# What is in Testudo Seed Mix?



## MyrtlesMum0131 (Jun 9, 2015)

Hello!
As some of you might know, I am in the process of building a 20' x 8' enclosure for my Russian tortoise Myrtle. There are two large cabbage palms covering about 3/4 of the enclosure, but there is a small sunny patch, probably 8' x 4'. I want to plant some food for Myrtle in this spot but am unsure what to put in. I am are extremely wary of dandelions and other long-rooted, aggressive plants because our yard has virtually none right now and I don't want to start a population. I thought that the Testudo Seed Mix from Tortoise Supply might be a good choice, but noticed that it doesn't specify exactly which plants are included. For those of you who use this mix, what identifiable plants do you notice? Do they have long, thick roots? If I end up not getting this mix, I'll probably go with a mixture of marigolds, daisies, Bermuda grass, hibiscus, etc (going from this list: http://www.russiantortoise.net/edible_plants.htm 

Thank you so much for your input!
~MyrtlesMum0131


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## Yvonne G (Jun 9, 2015)

From Tortoise Supply web site:

A blend of 24 broadleaf plants and clovers. This is a great mix for the Mediterranean tortoises (Russians, Greeks, Hermanns, etc) or those species that just don't care for grasses. This mix has no grasses in it, and does well in warmer climates without a huge amount of irrigation (similar to the conditions most Testudo experience in the wild).

I think it is always changing depending upon what's going to seed at the time of harvest. I know mine had turnip greens, chia and clover in it.

Don't get bermuda grass seed. You'll be sorry. It is very invasive and will quickly take over the yard. - plus, Russians don't eat it much.


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## MyrtlesMum0131 (Jun 9, 2015)

Yvonne G said:


> From Tortoise Supply web site:
> 
> A blend of 24 broadleaf plants and clovers. This is a great mix for the Mediterranean tortoises (Russians, Greeks, Hermanns, etc) or those species that just don't care for grasses. This mix has no grasses in it, and does well in warmer climates without a huge amount of irrigation (similar to the conditions most Testudo experience in the wild).
> 
> ...


Thanks Yvonne! That's very helpful information. I'm starting to think the mix will be the way to go.


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## Ariza (Jun 10, 2015)

Ariza doesn't care much for grass but loves the Testudo Mix. She doesn't give it a chance to grow back so am thinking of planting trays and switching them to give the other tray a chance to grow. I'm happy with the mix and you see buds in about 5 days. I agree with Yvonne, you'd never get rid of Bermuda grass. Another plant that Ariza can't get enough of is Primrose, Petunias, and Hibiscus Biseptis, and of course Mallows.


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## Tom (Jun 10, 2015)

Its a carefully guarded trade secret. I love the stuff. I did a whole ongoing thread on it.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jun 10, 2015)

I've grown quite by accident some huge, mutant veggies with that mix. Some went into salads for myself. It's great stuff! The bag I got is small, but it's still 3/4 full.


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## MyrtlesMum0131 (Jun 10, 2015)

Thanks so much everyone!! I decided to order it….it sounds like seeing what turns up will be quite an adventure haha. I'm excited to get Myrtle eating it because right now she eats mostly grocery store greens and lettuces which I understand are not super healthy for her. It should come in sometime next week, which will correspond nicely with the completion of the pen. I don't want her to eat all the seedlings, though, so I might section off a portion of her enclosure to get things started.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jun 10, 2015)

If you snip the green tops off. A lot of them will regrow.
It's like perpetual food.


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## Ariza (Jun 10, 2015)

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/tortoisesupply-com-testudo-seed-mix-thread.71890/

If you haven't already, check out Tom's thread about Testudo Mix. That's what made me aware of it and I ordered. It looks yummy, doesn't it?


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## Tom (Jun 11, 2015)

I get carrot tops, celery, italian dandelion, radishes, callendula, fennel, various clovers and alfalfa, and a few others that I don't know the names of. And ZERO is right. Perpetual food. I've been cutting from that original plot for years now.


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## MyrtlesMum0131 (Jun 11, 2015)

Wow, thanks for all the responses everyone! I read through that article and it seems like the way to go! I can't wait for it to come in. Once the seeds grow, will I have to feed her anything extra? Right now I feed her a mix of greens and a pet store food (Grassland Tortoise Diet), but I would like to eliminate the pellets as soon as I can and switch to fresher stuff.


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## Tom (Jun 11, 2015)

MyrtlesMum0131 said:


> Wow, thanks for all the responses everyone! I read through that article and it seems like the way to go! I can't wait for it to come in. Once the seeds grow, will I have to feed her anything extra? Right now I feed her a mix of greens and a pet store food (Grassland Tortoise Diet), but I would like to eliminate the pellets as soon as I can and switch to fresher stuff.



I wouldn't rely on any single thing as my sole source of food. Not even a mix like this one. Lots of variety is good and mixing in a soaked ZooMed pellet once in a while is a good idea.

Here are other feeding suggestions:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds: 
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food


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## MyrtlesMum0131 (Jun 11, 2015)

Thank you SO much Tom! I would love to plant some flowers, as Myrtle adores them and I think they would provide a nice contrast to the weeds and clovers. I already have several Opuntia cactus pads that I feed her periodically and I will probably pick up some honeysuckle, hibiscus, petunia, geraniums and pansies to start off with. Is it ok to buy mature plants from Lowes/Home Depot or do they have chemicals on them? I would also probably toss a kale/Romaine leaf in the pen every once in a while, as she enjoys snacking on lettuces and they would be especially useful when the other plants are seedlings.


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## Tom (Jun 11, 2015)

MyrtlesMum0131 said:


> Thank you SO much Tom! I would love to plant some flowers, as Myrtle adores them and I think they would provide a nice contrast to the weeds and clovers. I already have several Opuntia cactus pads that I feed her periodically and I will probably pick up some honeysuckle, hibiscus, petunia, geraniums and pansies to start off with. Is it ok to buy mature plants from Lowes/Home Depot or do they have chemicals on them? I would also probably toss a kale/Romaine leaf in the pen every once in a while, as she enjoys snacking on lettuces and they would be especially useful when the other plants are seedlings.



Store bought flowers and plants are not intended for consumption, so the growers put pesticides in the soil. These pesticides are absorbed systemically by the growing plants and it keeps the bugs off of them, so they look beautiful for market. These systemic pesticides cannot be seen or smelled and they last for up to a year.

Best to "grow your own" from seed when it comes to flowers. I've done gazania, nasturtiums, pansies, african hibiscus and a few others from seed.


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## MyrtlesMum0131 (Jun 11, 2015)

Tom said:


> Store bought flowers and plants are not intended for consumption, so the growers put pesticides in the soil. These pesticides are absorbed systemically by the growing plants and it keeps the bugs off of them, so they look beautiful for market. These systemic pesticides cannot be seen or smelled and they last for up to a year.
> 
> Best to "grow your own" from seed when it comes to flowers. I've done gazania, nasturtiums, pansies, african hibiscus and a few others from seed.


Sounds good! I'll probably order/buy seeds very soon. Till everything grows Myrtle will probably continue to eat greens and Grassland Tort Food.


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## Ryan L. (Aug 7, 2020)

Does it grow in canada?


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## RosemaryDW (Aug 8, 2020)

Testudo mix is excellent food but be advised an adult Russian tortoise in a pen can easily trample and eat it to the ground. If you have space for an additional planter or raised bed, I’d grow some there. And I’d stick some non invasive grass or ground cover in there, as you mentioned earlier. Something that can take a beating.

Are you in the U.K. (“Mum” suggests you might be)*? If the testudo mix doesn’t work for you for some reason, you can find good mixes at the Shelled Warriors shop. The web site is a little murky, I’d look at the smallest size of this one: https://www.shelledwarriorsshop.co.uk/10g-tortoise-seed-mix--10-species---free-post-3326-p.asp. It’s a very small shop. Call or phone if you don’t get a solid response from the website.

*The U. K. territories on the other side of the pond; not Canada or elsewhere!


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