Live plants in Enclosure

kmloughran

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What are some good plants to grow in the enclosure with my tort? Would it be ok to grow a patch of clover (from seed) in my indoor setup, or would he graze on that too much? I know I would be pulling it all out every few months when changing the substrate, but it does grow quickly and would look nice. Any other plants to consider? I feel like a few live potted plants would be nice in there.
 
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kmloughran

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SO I'm thinking Spider plant, crossandra, baby tears, and campanula in pots. No clover bed.... Any objections?
 
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wellington

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Clover, spider, living lettuces, grass seeds all I can think of right now.
Btw, why are you changing the substrate out every few months? I use coconut coir and I might change it after a year. Spot clean and stir it up once in awhile and you shouldn't have to change it out that often.
 

kmloughran

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Clover, spider, living lettuces, grass seeds all I can think of right now.
Btw, why are you changing the substrate out every few months? I use coconut coir and I might change it after a year. Spot clean and stir it up once in awhile and you shouldn't have to change it out that often.


Thanks for the tip. I haven't actually started the enclosure yet. I pick my tort up on the 6th. Just getting ready. Read that a lot of people are changing out substrate twice a year. I will be spot cleaning. My enclosure will be 4'x4' for my one tort. I was fine with every 6 months, but once a year sounds even better! Thanks for the heads up!
 

wellington

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One more thing. Bake the coconut coir on 200- 250 for about 3-4 hours. It kills any eggs that will produce little tiny bugs that might drive you nuts. They don't hurt anything and eventually you might still get them, but the bakings holds it off for a longer time or for good. You can boil it too if you don't want to bake it.
 

kmloughran

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One more thing. Bake the coconut coir on 200- 250 for about 3-4 hours. It kills any eggs that will produce little tiny bugs that might drive you nuts. They don't hurt anything and eventually you might still get them, but the bakings holds it off for a longer time or for good. You can boil it too if you don't want to bake it.
bake the brick before hydrating it? I'll be covering a 4x4 area with it, I'm banking on using at least 4 bricks. It would be an all-day ordeal to hydrate it, re-bake, then rehydrate all 4 bricks worth
 

wellington

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Bake the bricks before you hydrate them. Put them all in the oven at once, all that will fit. Bake then hydrate.
 

kmloughran

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Neal

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http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes

Really any of the seed mixes will work well for a leopard. I favor the African Grazer and Broadleaf Testudo mix.

What are you using for soil? The problem I run into with indoor setups is the lack of nutrients in the soil. The seeds will sprout and maybe last a week or two if I'm lucky, but to really help the plants grow better I mix clean dirt from my backyard with peat moss or coir and that usually adds enough nutrients to help the plants grow for awhile.
 

kmloughran

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http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes

Really any of the seed mixes will work well for a leopard. I favor the African Grazer and Broadleaf Testudo mix.

What are you using for soil? The problem I run into with indoor setups is the lack of nutrients in the soil. The seeds will sprout and maybe last a week or two if I'm lucky, but to really help the plants grow better I mix clean dirt from my backyard with peat moss or coir and that usually adds enough nutrients to help the plants grow for awhile.

I'm planning on growing some plants in germination trays that will sit at ground level, and also putting potted plants in there. Eventually the plants will grow over the edges of the pots, and my tort will be able to munch whatever he can reach without effecting the whole plant. It's a theory that works in my brain, we'll see if it translates to application. I'll be growing a 10x27 patch of grass in the tank, and I'll have it blocked off for a short time while it takes root and gets going.

I'll check out those mixes. Thanks!!
 

J.P.

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i have given up on live plants in the enclosure. My leos eat anything green.
They are fed 3 times a day, are let out on the lawn and graze on grass and weeds freely all day, yet still seem hungry when it's time to put them in for the night.
 

Cowboy_Ken

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When I had enclosure sized tortoises here, I would head out to my pasture and dig out a chunk of the wild pasture grasses and weeds growing. Then once inside, I'd put this piece of pasture inside the enclosure. With my hand, I'd clear substrate to a depth and width I'd need. Once in, I'd move substrate back to the sides and the tortoises would go to town eating it all down. I would selectively pick the scoop for grass eaters or broad-leaf eaters. Worked great. Yes, I'd end up with bugs in it often, but that never really bothered me much. Food for the spiders that came in as well.
 

TerrapinStation

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We do regular old grass. Our leo loves it. Grass gets eaten, trampled, slept on, dug in and when it is dead we just plant more.

The mixes from Tortoise Supply are very good as well. They do such a great job with their stuff.
 

Cowboy_Ken

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The mixes from Tortoise Supply are very good as well. They do such a great job with their stuff.
Mine is just plain old wild Oregon , Willamette Valley pasture grass and weeds. Out here most graze landowners spread a five grass pasture mix for graze and hay. I figure at some point before I bought the place that was the deal here.
 

TerrapinStation

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Mine is just plain old wild Oregon , Willamette Valley pasture grass and weeds. Out here most graze landowners spread a five grass pasture mix for graze and hay. I figure at some point before I bought the place that was the deal here.


Uh Oh...... Wild Oregon Weed for your tortoise......

pot_smoking_hippie_sea_tortoise_by_onesapiensart-d5q4cbf.jpg
 
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