-drained soil isn't necessarily a deal breaker. But from experience with the other plants in there, if I over-water it takes awhile for the excess to dry, so I'd like something that's a little less likely to rot if possible. BTW, the platform does have edges, so nothing's going to fall off.
Anyone with more horticultural knowledge than me have recommendations? I already have peace lily, pothos and philodendron in the viv elsewhere, so I'd like something else. It should also not require too much headroom, because this platform is less than a foot below the ceiling. There is a T8 fixture there, so it does get light. Something that spreads/creeps/drapes and creates good cover would be nice. And obviously something that doesn't mind being sat/climbed on, and doesn't require actual misting (I can't mist in the summer, everything's humid enough already).
Ivy maybe? Wandering Jew? Ferns? Pilea?