hi well im currently building a tortoise pen out in the back garden ready for summer and just wanted to know any good plants that i can plant in the enclosure which will be safe for them and also is sedum (purple emperor) ok to be planted in there thanx



luke

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daniel bogtrotter_89@hotmail.co.uk

I built a tortoise pen last year, half on the patio and half on the grass, a little tortoise house in the corner, raised a little on a slab, and lots of bits and bobs home made with stones and bricks and gravel and stuff and pipe to make it interesting and different textures. i put compost over the grass area and then chucked some seeds on, you can get lots of really good ones, particularly for tortoises from shelled warriors they have a website and an ebay shop. then you will get a mixture of grass and dandelions and plants.

you can use a wide variety of plants and they dont have to be expensive. a good range include

• Hebe- variegated or normal. you can get them in morrisons for a few quid. cut the dead flower heads of and they grow back x2! They dont tend to eat this but will use it to hide under.
• Lavatera- most gardeners hate it but torts love the flowers, grows very quick and is VERYinvasive so go for a small/dwarf unless you have tons of space. Shouldnt cost you more tha few quide either.
• Sedums- yes you can use this, also known as the iceplant. the anjoy munching on the leaves as it is related to the succulants.
• Grape vine- plant it agains a wall and take a few leaves off every few weeks. torts love them and they are non toxic. we use them in dolmades. a little more expensive for an established one, but small ones can be bought for £10 or so
• ornamental grasses- blue fescue, pampass, couch grass. they wont tend to eat these but again will love hiding in them. Prices range from £1.50 up to £20.
• bedding plants- primrose, viloa, petunia etc. they will nibble on these all day so can work out expensive!

just remeber any plants you buy ( unless organic) will have pesticides and fertilisers on them. try to buy them BEFORE they flower and when you get them home rinse the roots well and put them in organic compost for a week or two before the tort has access to them. this will let the chemicals break down and the plant to rid itself of nasties!
there are loads more plants but i have found these to be cheap and easy to care for. it helps to have a mix of plants they will eat and plants they dont bother with, but every tortoise is different.

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kwl well i will try some of them also what about honey suckle



luke

__________________
for sale
cb08 western hognoses
cb08 carpet python
08 defrost adult mice feeding royal pythons up to 250g
cb08 boa constrictors
mice £1 each all colours an sexes
rats £3 each
daniel bogtrotter_89@hotmail.co.uk

dont think they can eat honeysuckle, you may want to double check on that though. Most torts will avoid strongly scented plants and herbs anyway, but as i said before, there is always the exception to the rule!

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my bright red hair is very SHORT........where did it go!

Honeysuckle flowers are fine for them to eat

Here's a good list of edible flowers:

Diet and healthy growth

There's also a good sticky at the top of the page.

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It would depend on the species as to what you put in an outdoor enclosure.

My Hermanns have an all sand/soil mix, with slate, log roll, large pebbles ans things like that in. No edible plants because they would eat them within a day!

My Leo's have an enclosure with grass so that they can graze. They also have a sand/soil mix in one area, slate and that kind of stuff. The main difference is that they have grass and the Hermanns don't.