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Tortoise/plants question

Posted By:

LGray23

In Relation To:

Scarlett

So another question about my red foot tortoise. I have a huge list of edible plants and flowers for them, and I know the hibiscus flower is a favorite of these species. My question is, if I bought hibiscus flowers from a FLORIST, are they still safe to feed? Since I don't live in a tropical area, hibiscus does not grow here, but thought maybe she'd appreciate some occasionally. The only place I could think of is a florist, or tropical plant store (I have one nearby). I only ask because I'm not sure what's added for these plants to grow or what they're grown in, and I wouldn't want to feed her something potentially dangerous.


Points:	150
Topics:	Feeding
Tags:	Plants, Tortoise
Species:	Turtles and Tortoises > Tortoises > Geochelone carbonaria
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Assisted Answer

5/8/2012 8:28:16 PM

Two Corny People

When I worked for the aquarium we used to give our gopher and red foot tortoises that we used for education hibiscus flowers for treats along with their normal diet. The flowers came from one of our docents who had a hibiscus at her house (she got it from Lowes). From what I understand as long as you wash them off adequately to ensure that there are no such things as pesticides or critters hitching a ride you should be okay. I believe she told me she used Miracle Grow soil in her pots. As far as getting them from a florist, they are usually obtained from greenhouses and again, as long as they are free from any chemical sprays such as pesticides or preservatives (used for greenery at florists) then you should be okay but I am no botany expert.

Accepted Answer

5/8/2012 8:49:22 PM

MdngtRain

you may have beter luck buying a live plant from lowes or a greenhouse. they are not all that difficult to grow successfully (hell, i kept one going for years before i forgot to water it one fall/winter...). the leavs are also a nice treat when you don't have flowers. we have that at the naturecenter and use it for treats for a lot of the herps.

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