# tortoise compost



## tortoisefriend (Sep 28, 2010)

i have a compost bin for the residual tortoise food left behind
i also add in what the tortoises leave behind . . .
does anyone else do this? i just read on some compost website that i should avoid pet manures in compost because it could make the compost toxic to handle? i have one russian tortoise, vegetarian, and a redfoot hatchling who is still too little to eat worms/cat food, so i dont see what could possibly go wrong with my compost. 
also, when should i start feeding proteins to the hatchling? he's a month and a half old, which i've been told is too little . . .


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## Maggie Cummings (Sep 28, 2010)

Tortoise poop is very different then other pet droppings. I have an 80 pound Sulcata and I put all his poop in a corner of my yard. I add the left-over food and soiled hay there too. I shovel it around and use the soil on my garden and my house plants. This year I have the biggest Sunflowers ever. I think Sulcata poop added to plants is really a good thing and it helps everything to grow like crazy...but dog or cat poop has too much protein and it's just ucky while tort poop is just grass and dissipates well back into the soil...


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## Az tortoise compound (Sep 28, 2010)

We also compost our Sulcata dung. As my one tortoise turned into a herd It felt like I was filling a 5 gallon bucket everyday. I made a composter out of two 55 gallon drums and add kitchen scraps, old hay and any old substrate from the hatchling tables. It keeps a steady supply of compost we use to grow all the edible landscaping and the vegetable garden. It's nice to see the whole recycling process played out in front of you.


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## Madortoise (Sep 28, 2010)

I toss my tort's poop to my vegetable patch and cactus pots.


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## DeanS (Sep 28, 2010)

DAMN! I NEVER even thought of this! GREAT IDEA! I'll start tomorrow!


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## Angi (Sep 28, 2010)

I use what little I have from my CDTs mixed with horse manure, coffee grounds, tea bags and egg shells to my compost bucket let it age then move it to a pile where I add worms and old fruit and more veggies. I also dumped my worm container that cooked (RIP)this weekend to the pile. I am hoping that some of the worms an eggs lived. That is my composed experiment. Other than what I learned touring a local worm farm I don't know much about composting.


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## terryo (Sep 28, 2010)

when should i start feeding proteins to the hatchling? he's a month and a half old, which i've been told is too little . . . 

The care sheet I use says don't start protein until he's 6 months old. That's when I started protein.

http://www.redfoots.com/redfoot.htm


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## Annieski (Sep 29, 2010)

I was told [a hundred years ago], that droppings CAN be composted--as long as they come from grass [and hay] and grain-fed animals.


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## j156ghs (Oct 6, 2010)

I've used earthworm casings (that's what they call it) mixed in with soil amendment products, and there was no ill effect, but I used less than a 1/4 in the mix. (I bought it at a landscaping store, not Wal-Mart or Lowes.) The plants in my terrariums seemed to respond well to the earthworm casings and, in turn, were fed to my tortoises.


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## Missy (Oct 6, 2010)

I started using Tort poo this spring and everything grew like crazy. I think I should start selling the stuff, LOL


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