# Live plants for Redfoots enclosure



## Lu_x85 (Aug 15, 2016)

Hello All,

I was wondering if any of you could advise on live plants that are suitable for a Redfoot's enclosure. I know that live planting helps with humidity, which is a big reason I would like to include them but obviously I want them to provide shade and an authentic forest environment too. 

I know they are likely to eat the plants but I'm happy to change the plants regularly and happy to grow my own over time but will have to buy the plants to begin with for my first set up. 

Thank you in advance for all of your help! 

Lu


----------



## ZEROPILOT (Aug 15, 2016)

Spider plants are low light tolerant and tough.
I've also never seen any of my Redfoot try to eat them.


----------



## Lu_x85 (Aug 15, 2016)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Spider plants are low light tolerant and tough.
> I've also never seen any of my Redfoot try to eat them.



Spider plants were on my list as a possibility as they create nice overhangs the tortoise can get under as shelter too. Interesting that they haven't attempted to eat them! 

I think I'll add a couple of spider plants! Thank you!


----------



## Gillian M (Aug 15, 2016)

Lu_x85 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I was wondering if any of you could advise on live plants that are suitable for a Redfoot's enclosure. I know that live planting helps with humidity, which is a big reason I would like to include them but obviously I want them to provide shade and an authentic forest environment too.
> 
> ...


A warm welcome to the forum!

Yep, plants definitely help with humidity. 

Would you please post pics of your tort and his/her enclosure?


----------



## Lu_x85 (Aug 15, 2016)

Gillian Moore said:


> A warm welcome to the forum!
> 
> Yep, plants definitely help with humidity.
> 
> Would you please post pics of your tort and his/her enclosure?



I don't have either yet. But I do have a pic from my last visit to see the tort.

My set up is gradually all arriving in the post. I'm having a custom made viv, which is made from an extremely thick plastic not impacted by the heaters needed for Redfoots. I've gone with this set up as it won't be degraded at all by humidity. The company comes highly recommended by keepers of Redfoots in the U.K. and other humidity loving reptile keepers. As it is custom made I've been able to allocate the ventilation I require. Once the viv has arrived I'll trial my irrigation system and thermostat etc. I'll be collecting the tort once the humidity and temp gradient are ideal.

My main area of research currently is on plants and finding ones which are safe for Redfoots to eat and will be something I can source.


----------



## Gillian M (Aug 15, 2016)

Lu_x85 said:


> I don't have either yet. But I do have a pic from my last visit to see the tort.
> 
> My set up is gradually all arriving in the post. I'm having a custom made viv, which is made from an extremely thick plastic not impacted by the heaters needed for Redfoots. I've gone with this set up as it won't be degraded at all by humidity. The company comes highly recommended by keepers of Redfoots in the U.K. and other humidity loving reptile keepers. As it is custom made I've been able to allocate the ventilation I require. Once the viv has arrived I'll trial my irrigation system and thermostat etc. I'll be collecting the tort once the humidity and temp gradient are ideal.
> 
> My main area of research currently is on plants and finding ones which are safe for Redfoots to eat and will be something I can source.


Oh, he/she is simply adorable! 

As far as plants are concerned, @Pearly might e able to help you. She is a wonderful person and always willing to help. (Thanks @Pearly  !)


----------



## Lu_x85 (Aug 15, 2016)

Gillian Moore said:


> Oh, he/she is simply adorable!
> 
> As far as plants are concerned, @Pearly might e able to help you. She is a wonderful person and always willing to help. (Thanks @Pearly  !)



Thank you! I'm particularly in love with him/her but then I'm biased! 

Any advice on plants would be hugely appreciated! Thank you so much for the warm welcome!


----------



## Gillian M (Aug 15, 2016)

Lu_x85 said:


> Thank you! I'm particularly in love with him/her but then I'm biased!
> 
> Any advice on plants would be hugely appreciated! Thank you so much for the warm welcome!



You are most welcome.

So sorry, personally I cannot help you with plants. Apologies.


----------



## Pearly (Aug 15, 2016)

Lu_x85 said:


> I don't have either yet. But I do have a pic from my last visit to see the tort.
> 
> My set up is gradually all arriving in the post. I'm having a custom made viv, which is made from an extremely thick plastic not impacted by the heaters needed for Redfoots. I've gone with this set up as it won't be degraded at all by humidity. The company comes highly recommended by keepers of Redfoots in the U.K. and other humidity loving reptile keepers. As it is custom made I've been able to allocate the ventilation I require. Once the viv has arrived I'll trial my irrigation system and thermostat etc. I'll be collecting the tort once the humidity and temp gradient are ideal.
> 
> ...


What a cutie!!!! With the baby redfoot you will be able to plany gorgeous vivarium which will last for anywhere from 7-9 months, after which time your baby will destroy every new plant the very next day. They turn into little bulldozers, and that is how they are supposed to be. That's normal and healthy behavior. And I am very impressed with all the planning you have done! That is very smart and responsible. Your tortie will have an awesome tort-Mom, I can already tell


----------



## Pearly (Aug 15, 2016)

Gillian Moore said:


> Oh, he/she is simply adorable!
> 
> As far as plants are concerned, @Pearly might e able to help you. She is a wonderful person and always willing to help. (Thanks @Pearly  !)


Gillian, you are such Dear for managing people up like that. Thank you


----------



## Pearly (Aug 15, 2016)

Lu_x85 said:


> Thank you! I'm particularly in love with him/her but then I'm biased!
> 
> Any advice on plants would be hugely appreciated! Thank you so much for the warm welcome!


I was very much like you, searching all over for good viv plants, ones safe for the torts in case of munchings and ones that can take the extremes (high heat, very high humidity, low light). I would start with making trips to your organic nurseries and see what they have that can thrive in those conditions, and then once identified, check each plant against our edible vs toxic list. I have used several shade loving plants, spider plant was one of them. Let me look for my old enclosure pictures, I'll post some with my best plants for you. But maybe tomorrow. I'm exhausted now and can barely see straight anymore. Long day at work oh and btw, I keep the redfooted too, i adore them!!!! You have made an excellent choice!


----------



## Prairie Mom (Aug 15, 2016)

A lot of plants will need grow lights to live in your enclosure full time or you'll need to take them out and rotate them into natural sunlight often like you mentioned doing. But you could try shade loving garden and house plants. Spider plants was a good suggestion. Flowers and succulents would be pretty. If you see houseplants etc at the store that you like, you can always just keep them out of your baby's reach. Some good shade loving tortoise safe plants: some ferns (Boston, Asparagus, Ostrich), Hostas do well, African violets also work well in enclosures. I've had decent luck with snap dragons. One thing that is handy about Hostas and Ostrich ferns is that you can often by them as dried dormant bareroot varieties, so you don't have to worry about pesticides and fertilizers as much.

If you're looking for other ideas, here's a few lists that may help you out...
These are some of mine...http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...ls-cold-hardy-perennials.110773/#post-1030304
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-diet-sheet.64290/
http://africantortoise.com/edible_plants.htm

Here's a link to a post where I had a conversation with another member about enclosure plants. Maybe you see something that helps you...
Growing food in habitat


----------



## dmmj (Aug 15, 2016)

agapanthus is a umbrella type plant that's commonly used in box turtle enclosures it should work fine for a red foot.


----------



## Lu_x85 (Aug 15, 2016)

Pearly said:


> What a cutie!!!! With the baby redfoot you will be able to plany gorgeous vivarium which will last for anywhere from 7-9 months, after which time your baby will destroy every new plant the very next day. They turn into little bulldozers, and that is how they are supposed to be. That's normal and healthy behavior. And I am very impressed with all the planning you have done! That is very smart and responsible. Your tortie will have an awesome tort-Mom, I can already tell


You're all so lovely here! This has got to be the best forum I have ever joined! Thank you so much for being so welcoming and helpful Pearly, it is really appreciated! 

Could you point me in the direction of the edible vs toxic list? Thank you


----------



## Lu_x85 (Aug 15, 2016)

Prairie Mom said:


> A lot of plants will need grow lights to live in your enclosure full time or you'll need to take them out and rotate them into natural sunlight often like you mentioned doing. But you could try shade loving garden and house plants. Spider plants was a good suggestion. Flowers and succulents would be pretty. If you see houseplants etc at the store that you like, you can always just keep them out of your baby's reach. Some good shade loving tortoise safe plants: some ferns (Boston, Asparagus, Ostrich), Hostas do well, African violets also work well in enclosures. I've had decent luck with snap dragons. One thing that is handy about Hostas and Ostrich ferns is that you can often by them as dried dormant bareroot varieties, so you don't have to worry about pesticides and fertilizers as much.
> 
> If you're looking for other ideas, here's a few lists that may help you out...
> These are some of mine...http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...ls-cold-hardy-perennials.110773/#post-1030304
> ...



Thank you so much for naming specific ferns, I was struggling to work out which ones were suitable. I've found a list saying bromeliads are suitable and edible to Redfoots and they love humidity so might try getting a nice tall one to create shade. Really can't get over how lovely and helpful everyone is!

My mum grows and propagates African violets, can Redfoots eat them? I'm not sure they'll like the humidity but I could always pop one in with the expectation it won't last long or just feed the leaves if it's a suitable food? 

Thank you for the links too


----------



## Pearly (Aug 16, 2016)

Lu_x85 said:


> You're all so lovely here! This has got to be the best forum I have ever joined! Thank you so much for being so welcoming and helpful Pearly, it is really appreciated!
> 
> Could you point me in the direction of the edible vs toxic list? Thank you


I have yet to figure out how to attach links here when on my iphone, but I just googled "the tortoise table plant database" and the site popped up. It has a good (not exhaustive, but good) list of plants. The rest members of this forum will help you figure out


----------



## Pearly (Aug 16, 2016)

Lu_x85 said:


> Thank you so much for naming specific ferns, I was struggling to work out which ones were suitable. I've found a list saying bromeliads are suitable and edible to Redfoots and they love humidity so might try getting a nice tall one to create shade. Really can't get over how lovely and helpful everyone is!
> 
> My mum grows and propagates African violets, can Redfoots eat them? I'm not sure they'll like the humidity but I could always pop one in with the expectation it won't last long or just feed the leaves if it's a suitable food?
> 
> Thank you for the links too


I think the ferns with more rigid leaves (like Japanese or bird nest fern) would do better then the soft, delicate leaved ones. I put my ferns on darker side and they tried growing but my babies just bulldoze everything down at this point. If you try bromeliads try to anchor the roots above ground. Mine didn't like it and died couple (3-4)weeks later. Play with things. It'll be a while bfr your baby starts tearing things down so hopefully you can get some good plants established


----------



## Pearly (Aug 16, 2016)

this was my 40 gal tank way in the beginning with Umbrella plant and Parlor Palm, hens & chicks did really well, other succulents didn't like their roots so wet all the time

here's Umbrella plant

variegated plant on the lt side is dracaena

here you can see Parlor Palm

here's my poor bromeliad 

of course there is always option of growing from seeds.

here's more current picture with couple of small ferns and plants from my garden


----------



## Lu_x85 (Aug 16, 2016)

@Pearly thank you so much for sharing your fantastic set up! I feel inspired now and can't wait to get shopping! I'll trial a good size bromeliad, I'm going to have a small fenced off area with plants stood in pots so might make the bromeliad one of them.

But I'll plant some spider plants and ferns out in the enclosure. I love that umbrella plant, I have no idea where I'd find one but I definitely want one! Can they eat it?

Thanks again x


----------



## Pearly (Aug 16, 2016)

Lu_x85 said:


> @Pearly thank you so much for sharing your fantastic set up! I feel inspired now and can't wait to get shopping! I'll trial a good size bromeliad, I'm going to have a small fenced off area with plants stood in pots so might make the bromeliad one of them.
> 
> But I'll plant some spider plants and ferns out in the enclosure. I love that umbrella plant, I have no idea where I'd find one but I definitely want one! Can they eat it?
> 
> Thanks again x


Haha! Umbrella plants are grown as commercial hedges in Florida. Here in Texas They sell them as house/patio plants


----------



## Lu_x85 (Aug 16, 2016)

Does anyone know if this fern is suitable for Redfoots? It's common name is rabbit foot fern? 

Also I've sourced some parlor palms!


----------



## Lu_x85 (Aug 16, 2016)

Pearly said:


> Haha! Umbrella plants are grown as commercial hedges in Florida. Here in Texas They sell them as house/patio plants



I'm going to have to search for one as I'm adamant I want one now! Haha.


----------



## Pearly (Aug 16, 2016)

Lu_x85 said:


> Does anyone know if this fern is suitable for Redfoots? It's common name is rabbit foot fern?
> 
> Also I've sourced some parlor palms!


I love bunny foot fern!!!! Have one myself but I love it enough not to plant it where the' be doomed to either root rot or being torn and leveled by the torts. 

the best I find the weeds from my garden here's chickweed


and some grasses that I pull in lumps. When they are young they look like lumps of pillow moss

more grass. Sure it doesn't look as nice as the house plants... But lately this is the best I can do. Plus soon they will only sleep in there anyway, moving to their outdoor tortoise garden

this was Texas version of plantain. It didn't make it in that tank

wandering Jew and live mosses... Wandering Jew of any kind s great but it stays low to the ground, so for night lately I've been getting

wild Violet's and Mexican petunia. I have to find the pics of the latter


----------



## Lu_x85 (Aug 16, 2016)

I've just bought: 
2 parlour palms
2 large spider plants (the variegated version) 
2 umbrella plants + 1 variegated umbrella plant that has much greater height than the other 2) 
1 asparagus fern
and 2 bromeliads (one from what was described as a summer mix and the other a winter mix, but both different heights. I'm assuming all bromeliads are edible and safe. 

So that should sort a large part of the enclosure for now. I would love to pop some succulents in (or aloe) but I'm unsure what's safe. I have lots of aloe already and African violets but again worried about whether they are edible.


----------



## Gillian M (Aug 16, 2016)

Pearly said:


> Gillian, you are such Dear for managing people up like that. Thank you


I am only trying to help, and I am sure *YOU *are a very helpful person. No need to thank me.


----------



## Lu_x85 (Aug 16, 2016)

Gillian Moore said:


> I am only trying to help, and I am sure *YOU *are a very helpful person. No need to thank me.



Both equally helpful and wonderful in my view!


----------



## gibby (Dec 29, 2020)

all the best with plants my spider plant does well im thinking of edibles in spring mine loves dandilions


----------



## Canadian Mojo (Dec 29, 2020)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Spider plants are low light tolerant and tough.
> I've also never seen any of my Redfoot try to eat them.


Ours will happily munch on them if there isn't much else around. The babies seem to be particularly tasty.
In the outdoor enclosure full of other plants, forget it.


----------



## gibby (Dec 29, 2020)

yea i was gonna plant spring mix salad for outdoor too i live in Philly so i keep indoors most of year


----------



## Torkoal#1 (Mar 13, 2022)

Lu_x85 said:


> I don't have either yet. But I do have a pic from my last visit to see the tort.
> 
> My set up is gradually all arriving in the post. I'm having a custom made viv, which is made from an extremely thick plastic not impacted by the heaters needed for Redfoots. I've gone with this set up as it won't be degraded at all by humidity. The company comes highly recommended by keepers of Redfoots in the U.K. and other humidity loving reptile keepers. As it is custom made I've been able to allocate the ventilation I require. Once the viv has arrived I'll trial my irrigation system and thermostat etc. I'll be collecting the tort once the humidity and temp gradient are ideal.
> 
> ...


Can I get a link to where you got the plastic tub.


----------

