Floratam Sod Question

[Stallan54]

Hi all. New here. Just adopted a 3 year old 9" Sulcata. Been researching non-stop and I have most of it down pat except for the types of grass for his diet. I am about to re-sod my yard where the tort roams and I wanted to make sure the grass was good for his diet. I plan on going with Floratam Sod. The reason is the area gets partial sun. I was going to go with Bermuda grass but the 3-4 hours of sun is not enough apparently.

Do torts eat or can they eat Floratam Sod? My guess is grass is grass...right? Thanks for your help anyone!

 

[Bducks16]

Remember that where he roams will be mowed down to dirt in no time. With Sod there is a plastic netting in the soil. It wouldn't be long before all that's left is plastic. Lots of fertilizers used with Sod. If you have a designated roaming area I would plant grass seed and numerous different types of weeds using no fertilizer.

 

[Stallan54]

Great! Thank you for your response. So I'm guessing that as long as I start from seed there is no "wrong" type of grass. I have a box of dandelion seeds I got from a relative so I'll try throwing them in considering they are good for torts.

 

[Bducks16]

Grass is grass to me as well. Your tort will love the dandelion.

 

[Tony the tank]

I've been soding my Sulcatas pen for years.. (Actually 3 times a year..). Cant grow grass fast enough..Never had an issue.... Also Don't know of any plastic netting....

 

[Bducks16]

I've been soding my Sulcatas pen for years.. (Actually 3 times a year..). Cant grow grass fast enough..Never had an issue.... Also Don't know of any plastic netting....

That's what it looks like. Guaranteed to be wrapped all over your torts neck and legs. Not a safe thing to have in there. Maybe sod in your area is different but here in the Pacific Northwest that's how it's sold.

 

[Yvonne G]

Great picture! Thanks for putting that up.

Certain types of Bermuda do not have the plastic netting, however, it is usually a hybrid Bermuda and doesn't seem to be as tasty to the tortoises as regular bermuda.

I would just get seeds. And I'm willing to bet Bermuda will grow in the shade too. It is quite invasive. Also, Bermuda comes from Africa, so it is a natural sulcata food.

 

[Tony the tank]

My sod doesn't have any netting.. You could be right.. I'm in South Central Florida you can't grow grass here from seed...And There are no seeds for St Augustine ( at least that's what I have seen and been told) a pallet of sod 500sqft is $150 installed... It takes my 100+lbs Sulcatas about 2-3 month to make it bare..( that's with feeding Mazuri and collard greens to try to give the grass a chance to grow...

 

[turtlemanfla88]

I live in FLA to . Most of my tortoises prefer Bahia over ST. Augustine. In my front lawn and sides are not fenced in. We get wild gopher tortoises grazing on the Bahia and certain weeds ,but they do not touch the ST Augustine.

 

[surfergirl]

My dad was a sod farmer and he would use the netting for his fescue sod. Fescue grass does not spread it is one blade/plant per seed and will fall apart in the harvesting process with out a net. I think there are other varieties that are also not as dense and need the netting to hep with harvesting and make it handle foot traffic better.

My sulcata prefers bermuda over everything grass but he will eat fescue, st augustine and meyer and zion zoysias. zion handles shade very well.

 

[Sheldon the russian tortoise]

I've been soding my Sulcatas pen for years.. (Actually 3 times a year..). Cant grow grass fast enough..Never had an issue.... Also Don't know of any plastic netting....

Sounds expensive lol

 

[Tony the tank]

Not really..150 a pallet installed.. 2 pallets a pen....

Sounds expensive lol

 

[turtlemanfla88]

Hey guys I am state certified by FL dept of AG in Lawns, Ornamentals,and pest control. Be careful with new sod and ask who you are buying it from two very important questions: did they spray or treat with anything and if they did what products did they use?.Also, in FLORIDA most sod is grown on sod farms in South Florida and it would not hurt to ask about if the farm treat the sod and if so how long ago it was treated and what products were used?. I let new sod root first before introducing my animals it let anything dissolve most of the products we use now start to break down the minute they are applied because they are all water based not oil based. Second it let the sod root and become established before introducing your animals.