Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I know I've asked this question awhile back, but I'm still confused. Can someone please tell me why someone can't use 15-15-15 fertilizer on their lawn which a tortoise can graze on? (Don't worry, I haven't done it yet) Afterall these are natural products.(nitrogen/phosphorus/potassium) I can understand that you wouldn't want your tortoise eating a mouthful of it, but why can't it be spread on a lawn and watered REALLY well so that it disolves? Someone told me that the they can't eat the grass because these commercial fertilizers are "systemic" but a guy at Home Depot told me that all fertilizers are systemic including the fish fertilizer. Can anyone give me any FACTUAL data as to why our tortoises cannot eat grass that has been fertilized with something such as Bandini 15-15-15? Thanks in advance for your answers!

Barry

I don't know if this will answer your question but at least it is something to think about.
To begin with, ALL vegetables and fruit that we as humans consume have been fertilized with something. Even 'organic' vegetables have had something put on them or into their soil to promote growth.
I 'bomb' the heck out of my citrus, bananas, papayas, herbs and other things that my wife and I--- and (except for the citrus) our tortoises eat.
The worry with using commercial fertilizers on grass is twofold.
One, that the actual fertilizer itself might not get completely broken down before it gets eaten by a grazing tortoise. The obvious danger of them eating phosphates and the other things that are common ingredients (and that are toxic if directly ingested) of virtually all granular fertilizers needs no explaining.
The second worry is that many fertilizers also contain systemic pesticides or selective herbicides designed to kill pests and weeds growing in the grass. This should also be an obvious concern for a tortoise keeper.
But having said this, if you were to apply a fertilizer that has no herbicide or pesticide additives and then WAITED a couple of weeks before the tortoises had access to it, you should be fine. This of course mean that the fertilizer granules had been watered in regularly and were no longer present in the feeding zone of the animals.

Barry this is a good subject,I hope some nutrishionest chim in.What do the people that own these million dollor horses use? Can you fertilize one side at a time using temp./barriers Ranching meth.Is using Mazouri a good sub.for poor grass nutrishion.What does the Zoo use for all their grass eating animals.I,ve always been freeked by fertilizer.I just planted winter rye.Its always done well with nothing added.It will grow on bricks wood and the back of my truck.Vic

"What do the people that own these million dollor horses use?"

They use what comes from the back end of those horses