outdoor enclosure has taken off!!! but few concerns.....

happyjoyjoy

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Las Vegas, NV
I finished my outdoor enclosure about 3 months ago and sense then it has gone wild! Everything has just exploded with growth which is awesome! I planted carolina tortoise supply grazing tortoise seed (80% of enclosure), squash, cucumber, pansies, wheat grass, spinach, escarole, collards, and 3 different kinds of clover It still is just under 80 degrees in Vegas so I haven't let my torts utilize the enclosure very much, actually just once :( this weather has been bizarre! BUT I just noticed today when picking some greens for their breakfast that a lot of the greens had small bugs on the backsides of the leaves ESPECIALLY from the broad leafs from the carolina tortoise supply stuff...... most of them were clear larvae looking colonies of 5-20 and some had adults which were lime green in color about half the size of a grain of rice. I've been feeding these leaves to my torts for 2 months now :( could this be harming them?!?!? Most of what I have planted is carolina tortoise supply grazing tortoise seed and everything else I grew from a seed. My next question is I also noticed today a bundle of plants that seemed to have little/ somewhat sharp fibers all over them. They are beginning to be painful to pick at this point.... I feel dumb but when I planted everything I did it in sections but I do not remember what was planted in that section...... it would have to be either squash (so squash leaves) or cucumber (cucumber leaves) OR could be something else I don't remember.... I def know tho that it would be something safe. I just want to make sure they are safe...... I attached photos of everything! Thanks guys for your input....
garden 1.jpg garden 2.jpg garden 3.png garden 5.jpg garden 6.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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I think those are aphids. They came from your neighborhood, not from the seeds. See if you can buy some lady bug larva at a nursery. Lady bugs or ants will take care of aphids. Eating a bug or two isn't going to harm your tortoise. The little sharp hairs on some of the plants aren't harmful either.
 

happyjoyjoy

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I think those are aphids. They came from your neighborhood, not from the seeds. See if you can buy some lady bug larva at a nursery. Lady bugs or ants will take care of aphids. Eating a bug or two isn't going to harm your tortoise. The little sharp hairs on some of the plants aren't harmful either.
I looked up pics online and the def look like aphids :( thankfully there is a star nursery right down the street with ladybugs :) I'll be picking some up tomorrow for sure! I'm also glad to hear the leaves are okay to eat......they sure are getting painful to pick.
 

Levi the Leopard

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As long as we don't spray our plants (which we won't) we will have bugs feasting on them. I like to rinse off the leaves to keep the bugs from going inside.

The prickly is fine for them but is uncomfortable for us.. I always wear garden gloves when I harvest a tort meal.
 

bouaboua

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Good looking enclosure....I like it....
 

happyjoyjoy

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As long as we don't spray our plants (which we won't) we will have bugs feasting on them. I like to rinse off the leaves to keep the bugs from going inside.

The prickly is fine for them but is uncomfortable for us.. I always wear garden gloves when I harvest a tort meal.
okay awesome that makes me feel better that I'm not alone. Still feel like a new tort mommy even tho I've owned my torts for a year now....... so much to learn!
 

happyjoyjoy

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Good looking enclosure....I like it....
Thank you! I'm pretty happy with it. My fiance came inside the other night like OMG last time I looked at it there was nothing even growing how'd that happen so fast!..... haha
 
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