How do i know what is weed and what is grass?

Lana Dhaou

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I know this is not really tortoise related, more like plant related, but I have access to a beautiful lawn the community shares, it's not sprayed with any chemicals and many animals eat from it, I have been told that I should feed my tortoises both weeds and grass, but how do I know which is weed and which is grass? All my life I thought weed and grass are the same thing until I got a tortoise?? how do I know which is weeds and which is grass so that I make sure I feed my torts both?
 

KarenSoCal

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The beautiful lawn, if it is green, is planted with grass. The little plants that grow up through the grass are weeds. They often have pretty flowers.

Your babies might not eat grass yet. Grass should be a big part of their diet, but it's a little soon for yours.

Do they have names yet?

Grass:
46904546-grass-pictures.jpg
grass-pictures-1.jpg


Weeds:
broadleaf-weed.jpg
The Basics of Killing Weeds.jpg
 

Yossarian

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Check out Tortoisetable.org.uk The easiest way is to find out what the plant is actually called, then search for it, if it is listed it will usually have an image, and some information about its feeding potential and safety. It is not really species specific though as far as I can tell. The word weed just refers to wild plants growing where they are not wanted, anything can be a weed as such.
 

Lana Dhaou

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The beautiful lawn, if it is green, is planted with grass. The little plants that grow up through the grass are weeds. They often have pretty flowers.

Your babies might not eat grass yet. Grass should be a big part of their diet, but it's a little soon for yours.

Do they have names yet?

Grass:
View attachment 308679
View attachment 308680


Weeds:
View attachment 308682
View attachment 308681

Thank you so much! I think based on the picture the lawn is grass not weeds, but there are other lawns (a lot smaller) that have weeds like the ones in the pictures, so now I know that I have access to both.

Oh I shouldn't feed them grass yet? Why not? And at what age can I start feeding it to them? Also can I feed weeds or also weeds shouldn't be fed? Sorry for lots of questions but I really wanna know?

No, we didn't name them yet, it feels weird to just calling them tortoises, they need names, but I don't have any name ideas, I might make a thread asking for name suggestions, any ideas?
 

Blackdog1714

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Thank you so much! I think based on the picture the lawn is grass not weeds, but there are other lawns (a lot smaller) that have weeds like the ones in the pictures, so now I know that I have access to both.

Oh I shouldn't feed them grass yet? Why not? And at what age can I start feeding it to them? Also can I feed weeds or also weeds shouldn't be fed? Sorry for lots of questions but I really wanna know?

No, we didn't name them yet, it feels weird to just calling them tortoises, they need names, but I don't have any name ideas, I might make a thread asking for name suggestions, any ideas?
Are you certain the lawn isn’t treated? Weeds enter into lawns so easily and eradication usually requires chemicals
 

Tom

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Yes, I'm sure, the community doesn't mind the weeds and feed it to their animals that's why weeds aren't killed using chemicals.
If there is a garden center near you, you can take samples and ask for ID help. You can also post pics here.
 

KarenSoCal

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Oh I shouldn't feed them grass yet? Why not? And at what age can I start feeding it to them? Also can I feed weeds or also weeds shouldn't be fed?

I'm sorry about the confusion. I didn't mean to not feed them grass.

When I said they might be too young I meant that they might not eat older, drier, mature grass, especially by grazing on it.

Feed them fresh tender new grass by clipping some from the plant, and then cutting it into small pieces with a scissors. Like any other new food, they get the taste of it and recognise it as food.

You can feed weeds to them also. Just be sure you know that the weed is not toxic to tortoises. If they don't seem to want to eat it, and you are sure it is safe, cut it up and mix it into their regular food. After a few times they will accept it.
 

Lana Dhaou

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I'm sorry about the confusion. I didn't mean to not feed them grass.

When I said they might be too young I meant that they might not eat older, drier, mature grass, especially by grazing on it.

Feed them fresh tender new grass by clipping some from the plant, and then cutting it into small pieces with scissors. Like any other new food, they get the taste of it and recognize it as food.

You can feed weeds to them also. Just be sure you know that the weed is not toxic to tortoises. If they don't seem to want to eat it, and you are sure it is safe, cut it up and mix it into their regular food. After a few times, they will accept it.


Ok I will, they don't seem to eat like the grass though, but they eat it when it's mixed into other foods they like, but @Tom said that's normal cause breeders don't feed them grass when they're hatchlings so I have to introduce them to it, thank you for clarifying!
 

Yurtle2019

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There is an app called plant snap that is supposed to identify and name the plant thru a picture taken with your phone.
good luck!
 

Tolis

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My adult greeks were raised on lettuce (I didn't know any better) and now they refuse to anything but lettuce and a handful of other treats like fruits, watermelon and cucumber which are all not concidered proper diet. I feed their kids lawn, mallow and other weeds growing in my backyard, they love it! There's literally a green sea of mallow everywhere you look around here 8 months every year. Never buying lettuce again!
 

Lana Dhaou

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My adult greeks were raised on lettuce (I didn't know any better) and now they refuse to anything but lettuce and a handful of other treats like fruits, watermelon, and cucumber which are all not considered proper diet. I feed their kids lawn, mallow, and other weeds growing in my backyard, they love it! There's a green sea of mallow everywhere you look around here 8 months every year. Never buying lettuce again!

I feed them a proper diet, they eat lots of weed and grass, but every day, along with the weeds and grass, I give them a tiny bit of lettuce cause they love it, not too much though, I'm planting some spineless cactus and hibiscus for a more varied diet, I hope they grow soon, we have lots of flowers growing in a garden next to us (I've made sure they're not sprayed with chemicals) I take a handful of the safe ones to eat every day and put it for them, they love it! I'm sorry your adults aren't eating their proper diet, I hope they get used to it by the time.
 

Lana Dhaou

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There is an app called plant snap that is supposed to identify and name the plant thru a picture taken with your phone.
good luck!

I downloaded the app and I'm using it a lot for identifying plants, it's very helpful, but sometimes the app can't identify certain grasses cause most grasses look the same, but it's helping me with other plants and flowers!
 

AgataP

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I downloaded the app and I'm using it a lot for identifying plants, it's very helpful, but sometimes the app can't identify certain grasses cause most grasses look the same, but it's helping me with other plants and flowers!

I would say go over the list of foods that are good for your tortoise. Google them and see how they look like.
App is a good help but they also can provide wrong information.
I use 3 different ones and cross reference them. But also as my own hobby beside tortoise food I have a deeper interest in plants. If you are not 100% sure about a plant it’s better to skip and feed something you are 100% sure it’s fine.
 

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