Question about fertilizer

[Rocky219]

Hi everyone I’mma gonna get straight to the question. Basically my nursery closed down, and we have a couple of fertilized spider plants. I was thinking about giving my tort the babies so my question is, are the babies of the spider plant ‘infected’ with the fertilizer or are they pure?

 

[Tom]

Hi everyone I’mma gonna get straight to the question. Basically my nursery closed down, and we have a couple of fertilized spider plants. I was thinking about giving my tort the babies so my question is, are the babies of the spider plant ‘infected’ with the fertilizer or are they pure?

Plants grown with fertilizers are fine to feed to tortoises and other animals. What you have to watch out for is pesticides and other chemicals. "Weed 'n Feed" type lawn chemicals have weed killers in them. All decorative plants, like a spider plant for your home, are grown with toxic systemic pesticides. I was told by a member here that worked at a nursery that the pesticides can last a year in the plant's tissues.

My local nursery here does a lot of business with reptile keepers and he looked into this. He confirmed that it it is true, but that the stuff used for decorative house plants can only last for about 6 weeks. He said the larger outdoor trees can have stuff that lasts a year. If this is true, I wouldn't mind using those plants after 3-4 months as decorations in a lizard or snake cage that isn't going to eat them, but I wouldn't feed it to a tortoise on purpose.

Can you imagine someone handing you a glass of water and telling you it had toxic insect killing chemicals in it a few weeks ago, but its fine to drink now. Would you drink it? I wouldn't.

 

[Rocky219]

Plants grown with fertilizers are fine to feed to tortoises and other animals. What you have to watch out for is pesticides and other chemicals. "Weed 'n Feed" type lawn chemicals have weed killers in them. All decorative plants, like a spider plant for your home, are grown with toxic systemic pesticides. I was told by a member here that worked at a nursery that the pesticides can last a year in the plant's tissues.

My local nursery here does a lot of business with reptile keepers and he looked into this. He confirmed that it it is true, but that the stuff used for decorative house plants can only last for about 6 weeks. He said the larger outdoor trees can have stuff that lasts a year. If this is true, I wouldn't mind using those plants after 3-4 months as decorations in a lizard or snake cage that isn't going to eat them, but I wouldn't feed it to a tortoise on purpose.

Can you imagine someone handing you a glass of water and telling you it had toxic insect killing chemicals in it a few weeks ago, but its fine to drink now. Would you drink it? I wouldn't.

Okay thank you very much!

 

[Rocky219]

I used Miracle Gro liquid all purpose plant food. Is that okay to feed the plant fertilized with that?

 

[Tom]

I used Miracle Gro liquid all purpose plant food. Is that okay to feed the plant fertilized with that?

If it is just fertilizer with no other stuff added in, then yes. I'm not familiar with that product and have never read the label, so make sure its not a "weed n' feed" or a "pets control" formula, or anything like that.

Fertilizer is not only fine, it is necessary in one form or another for plants to grow. Tortoises should not have direct access to the fertilizer product, whether in granulated form or liquid, but feeding them plants that were grown with fertilizer is great. Pesticides, fungicides and herbicides are all NOT fine.

 

[Rocky219]

If it is just fertilizer with no other stuff added in, then yes. I'm not familiar with that product and have never read the label, so make sure its not a "weed n' feed" or a "pets control" formula, or anything like that.

Fertilizer is not only fine, it is necessary in one form or another for plants to grow. Tortoises should not have direct access to the fertilizer product, whether in granulated form or liquid, but feeding them plants that were grown with fertilizer is great. Pesticides, fungicides and herbicides are all NOT fine.

Great thank you so much again!