Planting plants problem

[Franekn]

Hello
I’m trying to find a better substrate for my 1 year old western Hermann tortoise than just coco coir I was thinking of adding some plants to make her enclosure look better and make her enjoy exploring it but the coco coir on its own is not structured and strong enough to let a plant survive on its own so I was thinking of mixing a couple different substrates together to give the substrate more structure to house a plant in it. Any recommendations for this would be greatly appreciated and would be very helpful. At the moment I have her in a vivarium.

 

[wellington]

Orchid or fir bark is really the only other substrate recommended. You can pot the plants in a container and set the container down into the substrate. Boston fern, pothos, hostas.

 

[Yvonne G]

Zilla has one that I'm planning to try:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007UE10H6/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

I'm going to put it down on an empty enclosure floor, plant my plants, then add about an inch of fir bark over the top of it so the tortoise isn't in contact with the Zilla. I'll let you all know how it works out.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello
I’m trying to find a better substrate for my 1 year old western Hermann tortoise than just coco coir I was thinking of adding some plants to make her enclosure look better and make her enjoy exploring it but the coco coir on its own is not structured and strong enough to let a plant survive on its own so I was thinking of mixing a couple different substrates together to give the substrate more structure to house a plant in it. Any recommendations for this would be greatly appreciated and would be very helpful. At the moment I have her in a vivarium.

Potted plants are the way to go: easy watering, replacing damaged plants, fertilizing, "sunbathing", selecting appropriate soils and minimal protection from trampling. You can also use plant wall pockets to place pots or use replaceable trays with "food plants". Some plants can root in coco coir (which anyway lacks nutrients for plant growth), but when your tortoise destroys them you will need a colony of "cleaners" to prevent root leftovers from rotting or growing mold. You can go "all in" for the bioactive substrates, but I'm not sure if it worth the hassle.

 

[idcowden]

For ours we just made them a rockery on the orchid bark substrate along with a little wood bridge to hide under and a sunken terracotta dish for drinking water.

I didn't start with plants until they were about 3 and getting too big for the Tortoise Table. At that stage I built a much larger outdoor enclosure with an indoor heat box area, and a number of potted plants protected by upturned wire hanging basket frames. This has worked well - they are able to nibble the plants, but not totally destroy them (although they are pretty close with the pansies).

I found that if you are late with food, an unprotected plant will last about 5 minutes.

 

[Tom]

Hello
I’m trying to find a better substrate for my 1 year old western Hermann tortoise than just coco coir I was thinking of adding some plants to make her enclosure look better and make her enjoy exploring it but the coco coir on its own is not structured and strong enough to let a plant survive on its own so I was thinking of mixing a couple different substrates together to give the substrate more structure to house a plant in it. Any recommendations for this would be greatly appreciated and would be very helpful. At the moment I have her in a vivarium.

Potted plants are the way to go. Replace the soil they come in with something safer for a tortoise that doesn't have fertilizer products, perlite, or other such things. Over here, decorative plants are grown with systemic pesticides that are taken up into the plant's tissues and cannot be rinsed off. Most people over here have no idea that this is the case. I would guess they also do this over there, but I don't know that for sure.

 

[idcowden]

Potted plants are the way to go. Replace the soil they come in with something safer for a tortoise that doesn't have fertilizer products, perlite, or other such things. Over here, decorative plants are grown with systemic pesticides that are taken up into the plant's tissues and cannot be rinsed off. Most people over here have no idea that this is the case. I would guess they also do this over there, but I don't know that for sure.

Sadly it's the same in the UK, although there is real pressure for change. Squires, one of our largest garden centre chains has a chemical free range of plants now. Other garden centres are following suit. B&Q banned plants grown with neonicotinoid pesticides back in 2017.

 

[Franekn]

Do you know if the blue dip and garden centre chain has do the same as that is the one nearest to me

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Sadly it's the same in the UK, although there is real pressure for change. Squires, one of our largest garden centre chains has a chemical free range of plants now. Other garden centres are following suit. B&Q banned plants grown with neonicotinoid pesticides back in 2017.

Here in Finland, the biggest problem are imported plants, grown and imported under looser rules than plants grown nationally. Overall the responsibility is unfortunately on the customer.

 

[Franekn]

Do you know if the blue dip and garden centre chain has do the same as that is the one nearest to me

*blue diamond garden centre

 

[SPILL]

I've been curious about these driftwood planters. They look nice but just seem a little too small and likely to be knocked over.

Succulent Planter Driftwood - Etsy

Check out our succulent planter driftwood selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our planters & pots shops.

www.etsy.com

 

[idcowden]

*blue diamond garden centre

No idea I'm afraid. Their website says this:-

At Bridgemere Nursery, crops are already grown in peat free compost and recyclable pots. The nursery provides over 90% of the plants to Blue Diamond Garden Centres.

As part of our Nature-Friendly approach, we are working with reduced chemical applications, using natural predators and water recycling in production. Electric vehicles are used in the Nursery instead of diesel-powered.

We also use water from a natural reservoir which is filled from underground natural springs and reuse all of our rain water to water the plants.

So they don't exactly say that they don't use neonicotinoid pesticides, but it seems likely that they don't as they were banned by the UK and EU in 2018.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

No idea I'm afraid. Their website says this:-


So they don't exactly say that they don't use neonicotinoid pesticides, but it seems likely that they don't as they were banned by the UK and EU in 2018.

@idcowden Do you know more details about this legislation act? Does is completely ban systemic pesticides or their usage in agriculture? Does it cover imported/exported exotic plants? Does it prohibit seeds coating? I can do a research, of course, yet I just hope for a quick and simple answer

 

[idcowden]

@idcowden Do you know more details about this legislation act? Does is completely ban systemic pesticides or their usage in agriculture? Does it cover imported/exported exotic plants? Does it prohibit seeds coating? I can do a research, of course, yet I just hope for a quick and simple answer

No, not in that much detail.
There's a useful PDF here:-
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CDP-2022-0024/CDP-2022-0024.pdf
The EU Legislation is here
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:309:0001:0050:EN:PDF

Important to note that the Government is making exceptions to the policy for some crops

Summary from first PDF:

EU regulations Until the UK left the EU, pesticides policy was decided at an EU level. The legislation governing the placement of pesticides on the market is Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. Under this law, any active substances contained in a pesticide must be approved before the product can be used. The EU initially operates a hazardbased approach to regulating active substances and is regarded as one of the strictest regimes in the world.4 In 2012, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which advises the EU Commission on pesticide approvals, was asked to conduct a risk assessment of clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, three of the most common NNIs used. In January 2013, it published its findings.5 Some of the data had shortcomings, and EFSA made the case for a more detailed risk assessment to be taken. However, its interim findings were that they had “identified a number of risks posed to bees.” On the basis of this advice, in 2013 the EU Commission severely restricted the use of pesticides containing clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. EFSA conducted another review of the scientific evidence and published its finding in February 2018. Looking principally at honeybees and bumblebees, EFSA confirmed the risks that it had identified in 2013 for these three NNIs. More detail is set out in a Q&A on EFSA’s conclusions. The EU subsequently passed regulations to completely ban the use of clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam in an outdoor environment, limiting them to use within greenhouses only. Pesticide authorisations in the EU must be renewed after a maximum of 15 years. The approval for clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam has not been renewed. Following another EFSA risk assessment in 2019, the approval for thiacloprid was also withdrawn on 3 February 2020. There remains only one NNI approved in the EU, acetamiprid. For more information on how the EU has approached NNIs in recent years is set out on the EU Commission’s website on Neonicotinoids. UK law Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, Northern Ireland is still subject to EU regulations, while Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) now operates a separate regime that began 1 January 2021.6 Great Britain is therefore able to diverge from EU decisions when it comes to pesticide approval. However, Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 remains part of EU Retained Law and its provisions still apply. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the regulator for pesticides for the whole UK, although in Great Britain, ministers provide final clearance for any pesticide approvals, based on an analysis by HSE. Great Britain has broadly continued the approach taken by the EU, including an initial ‘hazard-based’ approach. According to the HSE Pesticides Approvals Register, of the five NNIs that were previously approved, only acetamiprid now has approval in the UK.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

No, not in that much detail.
There's a useful PDF here:-
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CDP-2022-0024/CDP-2022-0024.pdf
The EU Legislation is here
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:309:0001:0050:EN:PDF

Important to note that the Government is making exceptions to the policy for some crops

Summary from first PDF:

Great! Thank you, I'll give it a read.

 

[Megatron's Mom]

I was researching before and many US states have already partially banned them.

Looks like Lowes and HD should be free of them too

https://www.greenhousemag.com/news/home-depot-to-phase-out-neonics-by-2018/