I'm working on creating a larger enclosure for my baby leopard tortoise Zarha and was wondering where I can get the plants for her new enclosure, that is preferably not in seed form, for example spider plants and air plants.
Where to get Plants
- Thread starter Lilly_Two
- Start date
Hi @Lilly_Two! Do you know anyone who has a Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)? Mine are shooting out babies like crazy right now, which I've always been happy to give away! Air plants (Tillandsia spp.) may be a little harder to come by, but you should be able to find them and the spidies at a garden store (or even a big box store) near you. You might also like Bromeliads (lots of species), Prayer Plants (Maranta leuconeura), and African Violets (Saintpaulia). I've had good luck with all of these in my Western Hermann's enclosure, and they are safe for tortoises to eat.
Replant them as soon as possible into sterilized pots and give them new organic potting soil. Let them get new growth before putting them in with your little one. You want any fertilizers and/or insecticides to grow out. Good luck!
Are you putting plant lights in your enclosure? There are several good threads here about them. Take a look.
Replant them as soon as possible into sterilized pots and give them new organic potting soil. Let them get new growth before putting them in with your little one. You want any fertilizers and/or insecticides to grow out. Good luck!
Are you putting plant lights in your enclosure? There are several good threads here about them. Take a look.
At the moment I have some flower seeds and an organic spearmint plant that I'm going to switch its pot and get rid of as much of the current soil its in as possible, would swapping the soil for the coconut coir substrate be okay for it? I also have absolutely no friends who have plants.
Not sure it will grow in just coir. Here's a pretty good article: Growing Mint Inside: Information On Planting Mint Indoors. Also, Eden Brothers (I get most all my seeds from them) has this Planting Guide for Spearmint in particular: Spearmint Planting Guide
As far as your friends having no plants, maybe you can be the trend-setter! ?
Mabey they don't have much time and I doubt they could keep a plant alive if they tried anyway. I'll keep looking for places to get spider plants then, that's the kind I mainly want since it would be great for her to eat throughout the day.
I find Spider Plants hard to kill (I've done it, but it wasn't easy!) ? Another plant I forgot to mention, but which grows great in the enclosure is an Inch Plant (Tradescantia zebrina), also known as Spiderwort or Wandering Jew. I've got it planted in a pot buried in the substrate, but it shoots roots out along its stem right into the substrate. My Smidgen is still a baby, so one leaf pretty much shields him from the lights if he wants. It's growing over his humid hide. He nibbles on it now and then.
Tortoise butt!
What if their from somewhere and organically grown? Or no chemicals or anything were used when growing? Can they be repotted and immediately be placed in the enclosure? Also would https://www.joshsfrogs.com/plants-for-pets/dart-frog-plants/background-plants-for-sale/show/all.html be a good source to get some plants to place straight into the enclosure from? Since it's for reptiles and amphibians?
Awww your tortoise is adorable sounds like a perfect plant for me to find and add to my enclosure when its ready for my tort.
Humbug & Maz
Active Member
It is just that you have to trust the suppliers to these places! Trust what the sellers are telling you about them being tortoise friendly. Having learned from this forum I really feel I only trust as @Lyn W says about plants needing at least a year to grow out any chemicals absorbed after repotting. Then you know for sure they are ok!
COmtnLady
Well-Known Member
I clicked on the link to Jason's Frogs and the first plant in the second row is Dieffenbachia, which is poisonous if eaten. If you get the sap on your skin it will burn and itch, and can be very bad if it gets into eyes.
Check those plants carefully before buying.
Check those plants carefully before buying.
Dieffenbachia and Philodendron
Both Dieffenbachia and Philodendron are great houseplants for beginners. However, both plants contain oxalates which can cause swelling, dro
www.poison.org
Alright thanks I'll look for somewhere else, I have some tortoise saf plants/ flowers growing according to the tortoise table and they should have sprouted a bit by the time we get the new enclosure for Zarha.I clicked on the link to Jason's Frogs and the first plant in the second row is Dieffenbachia, which is poisonous if eaten. If you get the sap on your skin it will burn and itch, and can be very bad if it gets into eyes.
Check those plants carefully before buying.
Dieffenbachia and Philodendron
Both Dieffenbachia and Philodendron are great houseplants for beginners. However, both plants contain oxalates which can cause swelling, drowww.poison.org
COmtnLady
Well-Known Member
They have some pet-safe plants on that page (like the spider plant a few more rows down), but they also have dangerous ones, so double check before you buy.
The only ones I'd probably get from there is the spider plant and air plant and mabey a few others if the tortoise table says it's safe, do you think I would be able to put it strait into the enclosure or would I have to grow them out for a whild.
I have gotten tiny fungus gnats when I put live plants in my tort’s enclosure. Super annoying too! I ended up just removing the plants because I couldn’t figure out how to keep plants alive and mist enclosure without attracting the gnats.
