Safe plant for red foot

[Yoda_the_redfoot]

Can anybody tell me some red foot tortoise safe plants that I can add into my Rfs enclosure. Also what kind of substrate I would need to put down for the plants?

 

[wellington]

Indoor enclosure or outdoor?
@ZEROPILOT

 

[Yoda_the_redfoot]

Indoor enclosure or outdoor?
@ZEROPILOT

Indoor enclosure

 

[wellington]

Any plant you buy needs to be washed of it's dirt and placed out of reach until all possible chemicals used in and on it has disappeared. About 3 to 6 months. Pothos, Boston fern, hostas to name a few. If you can get them from someones yard that is chemical free or from a cutting, you can use them now at tortoise height.

 

[Yoda_the_redfoot]

Any plant you buy needs to be washed of it's dirt and placed out of reach until all possible chemicals used in and on it has disappeared. About 3 to 6 months. Pothos, Boston fern, hostas to name a few. If you can get them from someones yard that is chemical free or from a cutting, you can use them now at tortoise height.

Ok thanks

 

[Yoda_the_redfoot]

Any plant you buy needs to be washed of it's dirt and placed out of reach until all possible chemicals used in and on it has disappeared. About 3 to 6 months. Pothos, Boston fern, hostas to name a few. If you can get them from someone’s yard that is chemical free or from a cutting, you can use them now at tortoise

What kind of substrate do I put the plants in, once I put them in his enclosure?

 

[wellington]

The same substrate you have your tortoise on. Orchid bark or fir bark or coconut coir is mostly recommended. I like coir for hatchlings and coir with one of the barks on top for older ones.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Repot the plants and place the pots into the Orchid bark
Most plants just don't do well. Between the insufficient lighting, trampling and nibbling. Be prepared to replace them regularly.
Most indoor enclosures with live plants (that I've attempted) have been complete failures. But Lyriopi and Spider plants can work. So can some ferns and Pathos

 

[Yoda_the_redfoot]

Repot the plants and place the pots into the Orchid bark
Most plants just don't do well. Between the insufficient lighting, trampling and nibbling. Be prepared to replace them regularly.
Most indoor enclosures with live plants (that I've attempted) have been complete failures. But Lyriopi and Spider plants can work. So can some ferns and Pathos

Ok, thanks

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Ok, thanks

Go with cheap plants. Or maybe some native plants and figure it out as you go.
Hopefully your luck will be better than mine

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Can anybody tell me some red foot tortoise safe plants that I can add into my Rfs enclosure. Also what kind of substrate I would need to put down for the plants?

Hi! Go with potted plants, don't use perlite, pumice and similar stuff (or only in the bottom half of the soil mix). If you want decorative plants - the best you can do is to keep them away from your tortoise and use dense clumps of grown plants so they are perceived as an obstacle.
Here is one idea how make to do that (wall pockets): https://tortoiseforum.org/media/albums/beshas-enclosures.1217/

Plants to use: spider plants (not resistant to mechanical damage), pothos (vines will be chomped in the middle so farther end will die off), wandering jew (will be dragged out of soil and torn apart and broken), coleus, prayer plant (use some kind of support or it will be broken and dragged out of soil), boston ferns (drops a lot of small dry leaves, make sure to clean them timely), elephant's ear (safe for redfoots, but try to keep it out of reach anyway), polka dot plant (trim it to make more dense and shady).

Bright good "full spectrum" grow lights is a must. Otherwise plants will die quickly. For watering is better to use drippers to keep soil top less damp otherwise you'll get some mold on it.

Bioactive enclosures are good, but should be fairly large and need good planning and lot of efforts to make them "up and running".

 

[Ynidzake]

Jumping in on this older post because I’ve had good luck planting pothos, wandering jew, and spider plants with my red-foot. They hold up well to nibbling. For planting, I mix organic topsoil with cypress mulch so the plants can root but the enclosure stays humid. Has anyone tried adding edible weeds like plantain or sow thistle inside the setup?

 

[Blinderl]

Can anybody tell me some red foot tortoise safe plants that I can add into my Rfs enclosure. Also what kind of substrate I would need to put down for the plants?

Mine loves kale. Arugula. Red leaf. Dandelion.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Jumping in on this older post because I’ve had good luck planting pothos, wandering jew, and spider plants with my red-foot. They hold up well to nibbling. For planting, I mix organic topsoil with cypress mulch so the plants can root but the enclosure stays humid. Has anyone tried adding edible weeds like plantain or sow thistle inside the setup?

Most sun-loving plants don't grow well in enclosures - not enough light. They throw leggy sprouts and die off. A few tall plants can pull through, though.

 

[Ynidzake]

I’ve had good luck mixing coco coir with organic topsoil so plants can root well without getting waterlogged. My red-foot mostly munches on safe broadleaf stuff like pothos, spider plants, and hibiscus. I’ve grabbed a few pet-safe options from house plants since they label which ones won’t bother reptiles, and they’ve held up nicely in a humid setup.

 

[COmtnLady]

Don't mix soil in with coco coir unless you composted it yourself. Even when they claim to be organic or natural you can't know what is in it. Its made for plants, not intended to be substrate for animals.