Plant in enclosure?

[DylanTortoiseLover67]

Hello all, I was wondering if I should plant a butter lettuce in my enclosure. I have a juvenile russian tortoise (about 1-2 years old) and I can’t feed him very often. I try, but I have school until around 4:30 so I have a very short window for feeding him. Should I plant this butter lettuce to make him scavenge and feed on his own?

 

[Tom]

Hello all, I was wondering if I should plant a butter lettuce in my enclosure. I have a juvenile russian tortoise (about 1-2 years old) and I can’t feed him very often. I try, but I have school until around 4:30 so I have a very short window for feeding him. Should I plant this butter lettuce to make him scavenge and feed on his own?View attachment 399066

Your tortoise must be fed every day. All you have to do is drop food into the food dish in the morning before you leave. Then your tortoise can graze anytime he wants all day long. Even if you drop the food in at 4am before the lights are on, that is fine.

Planting the lettuce is fine too, but be sure the tortoise doesn't have access to the soil it is planted in, unless you are making your own safe soil from known ingredients. There is no store bought soil that is safe, and the soil the lettuce is grown in from the store likely has dangerous stuff in it.

 

[DylanTortoiseLover67]

Your tortoise must be fed every day. All you have to do is drop food into the food dish in the morning before you leave. Then your tortoise can graze anytime he wants all day long. Even if you drop the food in at 4am before the lights are on, that is fine.

Planting the lettuce is fine too, but be sure the tortoise doesn't have access to the soil it is planted in, unless you are making your own safe soil from known ingredients. There is no store bought soil that is safe, and the soil the lettuce is grown in from the store likely has dangerous stuff in it.

I think I might use the soil already in my enclosure. I use coconut fibers, I think that’s pretty nutritious for the plant. On the other hand, whenever I put the lettuce in the enclosure early in the day they dry out and become crunchy and brittle. Is that still good for the tortoise?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I think I might use the soil already in my enclosure. I use coconut fibers, I think that’s pretty nutritious for the plant. On the other hand, whenever I put the lettuce in the enclosure early in the day they dry out and become crunchy and brittle. Is that still good for the tortoise?

I second everything Tom has already said, drop in enough for him to graze on and off throughout the whole day, don’t worry if you have to do it when lights are still out. That happens with our red foot sometimes because of shift work.

The feed should be a variety of greens, never solely rely on lettuce. variety is key, if heavily relying on store bought foods, amendments need to be made, A product we personally really like is the Arcadia optimized, it’s such a great way for getting more variety in, especially during the winter months when things are harder to grow, you soak each cube in water(quantities on packet) until it’s a mushy grassy texture, and add it on top of the fresh stuff, any left over can be stored in the fridge. Most tortoises love it, but it could take a while for him to get used to, they’re very stubborn by nature, so don’t worry if it takes weeks/months of attempts for him to eat it.

Have you checked out the tortoise table app? there’s multiple categories to check out, I’d definitely have a look at the ‘wildflower’ section, there’s SO many weed varieties covered! All the different plants also have rough guidelines for how often to feed.

The Tortoise Table - Home

The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

Id definitely suggest giving these links a read

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

This thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need, though yours is nearing the age of not needing it), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! If ever going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better, but like I say, yours probably wouldn’t need it much longer

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org

There’s some more closer chamber options in here if you’d like a look

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here can be good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

I hope this all helps! Always feel free to ask any questions on here, whilst we have you, I saw on your last post your tortoises eye looked a little swollen, I don’t suppose you have any recent pics?

 

[Tom]

I think I might use the soil already in my enclosure. I use coconut fibers, I think that’s pretty nutritious for the plant. On the other hand, whenever I put the lettuce in the enclosure early in the day they dry out and become crunchy and brittle. Is that still good for the tortoise?

Coconut fiber shouldn't be used as a substrate. It has all those hair like pieces. You want coco coir, also called "coco peat".

Coco coir does not have any nutrients to support plant growth. That is probably okay as your tortoise will just eat it all up in short order anyway.

If your food is drying out that much and that fast, then it is much too dry for your tortoise in that enclosure. Your tortoise is desiccating in the same way. You need to add humidity. It does not have to be high humidity for a Russian tortoise, but it should be moderate. Shoot for around 50-60%.

 

[COmtnLady]

Please post pictures of your enclosure, and your tortoise! Perhaps we can come up with better suggestions once we know exactly what you are dealing with.