Is string of turtles safe for cats and dogs?
Peperomia prostrata · Succulent
Non-toxic to cats and dogs
Confirmed at genus level for Peperomia, which is what separates it from the trailing plants it hangs beside: string of pearls and string of bananas are both listed as toxic.
Source: ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants, at genus level.
Of the trailing succulents sold side by side, this is the one that is not toxic to cats or dogs. String of turtles is Peperomia prostrata, and it appears on the ASPCA's non-toxic list for both. Its neighbours do not: string of pearls is on the toxic list at moderate severity and string of bananas at mild, for both animals, and string of hearts is not covered by the ASPCA list at all, so it cannot be called safe either. For a beaded trail above a cat that jumps, this is the one without an argument attached.
Worth knowing anyway
Safe to hang and safe to trail, still not food. A cat that works through a long strand takes in more leaf than its stomach wants, and vomiting that repeats afterwards deserves a call to your vet or an animal poison line. The little leaves detach easily too, so there will be some on the floor for a dog to hoover up. That is a quantity question rather than a poisoning one.
Living with one
Hang it where a cat can bat at it and nothing bad follows, which is a short list of plants. The strands are fine and the roots are shallow, and the catalogue schedules water around every ten days in bright, indirect light, longer than the trailing plants most people are used to. Weekly soaking is the usual cause of death. A strand that comes away will root flat on damp compost, so a chewed plant mends itself.
How to care for string of turtles
The starting schedule and conditions Kounts Care sets up for this species. Watering adapts from there based on the daylight where you live.
- Water
- About every 10 days, less in winter
- Light
- Bright, indirect
- Humidity
- 50% to 70%
- Temperature
- 18C to 26C
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 6.5
- Family
- Succulent
Let the app remember this for you
Kounts Care holds your plants and your pets in one household, so it checks every new plant against the cats and dogs you actually own, names them in the warning, and runs the check again over your existing plants the day a new animal arrives. Toxicity warnings are free at every tier.
In review with Apple · iPhone, iOS 26 · Five profiles free when it lands
Questions people actually ask
Which of the string plants are safe for cats?
Only string of turtles, out of the ones commonly sold together. Peperomia prostrata is on the ASPCA non-toxic list for cats and dogs. String of pearls is toxic at moderate severity, string of bananas and string of dolphins are toxic at mild, and string of hearts does not appear on the ASPCA list at all, which means unconfirmed rather than cleared.
Why is my string of turtles going bald at the top?
Wet compost, nine times out of ten. The roots are shallow and fine, and the catalogue holds this one to around every ten days in bright, indirect light with 50% to 70% humidity. Constant moisture rots the older stems where they sit against the soil, which is why the top thins first while the ends still look fine. Let the surface dry, and water less in a dark month.
Can I keep string of pearls if I hang it high enough?
You can, but height is a weak defence. String of pearls is on the ASPCA toxic list at moderate severity for cats and dogs, and the strands drop beads on the floor even when the pot is out of reach. Cats also get to more shelves than their owners expect. If the look is what you are after, string of turtles gives you the same trailing beads without the listing.
Do I have to pay to see the toxicity warnings?
No. The toxicity check and the warnings it raises are free at every tier, including the full screen alert that a severe listing triggers. Putting a safety feature behind a payment would be indefensible, so it is not. What switches the checks on is adding your cats and dogs to the household profile, which is also how the app knows which list to test each plant against.