Input on Sulcata Garden/Enclosure

erdavis

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Hey guys! I am redoing Turbo, my 4 pound Sulcatas enclosure completely. It's going to be moved to a different spot in the yard and going to be a lot different than his first outdoor enclosure that I made. I am trying something really different and I need some input. A long time ago I thought I saw where instead of planting grass/other seeds on the ground of an outdoor enclosure like people typically do, they started growing all sorts of different things in plastic planters, and used the planters as the ground. The ground was basically all planters lined up next to each other, and they were able to switch out the planters when they got low on food. Ever since I read about that (well now I'm starting to think I mightve dreamed about it) I have always wanted to do it, I decided now was the perfect time. But I've looked a lot lately and can't find anything on it and have been doubting if it'll work. I have thought a lot about doing it and basically decided that if I never do it I will always wonder and want to. So I'll just get the wondering out of the way, maybe it'll even work. He will of course have a place in his enclosure with dirt and other stuff, so it's not literally going to be ALL planters, just the majority I'll have to either bury the planters slightly underground to make them ground level or I'll make a little slope/ramp for him to get on the first set of planters. I'm planning on filling the planters all the way up with soil so that (hopefully) once he gets on the first planter it's a nice and level walk even when transitioning to other planters. Of course if none of this works I'll get rid of it, but I have to at least try or else I'll always want to do it. Lol
Anyways I would love some input as to what kind of things I should plant, there will be something different in each planter, but might do the same thing in multiple planters. I know there's long lists of things he can eat but they're a bit overwhelming for someone that doesn't garden.. lol. I have taken a look at the sulcata diet sheet on here. So far I have St. Augustine Grass, Chicory, Pak Choy, Dandelion, Clover, California Poppy, Arugula, HollyHock, Turnips, Collards, and Ornamental Grass.
If anyone could give me an idea of their tortoise favorites that would be greatly appreciated. This will basically be where he'll be getting all his food from, so I want to make sure it seems balanced and I'm not leaving anything obvious out. And if anyone knows the post I'm talking about where someone else did this that would be awesome, I swear I saw someone else do it here but I'm starting to think that I imagined it..
 

Maro2Bear

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Not too long ago there was a posting made on here where someone used nursery trays (about 12 inches wide x 24 inches long) and had one or two of these incorporated into their tort's indoor enclosure. Once the tort ate one up, they would swap it out with a fresh one. So, this might be what u remember.
 

ShannonC

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I think I also remember seeing one where there were trays covering the entire bottom, and each tray had something different in it......different types of edibles as well as different types of substrates/surfaces to walk on.
 

erdavis

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@Maro2Bear Yeah I have seen where people do that. I was starting to think that a long time ago (like a couple years ago probably) I heard of that and somehow during the time between then and now I turned it into the entire enclosure! Lol
@ShannonC I thought I saw it somewhere! If only I could find the post now! :confused: I never thought about doing different things like rocks or anything. That's a good idea!
 

Prairie Mom

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Hi erdavis:) I've talked quite a bit about planting in trays with other forum members. I've used interchangeable trays for indoor enclosures. I've talked about it with other members too. The only threads I can think of are INDOOR. There are several threads where people will set their baby down inside on the trays they are growing just as a treat. Sadly, I have not seen one for outdoor enclosures.

If you don't mind my input, I think you would be happier and find it simpler just growing the food and good edible plants in the dirt floor of your outdoor enclosure. All of those planting trays are NOT sturdy and would be destroyed by even smaller Sulcatas in no time. Here are some trays I've bought. They're among the sturdiest I've found, but even these don't stand up to heavy traffic and being picked up for very long... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E7MTUI/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20 Also, these plant trays do not have drainage which would most likely drown plants that were kept outside in the rain or even if over-watered. If you poked holes at the bottom, they tray would tear up even faster.

I would suggest making a nice weed/grass bed and if you really want to have potted plants, I would use large heavy ceramic pots and place them through out the enclosure or direct plant in some good large edible shrubs and flowers. It's easier than you think.

You have a nice plant selection so far. There are lots of nice healthy bushy plants you could direct plant like: hibiscus and Rose of Sharon shrubs. Grape vines are also good Sulcata food (just don't give them the grapes). Planting pumpkin and squash vines are another great and easy food source. Also wheat and barley grass seeds grow REALLY quickly if you need to reseed food in a hurry. I made a list of my of tortoise (sulcata) safe flowers with lots of pictures if you think it might be helpful...http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...ls-cold-hardy-perennials.110773/#post-1030304 Good luck! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.:)
 
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