Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all , i am in the first stages of consructing a new outdoor pen for my EBT i wanted to know if anyone could point to a good place to find where safe plants for them to eat and use for shade and or to hiding under , thank you

Your local garden center. Just about any sort of green will come up quickly, as will green beans (you may find the bush type better than vine). Turnip and collard greens have nice wide leaves that provide a lot of shade and will probably attract a lot of grasshoppers... Dandelion and shepard's purse are good wild green additions.

My babies loved munching on the yellow squash I planted in their pen last year.

Another thing to do is to print off a list of bad plants http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/plantsthatpoison.htm and take it with you so you know what to avoid.

I also have some creeping jenny (lysimachia nummularia 'aurea') and a type of sedum planted - not really good for shade but my little ones love hiding in the creeping jenny. They somehow blend in perfectly until they pop their little heads up. Ornamental grasses work well for larger turtles to hide under.

thank you , do you have any more safe plants to put into an outdoor pen?

Not under the edible list, but I and many others have hostas in our pens. Last year I had some coleus planted, too - great shade plants. Just make sure to rinse the plants well and shake off some of the potting soil they come in to get rid of any of little styrofoam like pieces.

I have a basil plant in with my babies this year.... it's suspiciously missing all of it's lower leaves. Other herbs (check the list) should be ok. Nasturtiums are safe and edible flowers, but may end up being trampled.

What about a hibiscus? It might be kind of hard to find a tropical variety that hasn't been fertilized to death, but a hardy hibiscus or a tropical grown organically could be a good choice: They look and smell great and I'm pretty sure BTs enjoy their flowers...