Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know some people plant grasses in their outdoor pens, what grasses do you plant and what else besides grasses have you used outdoors?

I keep my russians outdoors for about 6 months a year.

The soil here is heavy with clay and doesn't drain well.

I added several bags of play sand and worked it into the soil. I also created a mound of sand/soil in one corner to serve as place to lay eggs. The sand does help the soil to remain a little drier.

The hidebox (made of pine boards) rests on a layer of bricks. This way the torts don't have to sleep on damp soil.

I've also placed large limestone rocks in a loose pile for the torts to bask on. There is a small log and a water dish.

For the first few years I let grass and weeds grow in the pen. I usually have to trim the growth down several times. This year I'm preparing the soil by:

1) Breaking up the sod to reduce the amount of grass.
2) Adding lime (calcium carbonate).
3) Sowing clover seed. Later I may throw in some collard
green and endive seed. The area surrounding the pen
also has clover, henbit, wild strawberry and dandelion,
but that usually dies out in the mid-summer heat.