Live Plant Question

[kelii]

Is it OK to plant herbs in a Greek Tortoise enclosure. I was thinking of using rosemary, Thyme and lavender because I read somewhere they encounter those plants in the wild.

 

[pfara]

Those plants are definitely safe if eaten. The only question I have is if you'd be planting them in an indoor enclosure or outdoor. From my experience, my torts' sense of smell is pretty good (just a guess). I attempted to get rid of gnats using apple cider vinegar and each tort went to the opposite side. Again, I'm guessing it's from the strong odor.. not 100% sure. My point is, herbs are very pungent and if used indoors, it could be a bit overwhelming for both you and the tort. Otherwise, I'd say go for it.

 

[Iochroma]

I agree the herbs are safe, sadly, they just don't grow well in the house. I would skip trying potted herbs in favor of throwing in a few stems as forage from time to time.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

I would not waste precious space in the habitat on herbs. Instead I'd go for more enjoyably edible plants, or even grass. Any herbs I plan to cook with (rosemary is high on the list) are in pots & not in the tortoise habitat for reasons of hygiene & contamination.

 

[Alaskamike]

I grew tort seeds from tortoise supply in a Rubbermaid container and when big enough I scooped out a section and transplanted in my leopard enclosure. They loved the plants and would eat them almost the ground. I found that I could remove them once eaten up well, put the remains back in the grow box and replace with more fresh plants. The ones eaten down grew back again under a grow light.

Worked well. Here is my latest " crop" .

 

[kelii]

I like the seed idea. Would that also work for a star tortoise. My husband wants one of those now.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

The tortoise supply seeds grow very quickly. I have some indoors under a UVB light and they are growing as quickly as the ones out doors. Unfortunately, my baby RF loves to trample on them and eat about every tenth one...

 

[leopard777]

The tortoise supply seeds grow very quickly. I have some indoors under a UVB light and they are growing as quickly as the ones out doors. Unfortunately, my baby RF loves to trample on them and eat about every tenth one...

thats a good sign ,trampling over their food seem to be their favorite way of moving around