Grass in enclosure?

[spud's_mum]

So I want to put some live plants in spuds enclosure. I have tried dill and lavender but they both started to die now I'm thinking I would like some grass in there, my question is: what type am I better off with (bearing in mind he will eat it) garden grass or potted grasses? Or is it even okay to put grasses in hermanns enclosures at all?

All advice appreciated, thanks

 

[Alaskamike]

When I had my torts in an indoor enclosure, I ordered a testudo mix from Carolina Supply company. I put it in a tupperware type container and grew it up till it was a few inches tall and well rooted (came up fast!) then buried the container in the cocoa mix in the enclosure. My torts ate the heck out of it so much i realized i had to have one growing out of enclosure to replace it once eaten down to the ground. So I then just swapped them out as needed. Worked really well.
You can't beat naturally growing grasses for some species. At that time I had a sulcata, a leo, and small aldabra. Now they live outside, so I just plant their surrounds.
I now have a bag of grass mix I bought at a local feed store made up for Florida and for cattle. It works well outside here.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I think grass is ok, but a nice mix would be better.
Many testudo tortoises won't eat grass anyway, they are more broad leaf eaters.
But some will eat anything, of course.
My Tidgy, a Greek, won't touch the stuff.

 

[DawnH]

I have found that the seed mix from Sulcata food sprouts insanely fast and is wonderful for indoor enclosures (I just plant it direct in the enclosure and within a week it is totally green.) The seed mixes from Carolina Supply are also great but some of the variety in it (grass seed, I believe) grows at a slower pace and needs time to mature so I use that mainly in our outdoor tortoise oasis. I like instant gratification and initially was not thrilled with the Carolina mix but once I calmed down and let it grow a few weeks it really took off (and Tuleo loves it.)

 

[DawnH]

This is what the Sulcata seed mix (Pasture blend) looks like after a week and a half outdoors. I planted it in a kiddie pool for his first oasis. (Sulcata.)

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

This is what the Sulcata seed mix (Pasture blend) looks like after a week and a half outdoors. I planted it in a kiddie pool for his first oasis. (Sulcata.)
View attachment 128982

That looks really great for such a quick time.

 

[spud's_mum]

looks amazing! the reason i wanted grass was because he is less likely to eat too much. i tried weed mixes but its gone in 1 day The only down side to grass is that it says its hard for hermanns to digest and i dont know if he would eat too much. what do you guys think?

 

[Yvonne G]

I never used to see my Russians eat grass ( I know, I know - different species), but now I do see them eat it. They're yard was planted with the Testudo mix so it had quite a bit of broad-leaf plants in it, however, lots of grass too. Well they ate down the broad leaf plants to the dirt, and now they're actually eating the grass. They used to walk up the stems of tall broad leaf plants, bending them to the ground so they could eat the leaves, however, they don't do that to the tall grass. The tall grass is left alone, while they eat the new growth grass that's close to the ground.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I think he'll only eat it if there's nothing else to eat.
Unless you have an oddball that particularly likes grass.
But he probably won't so it should be ok.

 

[Tom]

I would use the Testudo mix from tortoisesupply.com.

Squash plants, lavatera, hibiscus, sunflowers, gazania, nasturtiums, geraniums, arugula, collard greens, grape and mulberry leaves, etc...

I wouldn't try to grow grass for hermanni.

Make sure to leave lots of open areas too.

 

[spud's_mum]

I think he'll only eat it if there's nothing else to eat.
Unless you have an oddball that particularly likes grass.
But he probably won't so it should be ok.

He does seem to love his grass lol! I put him down outside and he will ''run'' over to the grass and eat it.

 

[spud's_mum]

I would use the Testudo mix from tortoisesupply.com.

Squash plants, lavatera, hibiscus, sunflowers, gazania, nasturtiums, geraniums, arugula, collard greens, grape and mulberry leaves, etc...

I wouldn't try to grow grass for hermanni.

Make sure to leave lots of open areas too.

Is there any good seedmixes that you know of in the uk? I have tryed teh shelled warriors luxury one with 60 tyoes of weeds (supposedly) but its basically just clover I really want to order the Tlady mix but I cant find how to order it as the site is very confusing

 

[Tom]

I have tryed teh shelled warriors luxury one with 60 types of weeds (supposedly) but its basically just clover

You might need to plant it more sparsely for the other weeds to have more of a chance to get going. Also sometimes the clover will pop up first, but if you give it a chance, other stuff will pop up a little later.

 

[Gary20]

This is what the Sulcata seed mix (Pasture blend) looks like after a week and a half outdoors. I planted it in a kiddie pool for his first oasis. (Sulcata.)
View attachment 128982

Where did you get the seed from?

 

[DawnH]

The seed shown above is from Sulcata Food:

http://www.sulcatafood.com/All_Store_Items.html

I also purchase from Carolina Pet Supply:


http://www.carolinapetsupply.com/ca...id=179&zenid=d6456ca8e5317b83831666c245db187e

Both mixes do best if they are allowed to grow for a few weeks before feeding. I find the mix from Carolina does best if allowed to grow 4-6 weeks before adding your tort. For both mixes I water nightly. If your guy is little you can grow in pots and introduce the pasture blend from Sulcata Food in as short as a week and a half.

Hope this helps!

 

[Astrochelys]

Sorry to ask a question in your thread, but I was wondering, once you plant a lot of new grasses and such, should you be worried about them over eating? How much do you know to feed them daily then?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I don't think tortoises overeat.
As long as they get exercise, they'll graze when they need to and be fine.
If there is no food left at the end of the day, you're not giving them enough.
Leftovers is ok.

 

[Astrochelys]

Okay thanks! I really appreciate it!