# enclosure plants



## franklin444 (Jun 2, 2020)

Right now I have a spider plant in my Russian tortoises enclosure and I really want some more plants in there because I find they look so nice. What are some plants that I can put in my enclosure that are fine if they get eaten just in case my tort does eat them.


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## ZenHerper (Jun 2, 2020)

There are many many threads on this subject:





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Search results for query: safe enclosure plants







www.tortoiseforum.org


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## Toddrickfl1 (Jun 2, 2020)

My four go-to plants are Spider, Pothos, hosta, and Boston fern.

Is this the Franklin from IG?


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## Tom (Jun 2, 2020)

Toddrickfl1 said:


> My four go-to plants are Spider, Pothos, hosta, and Boston fern.
> 
> Is this the Franklin from IG?


Ooh! Hostas. Will those grow inside an enclosure?


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## franklin444 (Jun 2, 2020)

Thanks for the help, I will look into those plants. I have some pothos plants around the house so I might put them in his enclosure.


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## Derekphan97 (Jun 2, 2020)

Tom said:


> Ooh! Hostas. Will those grow inside an enclosure?


 well i am affraid so


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## Toddrickfl1 (Jun 2, 2020)

Tom said:


> Ooh! Hostas. Will those grow inside an enclosure?


I transplanted them from my yard. They don't do great but they survive.


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## Toddrickfl1 (Jun 2, 2020)

Derekphan97 said:


> well i am affraid so
> View attachment 296321
> View attachment 296322


Yours look good! I must not have enough light over mine.


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## Tort4Tort (Jun 2, 2020)

I'm growing some Polka Dot plants for my enclosure, right now they're just seedlings though. These plants do best in indirect light/partial shade so thats why i chose them. Oat grass is extremely easy to grow but Itll die soon after it gets root bound.


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## Derekphan97 (Jun 2, 2020)

Toddrickfl1 said:


> Yours look good! I must not have enough light over mine.


I recommend using 30 to 50 watt led flood light. The one that you hang outside the house to lighten your backyard. It creates little heat, which is somewhat good for the closed chamber., cheap and effective to grow indoor or outfoor plants. I use them for my aquarium and my hatchling tortoise closure


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## Yvonne G (Jun 2, 2020)

It's a good idea to have enough plants for two enclosures. One set is placed in good lighting and growing area while the other set is in the enclosure. When the enclosure plants start to look peaky, you trade them out for the other set. Rotating your pastures, so to speak.


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## Toddrickfl1 (Jun 2, 2020)

Derekphan97 said:


> I recommend using 30 to 50 watt led flood light. The one that you hang outside the house to lighten your backyard. It creates little heat, which is somewhat good for the closed chamber., cheap and effective to grow indoor or outfoor plants. I use them for my aquarium and my hatchling tortoise closure


Awesome, thanks for the advice.


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## LasTortugasNinja (Jun 2, 2020)

I've never had good luck with enclosure plants. They either get overwhelmed by the heat/humidity of the enclosure or the resident decides it's fun to destroy the plant. Also, if anything happens that requires the substrate be replaced (fungus, mold. or parasites) the plants usually don't do well with the transplanting. For indoor enclosures, I just either rotate potted plants (similar to what Yvonne said) or use rocks & sticks as fun mental stimulation.

Outdoors, I treat the Tort enclosure as a flower bed. with grasses and tort-friendly shrubs. Since the likelihood of fungus or mold are reduced outdoors since the humidity isn't "fake," I'm not as worried about the substrate. If anything, my issue is ants outside. They LOVE my tort food as much as the tort, so I've added diatomaceous earth along the sides of the enclosure and under the food bowl where the ants come out to climb into the food bowl... I hate ants!


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## Heidianne (Jun 3, 2020)

Yvonne G said:


> It's a good idea to have enough plants for two enclosures. One set is placed in good lighting and growing area while the other set is in the enclosure. When the enclosure plants start to look peaky, you trade them out for the other set. Rotating your pastures, so to speak.


What a great idea. I have some safe seed coming and I think I will try this!! Thanks for the tip.


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