My lad may have eaten some plastic.

[GennadiyIvanovich]

Hello!
So I thought I'd spice up his enclosure a bit with some fake plants because he tramples all over the place and would demolish real plants (even in a pot) in a heartbeat. I put them in one by one and watched him closely for a couple of hours to make sure he doesn't go for them. I saw him sniff them multiple times and then he made this "ew, disgusting" reaction and walked away. So assuming it was cool I left him to it.
A couple days later I check on his fake plants and one of them looks like it has been damaged!(image below).


I'm unsure if the plant was damaged before I put it in because it's an old plant from our fish tank we had previously but will he be okay if he infact did eat some? I'm giving him daily soaks and providing cucumber for hydration but I'm still worried

 

[Maro2Bear]

Your torty will be perfectly fine. Many torts have eaten strange indigestible items that eventually work their way out. At least it didn't choke on the leaf. id say, no concern what so ever.. Thats one reason why fake plants arent the best. Try getting a hanging pothos & see how you can get it to hang down in.

 

[GennadiyIvanovich]

Your torty will be perfectly fine. Many torts have eaten strange indigestible items that eventually work their way out. At least it didn't choke on the leaf. id say, no concern what so ever.. Thats one reason why fake plants arent the best. Try getting a hanging pothos & see how you can get it to hang down in.

Thank you! I feel somewhat better. I hope it comes out fine if he ate it. And hanging plants might also prove troublesome because my lad is also an escape artist and will 100% find a way to use them to climb out hahah. I just can't win with him! He's too clever for his own good
I'll keep a close eye on him and try scavenging the shops for a potted plant I can put just outside his enclosure which might hang over and provide some cover. See how he reacts to that.

 

[Tom]

This is the reason I don't use or recommend plastic plants. Mine always try to eat them. Same thing with long fibered sphagnum moss.

 

[TammyJ]

It's just not worth the risk, no plastic plants in the enclosure please. That's for fish.

 

[Moozillion]

Hello!
So I thought I'd spice up his enclosure a bit with some fake plants because he tramples all over the place and would demolish real plants (even in a pot) in a heartbeat. I put them in one by one and watched him closely for a couple of hours to make sure he doesn't go for them. I saw him sniff them multiple times and then he made this "ew, disgusting" reaction and walked away. So assuming it was cool I left him to it.
A couple days later I check on his fake plants and one of them looks like it has been damaged!(image below).
View attachment 287368

I'm unsure if the plant was damaged before I put it in because it's an old plant from our fish tank we had previously but will he be okay if he infact did eat some? I'm giving him daily soaks and providing cucumber for hydration but I'm still worried

Someone on the Forum (I forget who, dang it) has plants in hanging baskets that he hangs low over his tortoise's enclosure. Using tortoise-safe plants means they could even nibble some of the low hanging leaves. They can sort of halfway hide under the hanging basket- I think the bottom of the basket was about 4-5 inches above the substrate. That gives you lots of options. I haven't done that yet, but I plan to!
I just wish I could remember who does that, so I could re-post the photos for you...?

 

[Lwilliams]

Hello!
So I thought I'd spice up his enclosure a bit with some fake plants because he tramples all over the place and would demolish real plants (even in a pot) in a heartbeat. I put them in one by one and watched him closely for a couple of hours to make sure he doesn't go for them. I saw him sniff them multiple times and then he made this "ew, disgusting" reaction and walked away. So assuming it was cool I left him to it.
A couple days later I check on his fake plants and one of them looks like it has been damaged!(image below).
View attachment 287368

I'm unsure if the plant was damaged before I put it in because it's an old plant from our fish tank we had previously but will he be okay if he infact did eat some? I'm giving him daily soaks and providing cucumber for hydration but I'm still worried

My russian tortie ate a little of the terrarium background which was basically painted styrofoam. He stopped eating and his eyes looked a little hollow, so I brought him to vet. X-ray showed no obvious blockage. I was worried about poisoning from the chemicals, but eventually he recovered on his own, with plenty of warm soaks to encourage drinking and defecation. I’m still glad I brought him in to vet, because it’s best to be safe. Good luck!

 

[Carys&tuck]

Hi! I use more sturdy harder fake plants for my Russian I was keeping An eye on him and he did try to eat it as few times but they’re sturdy enough to hold up. Soon he gave up and realized they weren’t real. I wouldn’t keep them in if he still thought they were real

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Other than hanging baskets, you can look into plant wall pockets or wall pots. They don't take much space and some plants are too fragile to climb (like spider plants) but safe to nibble and give some shade.