Safe plants for box turtle enclosure

[bmt123]

I am currently building an outdoor box turtle enclosure for an eastern box turtle. I need to put some plants in it but don't know what any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jacqui]

How tall of plants will work, as in how high up is your lid/cover going to be (if one at all)? That will help with eliminating a few perhaps.

 

[bmt123]

It is going to be approximately 2 feet between the ground and lid

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, bmt123!

I have these planted in my box turtle pen:

hosta, gardenia, hardy hibiscus, ornamental strawberry, regular strawberry, button fern, viola, wild violets, crassula multicava and sword fern.

 

[MikeCow1]

I have sword fern, gerber daisy, phlox, moss rose, geranium, violas and others I can't think of. However, I have never seen a box turtle take a bite of a living plant.

 

[Laura]

petunias and pansies too.

 

[pryncesssc]

Welcome to the Forum, bmt123!

I have these planted in my box turtle pen:

hosta, gardenia, hardy hibiscus, ornamental strawberry, regular strawberry, button fern, viola, wild violets, crassula multicava and sword fern.

I have looked on websites and I never see hostas listed .. they are safe though ?? Even if they tried to eat some ?

 

[fbsmith3]

I remember seeing Hostas listed as safe on a tortoise website. My box turtles pick the slugs off them but do not eat the Hostas. Although my box turtles also used the Hostas as ladder to get over the enclosure wall. Box turtles are much too smart for me.

 

[Saloli]

It is generally better to use plants from the same place as the turtle if known. If not use ones from within it's subspecies range. What climactic ( USDA hardiness zone) are you located? Their are many plants: lady fern, American violets, chain fern, creeping phlox (is more of a piedmont and range plant), eastern prickly pear cactus ( drier sunny sites or sandy part shade), native azaleas (which are poisonous to mammals though not box turtles their are reports of them eating them though I've never seen it), blueberries ( either low or high bush are fine), cranberries (more of a mountain plant in the south low land in the north), partridge berry, striped winter green ( not the Asian winter green). There are many others. If you let me know what zone and what your light levels are. Though light levels can be adjusted as you can see from my pen.

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Petunias aren't safe they have some nasty chemicals in them. They are nightshade family like tobacco.

 

[bmt123]

I live in the piedmont

 

[MikeCow1]

Petunias aren't safe they have some nasty chemicals in them. They are nightshade family like tobacco.

According to Tortoise Table they're OK
" Common name : Petunia
Latin name : Petunia spp.
Family name : Solanaceae

Flowers and leaves are fine as part of a varied and mixed diet."

 

[Saloli]

They contain compounds similar to nicotine. They are the sister genus to Nicotiana (tobacco).

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I live in the piedmont

If you look up plants from the piedmont of your state (if your turtle is from your state) most plants are okay to use. I would stay away from nettle family plants and most cashew family plants (like poison ivy though boxers can eat the berries so can birds but you may not have a pleasant reaction). Also none native night shade family plants with the possible exception of tomatoes which have close relatives that are native and chilies which may be native (there is some debate as to how far north they are native). Bean plants are also possibly an issue though they maybe okay.

 

[bmt123]

Is lemon basil ok or should I not use it