I have a tortoise table for my tortoise. It’s a temperate environment with one heat lamp and 2 13 watt UV lights, there’s a night time heat lamp too. The soil is made up of bagged topsoil (75%), coconut fiber (15%), and terrarium mulch (from the pet store, 10%). I have worms in the soil and pilbugs as well in there. No matter what I plant, it keeps dying. Everything except a wild crabgrass keeps dying. I’ve never had issues with plants dying outside of a tortoise table and I’m really wanting to include more foliage to help simulate the natural environment. What am I doing wrong and what plants would you recommend?
Table’s Plants Keep Dying
- Thread starter Dunskis13
- Start date
Tortoise tables aren’t great for growing plants. The substrate isn’t a good growing medium anfd the temperatures mean they dry out quickly.
The trick is to leave the plant in a pot and to sink the whole pot into the substrate leaving the rim showing about half an inch.
You will have to accept that they will be eaten, trampled or look unwell fairly quickly. But if they’re in pots it is easy to swap a plant out for respite on a window sill and put another in its place.
Spider plants are great as you can have a parent plant on your window sill growing a constant supply of replacement plants for the tortoise enclosure
The trick is to leave the plant in a pot and to sink the whole pot into the substrate leaving the rim showing about half an inch.
You will have to accept that they will be eaten, trampled or look unwell fairly quickly. But if they’re in pots it is easy to swap a plant out for respite on a window sill and put another in its place.
Spider plants are great as you can have a parent plant on your window sill growing a constant supply of replacement plants for the tortoise enclosure
Do desert plants work better due to the heat?Tortoise tables aren’t great for growing plants. The substrate isn’t a good growing medium anfd the temperatures mean they dry out quickly.
The trick is to leave the plant in a pot and to sink the whole pot into the substrate leaving the rim showing about half an inch.
You will have to accept that they will be eaten, trampled or look unwell fairly quickly. But if they’re in pots it is easy to swap a plant out for respite on a window sill and put another in its place.
Spider plants are great as you can have a parent plant on your window sill growing a constant supply of replacement plants for the tortoise enclosure
It’s not just heat. It’s humidity and light as well. UV comes in a wide spectrum and that required by tortoises doesn’t promote healthy plant growth.
Anything you try to grow must be edible. You don’t want a sick tortoise after it’s taken a nibble of something that is harmful.
You also need to be aware that house plants sold in stores are likely grown with fertilisers and pesticides that aren’t suitable for consumption. Neonic pesticides for example are harmful. It’s better to grow your own if you can
Anything you try to grow must be edible. You don’t want a sick tortoise after it’s taken a nibble of something that is harmful.
You also need to be aware that house plants sold in stores are likely grown with fertilisers and pesticides that aren’t suitable for consumption. Neonic pesticides for example are harmful. It’s better to grow your own if you can
I know you can’t just use any old plant in there. I only put plants without fertilizer that my tortoise could eat in there.
How would you recommend working with humidity to assist the plants? It’s a temperate enclosure with plants meant for a temperate environment. Some plants, like my grass, are doing well, I am just struggling for a better variety of plants.
I haven’t tried desert plants. I’m nervous to try anything that isn’t native to his natural environment Bc I know I’m no professional I’ve only had a few botany classes in college
As JoesMum said, its difficult to control humidity in a table because the room temp will dry them. Her advice is goodm also mist the plants with water regularly.
Have a look at www.thetortisetable.org.uk that's a good guide to which plants are safe or toxic etc.
If you buy shop bought plants make sure you wash the roots and repot in chemical free soil and allow time for any pesticides/fertilisers used on them to grow out - a year is often recommended so if you have access to cuttings from other people's safe plants that would speed things up.
Have a look at www.thetortisetable.org.uk that's a good guide to which plants are safe or toxic etc.
If you buy shop bought plants make sure you wash the roots and repot in chemical free soil and allow time for any pesticides/fertilisers used on them to grow out - a year is often recommended so if you have access to cuttings from other people's safe plants that would speed things up.
Anything you plant in your enclosure will get trampled, eaten etc. Just something to consider, it will always be a constant struggle. Perhaps you can sink potted plants into your substrate so they aren't technically planted in the substrate. As mentioned by other members you need to consider pesticides in any store bought plants and soils.
Those UV lights should never be used over tortoises, and they are not effective anyway. Plants don't need UV lights and are sometimes damaged by them. They need lights of the correct spectrum and intensity, depending on the plant.
Night time heat lamp? It needs to be dark at night for your tortoise, and if you are housing a temperate species indoor, they shouldn't need night heat indoors, unless you live in a refrigerator? Where are you? There is no location listed with your user info.
