can i plant things directly in my tortoise table
- Thread starter Yus
- Start date
Greetings. Yes, theoretically you CAN plant safe edible plants directly into the substrate, but MOST everyone who attempts this soon finds out that all of the plants get over grazed & trampled to death. The conditions aren't quite right to support long-term growth. Too hot, too wet, substrate not good, poor lighting, etc.
You could get hanging plants like Spider Plants or Pothos & let them trail down inside. Provides cover & something to nibble on.
Lastly, theres absolutely no reason what-so-ever to be replacing your substrate every few weeks. Spot clean, add some, take some, but replacing it all of the time is disruptive to the tort & expensive for u.
How large is your enclosure?
You could get hanging plants like Spider Plants or Pothos & let them trail down inside. Provides cover & something to nibble on.
Lastly, theres absolutely no reason what-so-ever to be replacing your substrate every few weeks. Spot clean, add some, take some, but replacing it all of the time is disruptive to the tort & expensive for u.
How large is your enclosure?
My enclosure is 4 feet by 2 feet ( will have a bigger one soon this isn’t his final product house)
Okay okay very good to know lol yeah my torts destructive too (I do have pothos plants hanging over the edges that he loves I’ll look into spider plants) I’d been changing the dirt that often mainly because of worry about fungus and him developing shell rot (but idk how fair this fear is)
Put orchid bark over the dirt and then only wet the dirt leaving the bark dry. This will help keep shell rot away. Pouring warm water into the corners will help wet the dirt but keep the bark dry or only a little damp.
Yes, plants can be planted in substrate.
If enough spot cleaning is done, substrate baked 250 for 3 to 4 hours before use will help kill anything that's in the substrate that comes out in the warm humid conditions.
Yes, plants can be planted in substrate.
If enough spot cleaning is done, substrate baked 250 for 3 to 4 hours before use will help kill anything that's in the substrate that comes out in the warm humid conditions.
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I don't currently have any indoor enclosures.
However Orchid bark is easy to spot clean and I'd leave the outside perimeters of the enclosure open and plant the center area. Since most tortoises walk around the outside edges
Apologies, that was my mistake.
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2014
- Messages
- 29,065
- Location (City and/or State)
- South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
No
I've kept them inside too. But not for long periods of time
Shally
New Member
Hi.....to get around the destruction of safe plants directly planted, I do mini gardens in square/oblong pots and put those in with a little ramp for my baby Turbo to access and whilst she's enjoying that I have another ready in the greenhouse to swap over. I use organic soil and grow safe foods for her and she loves it! Just an idea you could try 🙂 As you can see from the picture this one has been ravished and needs replacing!
lovingthelakes
New Member
Maybe you will have better luck then I did. I tried a couple of times with the safe-to-eat plants, but have come to accept that mine finds a lot of joy in walking through the plants & has ended up trampling all of them no matter where they were in the enclosure. I initially had them in the corners, then tried the sides, & then various places including the center…but her attraction to trample them was intentional like a kid jumping in a puddle.
