# turmeric/ginger plant for tortoise enclosure



## natik (Aug 16, 2014)

Hi, everyone.
I am a new proud owner of home's hingeback tortoise. I live in Florida and need to build an outdoor enclosure. Planning to plant quite a few plants. The question is can I plant turmeric and other ginger family plants? They grow very well here and will provide a lot of shade and nice hide-outs for my tort. Can't find anywhere whether those are poisonous for tortoises or not.


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## Yvonne G (Aug 16, 2014)

I think it would probably be ok to plant in the enclosure. It has a mild toxicity for dogs, but it might be a native plant for the hingeback.


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## natik (Aug 16, 2014)

Thanks for the reply. My dogs don't even try to eat it, it is one of the few plants that is still standing. 
I like ginger how it looks and it will provide a great shade and place to hide. I couldn't find anything on the web saying that it is toxic, so hopefully it'll be OK.


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## Yellow Turtle01 (Aug 17, 2014)

If your dog likes to eat your plants, try spraying watered down vinegar on them. It isn't toxic (dog+plants) and will taste bitter if he tries to eat them  
I've tried growing ginger, but it died 
Also, please never leave your dog alone unsupervised with your tort.


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## natik (Aug 17, 2014)

Thanks for the advice about dealing with dogs, I should try it.
As for ginger, it grows here well so I have plenty and of different varieties, I would gladly share if you were closer
I just wanted to plant eatable in the enclosure hoping that it wouldn't be poisonous.


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## gthomson (Sep 29, 2017)

How did your tortoise do with the turmeric?


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## the Turtle Shepherd (Sep 30, 2017)

my question is why in the hell are your dogs eating everything? i have four dogs, never ever have they eaten anything other than food in their life, as for ginger... hmmm, they are pretty, and sound reasonably safe, i can only plant them in the shade, so i wanted to ask as you grow them so much: will they be ok in the shade? i live in California, so we have lots of sun, but my enclosures are mostly shaded... let me know please  thanks


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## gthomson (Sep 30, 2017)

Ginger and turmeric actually do great in the shade. I live in SoCal as well, and they burn pretty easily the more sun they get here. They'd probably prefer more humidity than I get here in Corona. Ginger and turmeric both seem to like the same conditions. The 5 turmeric here, and 1 ginger hiding behind the bird bath, are doing the best here (out of about 15-20 - the others get more sun), and this is a north facing wall under the eaves - almost 100% shade (the leaves are getting just a little bit of sun in the early AM on just the tips of a couple leaves) - http://www.gthomson.us/projects/landscaping/coronadrip/planter1.jpg


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## gthomson (Sep 30, 2017)

gthomson said:


> Ginger and turmeric actually do great in the shade. I live in SoCal as well, and they burn pretty easily the more sun they get here. They'd probably prefer more humidity than I get here in Corona. Ginger and turmeric both seem to like the same conditions. The 5 turmeric here, and 1 ginger hiding behind the bird bath, are doing the best here (out of about 15-20 - the others get more sun), and this is a north facing wall under the eaves - almost 100% shade (the leaves are getting just a little bit of sun in the early AM on just the tips of a couple leaves) - http://www.gthomson.us/projects/landscaping/coronadrip/planter1.jpg



I should also mention, though... not sure how they will do over winter. Just planted them about 3-4 months ago - May probably, so will see this winter how well they make it through.


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## the Turtle Shepherd (Sep 30, 2017)

gthomson said:


> I should also mention, though... not sure how they will do over winter. Just planted them about 3-4 months ago - May probably, so will see this winter how well they make it through.


thank you so much I am now curious did yours bloom? I garden a lot. most plants need sun to bloom. so? and ty


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## gthomson (Oct 1, 2017)

the Turtle Shepherd said:


> thank you so much I am now curious did yours bloom? I garden a lot. most plants need sun to bloom. so? and ty



No blooms yet. Seems like they bloom in Spring, and they weren't out of the ground yet this last Spring. So maybe in 2018. I have some getting more sun, but they're considerably smaller, and a couple in pots - so I'll probably bring those pots into the garage in winter, and then put one in shade and one in sun when back out next year to see how the compare.


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## the Turtle Shepherd (Oct 1, 2017)

gthomson said:


> No blooms yet. Seems like they bloom in Spring, and they weren't out of the ground yet this last Spring. So maybe in 2018. I have some getting more sun, but they're considerably smaller, and a couple in pots - so I'll probably bring those pots into the garage in winter, and then put one in shade and one in sun when back out next year to see how the compare.


experimenting i like it


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## gthomson (Oct 1, 2017)

That brings me back to the OP topic...
I don't actually have any tortoises at this time, but I gave a turmeric plant to a friend that is going to plant it in an area where she does have some turtles - I'm not sure what kind. But that's what led me to here. I'm sure she'll do her own checking.

So back to the OP post - problems with turtles/tortoises and turmeric/ginger?

Looking at this page - http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Rep...List-of-Plants-That-Can-Be-Toxic-To-Reptiles/
I never realized tortoises are reptiles, so that's good for more learning on another day 
But it seems from that that they are okay with turmeric and ginger family plants.


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## JoesMum (Oct 1, 2017)

Which plant of are you thinking of?.. ginger is applied to more than one species of plant

Lifted from The Tortoise Table:
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/plant-database/viewplants/?plant=804&c=6#.WdFmdtjTWEd
_Wild Ginger (Asarum aristolochiaceae should not be confused with the Ginger that is traditionally used as a spice in cooking (Zingeber officinale), or with Upright Wild Ginger (Saruma Henryii), as they are completely different plants. The Wild Ginger plant is often cultivated and grown in gardens as ground cover._

Wild ginger is listed on The Tortoise Table Plant Database as Do Not Feed
_Wild Ginger contains aristolochic acid (a substance used in rodent poisons) which can lead to kidney failure, and the root is a potent diuretic, so this is not a plant to offer to your tortoise. The leaves of the this plant are characteristically kidney shaped, and the flowers are usually a deep red, almost black, but they can also be found in cream and black and a paler red. _


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## gthomson (Oct 8, 2017)

It's Cucurma Longa that I'm interested in - a type of turmeric in the ginger family - http://www.hawaiianorganicginger.com/hawaiian-organic-turmeric-seed/organic-red-hawaiian-turmeric


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