I Need Help Buying suitable Plants For My Tortiose

I have a 6-month-old Hermann's tortoise and I'm eager to enrich its enclosure with live plants. I'm searching for a plant that not only adds a touch of greenery but also provides safe hiding spots. Could you recommend a suitable option?

KASHYAPDROP said:

I have a 6-month-old Hermann's tortoise and I'm eager to enrich its enclosure with live plants. I'm searching for a plant that not only adds a touch of greenery but also provides safe hiding spots. Could you recommend a suitable option?

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Lots of people use spider plants😊just beware the flowers and seeds aren’t safe, so if it starts to
sprout babies cut them off👍🏻

Boston ferns might work, Hope this helps

Kudzu is what I'd use if I was back in South Carolina. (I wish).It's edible and it just grows anywhere.
But a similar substitute for the rest of us would be Pathos.
Also spider plants.

Mr. RussianTortoise said:

Boston ferns might work, Hope this helps

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Excellent for cover. And most tortoises don't try to eat it.

If you BUY plants. Don't get anything expensive. Between them dying because of insufficient lighting, being trampled on or just plain eaten. Most enclosure plants have short lives.

Littleredfootbigredheart said:

Lots of people use spider plants😊just beware the flowers and seeds aren’t safe, so if it starts to
sprout babies cut them off👍🏻

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Okay, thank you for the advice

A clay flower pot laying sideways and half buried in the substrate makes an excellent hide.
You can try to break one in half to make two. But you'll probably end up with a few dozen useless pieces. Some very sharp.

Any plant you get from flower/garden store ideally should be repotted in a new soil, free from pesticides and such, rinse roots when replant.

With spider plant and pothos it's better to leave grown plant outside the enclosure and when they give sprouts or new vine - plant them in a smaller pots and add these to the enclosure. This way you will have almost unlimited plant supply and new sprouts will be safer for tortoise.

Other "shady" options are prayer plant (Maranta) and tradescantia zebrina.

KASHYAPDROP said:

I have a 6-month-old Hermann's tortoise and I'm eager to enrich its enclosure with live plants. I'm searching for a plant that not only adds a touch of greenery but also provides safe hiding spots. Could you recommend a suitable option?

Click to expand...

You really can't buy them. You have to grow your own from mature cuttings or seed. All decorative plants in the US are grown with systemic pesticides. Some last a few months and others can last a year or more. The toxins are absorbed into the plant's tissues. They cannot be rinsed off and removing the soil does nothing.

ZEROPILOT said:

A clay flower pot laying sideways and half buried in the substrate makes an excellent hide.
You can try to break one in half to make two. But you'll probably end up with a few dozen useless pieces. Some very sharp.

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I use hammer and nail to make small pits every 3-4 inches and then crack goes through them. Edges, of course, have to be filed after that.

Thank you so much for the suggestions.

Many people also plant some seeds, like sunflower for example and put the small sprouts in their tortoises enclosure like cat grass. These of course last only a few days and don't provide hides, but they can bring variety to you tortoises diet and some enrichment of crazing.