Question about soil / substrate for tortoise garden

[johnwharton]

Hi, I am planning on making a new tortoise garden (we already have an outdoor enclosure on clover-filled lawn and indoor enclosure) for my Hermann tortoises. I was wondering what kind of substrate / soil would you recommend to use to line it in order to grow plants in the enclosure for them to eat? Thank you!

[Nina]

Hi John, and welcome to The Tortoise Table.

That's great that you're making your tortoises another tortoise garden (I'm assuming that this new one is also outdoors -- let me know if that's not correct).

You don't really need any special substrate in an outdoor enclosure -- your ordinary garden soil will be fine, and most plants that tortoises eat dont need a special substrate. In fact you definitely want to avoid anything like potting compost or any soil that has fertilisers in it, as the plants will take up those fertilisers and that isn't great for the tortoises. So just ordinary garden soil is fine, or if you want another type of soil you can use ordinary topsoil, mixed with a bit of children's play sand to help with drainage, and you can buy bags of screened topsoil and children's play sand at garden centres and DIY stores like Homebase, etc.

Growing edible plants in the enclosure is a lovely thing to do, but do be prepared for your tortoises to eat all the edible plants on the first day. To protect plants and make them last longer you can cover them with an upside down wire basket (the ones used as hanging baskets for plants). The plant can then grow out through the holes in the basket for the tortoises to nibble on, but the main plant is protected.

You can also grow plants for shade and shelter, but which won't be eaten as readily -- dwarf Hebes, a variety of decorative grasses, etc.

Tortoises do prefer a base of bare earth to grass, and you can put a nice variety of 'furniture' in there. I use those long curved roofing tiles as tunnels for mine to walk through and hils to climb over (tortoises love climbing, so any type of ramp or little hill is always welcome).

It would be lovely to see a photo of your new enclosure when it's finished -- it sounds like a great project.

Nina

[lin]

Hi John,

You can lift the clover lawn off of the top and use the soil that is underneath just adding or digging in a little topsoil, I think the usual one now in use is Westlands. You could leave a narrow pathway of grass and clover, adding an area of pebbles as a different substrate to clamber over and they love to hide in the fiddlestix tunnels, so a couple of those would be appreciated.
When planting plants though it is a good idea to place a wire hanging basket upside down over them to stop tortoises eating them to the ground.

Plants to use - Pansies, Hebe shrub to hide and shelter under. The weeds they eat like dandelions and sowthistle, hibiscus and they can eat the flowers as they drop. There are so many but you might have a wild flower to include weeds from our green list will quickly grow and the tortoises will be self sufficient.

Hope this is helpful John.

Lin

[lin]

Ooops, I forgot to add the photo John.



lin wrote:
> Hi John,
>
> You can lift the clover lawn off of the top and use the soil that is
> underneath just adding or digging in a little topsoil, I think the usual
> one now in use is Westlands. You could leave a narrow pathway of grass and
> clover, adding an area of pebbles as a different substrate to clamber over
> and they love to hide in the fiddlestix tunnels, so a couple of those
> would be appreciated.
> When planting plants though it is a good idea to place a wire hanging
> basket upside down over them to stop tortoises eating them to the ground.
>
> Plants to use - Pansies, Hebe shrub to hide and shelter under. The weeds
> they eat like dandelions and sowthistle, hibiscus and they can eat the
> flowers as they drop. There are so many but you might have a wild flower
> to include weeds from our green list will quickly grow and the tortoises
> will be self sufficient.
>
> Hope this is helpful John.
>
> Lin

[willbeard374]

For a new tortoise garden, a great substrate for your Hermann tortoises would be a mix of topsoil and play sand, in a 70:30 ratio. This blend provides a natural environment that allows for good drainage while supporting plant growth. Make sure the topsoil is free of fertilizers, pesticides, and perlite. You can also add organic matter like coconut coir or leaf mulch to enrich the soil, which helps maintain moisture and promotes plant growth. Adding edible plants like dandelion, clover, and grasses will provide your tortoises with natural foraging options.