Poisionous plants and other important questions

[hdeaver1]

So, I finally moved to my new home and when my brother came to help us move he noticed that across the fence my neighbors have many oleander plants (poisonous to humans and animals) growing along their fence line. I am going to make an outdoor enclosure for my little guy using bricks and chicken wire to cover the top (I believe it was Tom who posted a tutorial on the method I am going to do). My question is if I place his enclosure across the other side of the yard about 40 feet will the chicken wire be enough to keep the oleander from entering his area? Any ideas or suggestions? Also, I am going to make an area with rocks, soil, and grass, as well as a very shallow water area. With a few plants throughout. Will it be enough food for him to eat, or will I need to bring food out to him everyday? Thank-you!

 

[hdeaver1]

Anyone? His inside home is too small for him so I really want to get him outside as soon as possible, but don't want to hurt him either. Thanks!

 

[Tom]

I think if your enclosure is all the way across the yard you will be okay. I housed some of my young sulcatas that way for years. The only time I had a problem was when I let them loose in the yard and they were over under where my neighbor's oleander bush stuck over the wall while he was trimming the tops and some of the leaves were falling into my yard. I pulled a leaf out of one torts mouth and put them all back in their enclosure.

I wouldn't use chicken wire. Its too flimsy. Use hardware cloth(1/2" x 1/2") or welded wire(1" x 2" or 1" x 1") instead. OSH carries these.

There is no way to know if your enclosure will grow enough food for him. There are so many variables that determine how fast your plants grow and how much your tortoise eats. Often it changes seasonally too. Here in my "warm" climate it only rains in winter. We get tons of weed growth in winter and for about 5 months out of the year. During these times it is cooler and my tortoises eat less, so the weeds often outgrow them. By mid spring, there ain't nothin' left no matter how much I water or try to make stuff grow. All summer long I have to "feed" my tortoises. The rest of the year they feed themselves on all the weeds and grass. In general just make the area as large as you can and grow as much good stuff as you can. Start collecting weed seeds now from all over. Whenever I see weeds growing in an area that is questionable for pesticides or chemicals, I still go ahead and collect the seeds. I've been spreading weeds seeds all over my place for many years now.

A very wise tortoise lady (Yvonne) once suggested to me that I make a large grazing area attached to my main enclosure, and divide it in half or thirds. Then allow the tortoise access to one section while the other sections grow. When the one section is eaten down enough, then close it off and allow the tortoise to graze in the next section while the first section regrows. Its a brilliant system really.