Baby Barf

[ElfDa]

So, we recently added a begonia and a spider plant to Penny's enclosure.
She loooves sleeping under the begonia, and has been chewing through the spider plant leaves and redecorating with them.

We fed beet greens, last week, and I gave her mustard greens, this morning (she's had 'em before, but only in small quantities).

My fiance just called me over, asking about something weird in the tank.
It looked kinda like poo, but waaay more than she's ever produced in one go, and it had fresh-looking bits of leaves in it.
It was also directly in front of her, with a little along the side of her mouth.
Matt has already thrown it away, so photos aren't possible.

She is now sitting in the middle of her enclosure, near where the infrared lamp shines, and seems to have no interest in moving.
Looks like she's falling asleep, now.

Could it be that her big meal, comprised almost entirely of mustard greens, has just upset her wee baby tummy?

Or does her recently unemployed mommy need to dig into savings for a vet visit? :s

 

[SILVERSTAR]

did you mean like a spider plant that hangs and has shoots coming out wit little mini plants on the end of it? bcuz i have one of those in my bathroom and i think it mite not be good for im not sure tho,ill look it up for you.

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it was weird when i googled it the first thing i clicked on said it was poisonous then one mentioned it was an irritant then everyone after that said it was safe arounds pets and as an aquarium plant,it was even lisred on a few tortoise plant lists as non toxic so idk,its not uncommon for me to find conflicting evidence on tortoise diet.lol

 

[dmmj]

i am pretty sure it is toxic to dogs and cats. It is mainly listed as an irritant. The CTTC and torotise trust both list it as toxic(Irritant), I would personally remove it an replace it with something safer.

 

[SILVERSTAR]

DEFINITLEY...

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It frustrates me,i jus found a site saying to plant it for an edible landscape for your tortoise,so conflicting....

 

[ElfDa]

yeah, I was using that same list. oh, sigh.
well, live, learn, and clean up baby barf.

i'll pull that sucker out, and avoid that list. =_=

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an aquarium plant?!

then again, people try to sell all kinds of terrestrial plants as aquatic, so i shouldn't be shocked...
...it would really mess up your pleco, though; being an irritant and all.

also: maybe that's why Penny kept biting off its leaves?
(chomp!) get! (chomp!) out! (chomp!) of my house!! (chomp chomp chomp!)

 

[Maggie Cummings]

My cats chew on my big spider plant all the time without any reaction. The only real reaction is me beating on them for eating my plant I have also heard about numerous keepers with spider plants in with their tortoises. I thought it was harmless...

 

[Laura]

i have a big spider plant growing in my russian pen.. hmmmm

 

[ElfDa]

hmmm sounds like there are two spider plants; one toxic and one harmless.
they look the same to us, but seem to have different impacts when injested.

or maybe it's the same plant, but some critters have an allergy, and some don't?
that could do it...

 

[Torty Mom]

I checked "The Tortoise Table" it's says ok, here is the link! I am growing one for the babies....Hmmm now I wonder!!

http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp?mode=main&catID=385

 

[moswen]

haha, in searching "spider plant" i came across this list, that claims agave, aloe, PRICKLY PEAR, and asparagus fern are TOXIC PLANTS. on the NON-TOXIC list he has orchid, bamboo, and at least this one is on the correct list: hibiscus.

here it is:
http://www.library.okstate.edu/vetmed/about/ieatplants/plants.htm

you have to be careful what you're reading these days, and you also have to take into account that most toxic plant lists are made for livestock. tortoises can handle much worse than livestock and still be fine.

 

[tortoisenerd]

I'd keep an eye on her now that the plant is gone and hopefully you won't have any more vomit or symptoms. Vomit is usually a bad sign in torts, but hopefully its just the tummy upset.

On a side note, make sure you aren't feeding primarily greens very high in oxalic acid (beet greens a bit more than mustard)...maybe I misunderstood you though. You want some variance in that. The spring mix is great as you get a lot of variety for the money. Lots of info on the board on it right now so I don't feel the need to go into detail, but for example I will feed about 50% lettuces (spring mix without spinach or chard) and about 50% greens that are higher in oxalic acid (1-2 a week, rotating).