Adding plants to indoor enclosure- should I wait?

[Ivyna J. Spyder]

So I'm building a larger enclosure for my red foot and I wanted to have some live plants this time. I picked out a bunch that are safe to eat.

But, people here say that plants from stores have pesticides and stuff in them and it can take a year for them to be safe...

So what should I do? Just leave the enclosure (mostly) bare for a year until the plants have grown out?

Or could I put them in and just try to trim the low hanging leaves so the tortoise doesn't nibble them?

 

[Yvonne G]

I have never worried about that. If I've bought a plant for a tortoise habitat, I plant it where I want it. I knock off the excess dirt around the roots and put the plant in the ground. I might be playing with fire, or playing russian roulette, but that's what I do. If you don't want to take that chance, you can always populate the pen with artificial plants in the interim.

 

[G_Vincey]

I wouldn't wait a year for them to be safe, you'd probably save a lot of time if you just planted fresh seeds and grew them yourself.. Or possibly look for organically grown plants..

 

[leigti]

Maybe try to find somebody who has the kind of plants you want and doesn't use pesticides. I got a couple spider plants from a patient of mine. They spread very quickly and grow really well in the indoor enclosure. I have also found people that have good plans for my outdoor enclosure also.

 

[Ivyna J. Spyder]

Yeah I got some spider plants and some snake plants from someone who grows them but other stuff has been tricky. Veggie seeds are easy to find but I want more of the ornamental/houseplant type stuff that people rarely grow from seeds. :T

 

[G_Vincey]

Aaa okay, I see now.. I'm actually looking for the same thing, but don't know where to start..
Isit safe to put cactus plants in the enclosure, I read that torts like cactus but I know nothing about the different types of plants (cactus) that are suitable.. I'm so bad with names of plants..

 

[Ivyna J. Spyder]

This site's been pretty useful for picking out safe plants: http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp

 

[G_Vincey]

This site's been pretty useful for picking out safe plants: http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp

The most helpful link on this topic I could have been given.. Thank you so much

 

[StarSapphire22]

I agree with Yvonne. I get as much dirt as possible removed from the root system, being careful to remove all the little white rocks, etc...I just use my fingers to loosen it up and run the faucet on it until it's clean. I also give all leaves and flowers a good thorough rinse for a few minutes too, to remove any residue from the surface of the plant.

 

[Aunt Caffy]

This site's been pretty useful for picking out safe plants: http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp

Thank you for the reference. I've been checking it out all morning.

 

[AMA904]

I agree with Yvonne. I get as much dirt as possible removed from the root system, being careful to remove all the little white rocks, etc...I just use my fingers to loosen it up and run the faucet on it until it's clean. I also give all leaves and flowers a good thorough rinse for a few minutes too, to remove any residue from the surface of the plant.

Star & Yvonne - I want to make sure I'm understanding you correctly. Are you saying that you will buy plants from your local garden or home improvement store and plant them and offer them to the tortoise (cleaning them off first) without regard to whether or not they were grown organically?

 

[StarSapphire22]

Star & Yvonne - I want to make sure I'm understanding you correctly. Are you saying that you will buy plants from your local garden or home improvement store and plant them and offer them to the tortoise (cleaning them off first) without regard to whether or not they were grown organically?

I do, yes. Where I live (North Dakota) I have not found a single place that grows organically. It is my only option, other than seeds which have not been successful for me. If it IS possible for a keeper to obtain organically grown plants, then that is the way to go. For me, it's simply not an option...and I have had no issues with these plants when they are extremely thoroughly cleaned as I outlined above. Keep in mind that I remove every trace of the old soil and rinse the plants leaves and flowers for 5-10 minutes. Maybe someday this will bite me in the butt, but I have had no issues yet.

 

[AMA904]

I do, yes. Where I live (North Dakota) I have not found a single place that grows organically. It is my only option, other than seeds which have not been successful for me. If it IS possible for a keeper to obtain organically grown plants, then that is the way to go. For me, it's simply not an option...and I have had no issues with these plants when they are extremely thoroughly cleaned as I outlined above. Keep in mind that I remove every trace of the old soil and rinse the plants leaves and flowers for 5-10 minutes. Maybe someday this will bite me in the butt, but I have had no issues yet.

Gotcha. Just wanted to make sure I was understanding you correctly. I wonder how many others do something similar.