Nieghbours Privet Hedging

[Jools-25]

Hi there,

We are looking to rehome a tortoise and planning a garden habitat. We have a lovely part of a garden mapped out however our neighbour has privet hedging running above a 6 foot fence the entire length of the garden. I know the hedging is toxic for tortoises but I am wondering if the blossom is also toxic if blow in the enclosure as this will put an end to our plan to own one. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Jools

[Nina]

Hi Jools,

This is a difficult one as Privet is toxic to all animals, including humans and tortoises, due to the fact that it contains terpenoid glycosides that can affect the digestive system, heart rate, etc. (although birds do safely eat the berries). All of the sources I've consulted mention only the leaves and berries, but I think that is because they don't bother to consider the flowers, as leaves and berries are the plant parts most likely to be eaten. Privet isn't super toxic in small quantities, and I would say that if a tortoise happened to nibble a few flower petals that fell into his enclosure it would probably be OK, but eating any quantity of flowers would not be good.

I don't suppose it would be possible for the neighbour to trim the hedge down so that it didn't rise above the fence, would it (that way the flowers would be less likely to be blown over onto your land)? That's probably asking too much

If you do site the enclosure next to the fence, make sure that your tortoise can't dig down under the fence and then out into your neighbour's garden (tortoises are great diggers and burrowers).

We usually have tortoises to rehome with posts on the rehoming section of this forum and our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheTortoiseTable, so keep an eye out for them. You will, of course also need an indoor enclosure for times when it is too cool for the tortoise to be outdoors. Once you have your tortoise, or know the species you want, let us know and we'll be happy to send you a care sheet for that species and any other information you need.

Nina

[Jools-25]

Dear Nina,

Thank you so much for taking time to reply the information was really helpful and has given us food for thought!

My neighbour isn't willing to reduce the height Strange that we were so busy identifying toxic plant in our garden we didn't think about our neighbours.

Thank you for your advice and kindness, Julia

[Nina]

Hi Julia,
That's a shame, as it sounds like it would have been a great spot for your tortoise enclosure. Let us know how you get on, and please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any other questions or problems.

Nina