Can my Russian eat any of these?

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May 25, 2021
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London
Hi all,
I'm honestly loving this forum so much?
In order to make sure my tortoise is happy, i wanted to ask if any of these weeds/flowers are suitable for him to eat. These are all grown in my garden and are not treated with insecticide or pesticides.

Plant 1: i was trying to focus on the waxy looking leaves
20210526_141858.jpg

Plant 2
20210526_142117.jpg

Plant 3..the clover looking things
20210526_142108.jpg

Plant 420210526_142049.jpg

Plant 5..that little bundle20210526_142041.jpg

Plant 6..the long grass20210526_142036.jpg

Plant 7 ..any of it20210526_142028.jpg

Plant 820210526_142019.jpg

Plant 9..the waxy looking long grass and flower20210526_142010.jpg

Plant 1020210526_141948.jpg

Plant 11..looks like dandelion leaves but they are spiky20210526_141937.jpg

Plant 12..leaves and flowers20210526_141912.jpg

Plant 13..the frilly stuff
20210526_141841.jpg

Plant 14
20210526_141837.jpg

Plant 15
20210526_141828.jpg

Plant 1620210526_141821.jpg

Plant 17
20210526_141811.jpg

Sorry for the long post but i dont want to feed him amything toxic. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Much love xx
 

Tom

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We are happy to help, but this is too much at once. Its the Internet forum equivalent of asking a 5 year old to read War and Peace. Please post as many ID treads as you want, but I would make two suggestions for you to get better results: 1. Fewer different IDs per thread. Any more than 3 or 4 gets to be too much and too confusing. 2. There are too many plants in too many of your pics. Try to get just the one plant you want to know about in frame.

With that, I will give it my best by the numbers:
1. I don't know the bush leaves in th middle of the pic, but there are some good edible weeds at the bottom of the photo.
2. Don't know this one either. Looks like a cross between horse weed (bad) and narrow leaf plantain (good), but I don't think its either.
3. Oxalis, do not feed. Its also discolored and may have been sprayed with something.
4. Don't know.
5. Bristly ox tongue. Good tort food.
6. I wouldn't feed grass to a Russian. You can chop it up to mix in with grocery store greens to add fiber, but they generally don't digest it well. Just passes through.
7. Too much going on there. I see some dandelion.
8. Too many plants here. I think the main one with little flowers might be edible, but not sure.
9. No on the central plant.
10. Too many things going on here. All look okay for tortoise food.
11. Same as 5.
12. Don't know this one.
13. Don't know.
14. Good food.
15. Two good plants with one unknown in the middle.
16. Don't know.
17. Don't know.
 
Joined
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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
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We are happy to help, but this is too much at once. Its the Internet forum equivalent of asking a 5 year old to read War and Peace. Please post as many ID treads as you want, but I would make two suggestions for you to get better results: 1. Fewer different IDs per thread. Any more than 3 or 4 gets to be too much and too confusing. 2. There are too many plants in too many of your pics. Try to get just the one plant you want to know about in frame.

With that, I will give it my best by the numbers:
1. I don't know the bush leaves in th middle of the pic, but there are some good edible weeds at the bottom of the photo.
2. Don't know this one either. Looks like a cross between horse weed (bad) and narrow leaf plantain (good), but I don't think its either.
3. Oxalis, do not feed. Its also discolored and may have been sprayed with something.
4. Don't know.
5. Bristly ox tongue. Good tort food.
6. I wouldn't feed grass to a Russian. You can chop it up to mix in with grocery store greens to add fiber, but they generally don't digest it well. Just passes through.
7. Too much going on there. I see some dandelion.
8. Too many plants here. I think the main one with little flowers might be edible, but not sure.
9. No on the central plant.
10. Too many things going on here. All look okay for tortoise food.
11. Same as 5.
12. Don't know this one.
13. Don't know.
14. Good food.
15. Two good plants with one unknown in the middle.
16. Don't know.
17. Don't know.
I'm so sorry. I thought it would be too much. Thank you for taking the time to look throught it all though. I'll remember this for next time. I only joined yesterday so I'm still new to this.. apologies ?
 

Moonflwrmama

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May 24, 2021
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Philadelphia
Hi all,
I'm honestly loving this forum so much?
In order to make sure my tortoise is happy, i wanted to ask if any of these weeds/flowers are suitable for him to eat. These are all grown in my garden and are not treated with insecticide or pesticides.

Plant 1: i was trying to focus on the waxy looking leaves
View attachment 325896

Plant 2
View attachment 325897

Plant 3..the clover looking things
View attachment 325898

Plant 4View attachment 325899

Plant 5..that little bundleView attachment 325900

Plant 6..the long grassView attachment 325901

Plant 7 ..any of itView attachment 325902

Plant 8View attachment 325903

Plant 9..the waxy looking long grass and flowerView attachment 325904

Plant 10View attachment 325905

Plant 11..looks like dandelion leaves but they are spikyView attachment 325906

Plant 12..leaves and flowersView attachment 325907

Plant 13..the frilly stuff
View attachment 325908

Plant 14
View attachment 325909

Plant 15
View attachment 325910

Plant 16View attachment 325911

Plant 17
View attachment 325912

Sorry for the long post but i dont want to feed him amything toxic. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Much love xx
Also following along I have many of these in our lot and haven’t treated I just pull them and have put turf down to keep weeds down.
 
Joined
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Messages
59
Location (City and/or State)
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As a tortoise owner, why would you want to suppress weeds? That is the best tortoise food there is, and its free.
Hi Tom,
Since i live in the UK, do you know of any flowers i can buy that my tort might eat. For example aloe vera, pansies etc.
I may take a trip to the garden center to buy some seeds.
Thank you x
 

Tom

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Hi Tom,
Since i live in the UK, do you know of any flowers i can buy that my tort might eat. For example aloe vera, pansies etc.
I may take a trip to the garden center to buy some seeds.
Thank you x
I don't know how it works in the UK, but over here all decorative plants are grown with toxic systemic pesticides. These can't be rinsed off because they are taken up into the plants tissues, and they last for a year.

Best to grow your own from seed or cuttings. Over here Will @Kapidolo Farms produces and sells a whole bunch of dried leaves to mix in and feed to our tortoises. Can you get "ZooMed" products over there? Look for their new "Flower topper". After an introductory period, all of my torts loved it. I use the "Herbal Hay" from torotisesupply.com, and my tortoises seek out and eat every crumb.

Best to get your seeds from places that sell seed intended to be grown for grazing pasture animals. Sometimes store bought seed have other things in them if not intended for human consumption. This is especially true of grass seed bought at chain type hardware stores.
 
Joined
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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
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I don't know how it works in the UK, but over here all decorative plants are grown with toxic systemic pesticides. These can't be rinsed off because they are taken up into the plants tissues, and they last for a year.

Best to grow your own from seed or cuttings. Over here Will @Kapidolo Farms produces and sells a whole bunch of dried leaves to mix in and feed to our tortoises. Can you get "ZooMed" products over there? Look for their new "Flower topper". After an introductory period, all of my torts loved it. I use the "Herbal Hay" from torotisesupply.com, and my tortoises seek out and eat every crumb.

Best to get your seeds from places that sell seed intended to be grown for grazing pasture animals. Sometimes store bought seed have other things in them if not intended for human consumption. This is especially true of grass seed bought at chain type hardware stores.
Thank you for your reply. I'm pretty sure i can get ZooMed over here. I will definetly look around. I didn't know tortoises could eat hay, thank you for informing me. Commercial stores probably aren't a good idea then because they do contain alot of additives to make plants healthy- I'll stick to weeds and greens then.
I'll definetly check out the products you listed.
Take care
And again..apologies for the lengthy post last time.?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
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Joined
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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
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Thank you for your reply. I'm pretty sure i can get ZooMed over here. I will definetly look around. I didn't know tortoises could eat hay, thank you for informing me. Commercial stores probably aren't a good idea then because they do contain alot of additives to make plants healthy- I'll stick to weeds and greens then.
I'll definetly check out the products you listed.
Take care
And again..apologies for the lengthy post last time.?
The herbal hay I mentioned is a mix of dried crumbled flowers. Its not the traditional type hay fed to horses and such. Regular grass hays are generally not a good food for Russians. Great for large grass eating species, but not for small Testudo species.
 
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Messages
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The herbal hay I mentioned is a mix of dried crumbled flowers. Its not the traditional type hay fed to horses and such. Regular grass hays are generally not a good food for Russians. Great for large grass eating species, but not for small Testudo species.
Ahh okay. Thanks for claryfying that. I'll definetly look out for some.
 

harrythetortoise

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Messages
455
Location (City and/or State)
Virginia
Hi all,
I'm honestly loving this forum so much?
In order to make sure my tortoise is happy, i wanted to ask if any of these weeds/flowers are suitable for him to eat. These are all grown in my garden and are not treated with insecticide or pesticides.

Plant 1: i was trying to focus on the waxy looking leaves
View attachment 325896

Plant 2
View attachment 325897

Plant 3..the clover looking things
View attachment 325898

Plant 4View attachment 325899

Plant 5..that little bundleView attachment 325900

Plant 6..the long grassView attachment 325901

Plant 7 ..any of itView attachment 325902

Plant 8View attachment 325903

Plant 9..the waxy looking long grass and flowerView attachment 325904

Plant 10View attachment 325905

Plant 11..looks like dandelion leaves but they are spikyView attachment 325906

Plant 12..leaves and flowersView attachment 325907

Plant 13..the frilly stuff
View attachment 325908

Plant 14
View attachment 325909

Plant 15
View attachment 325910

Plant 16View attachment 325911

Plant 17
View attachment 325912

Sorry for the long post but i dont want to feed him amything toxic. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Much love xx
I use an app called "Picture this" and get the ID of the weed (normally take 3-4 shots at different angles just to be sure), and look up the name on "thetortoisetable.co.uk" to see if it would be safe to feed!
 
Joined
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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
London
I use an app called "Picture this" and get the ID of the weed (normally take 3-4 shots at different angles just to be sure), and look up the name on "thetortoisetable.co.uk" to see if it would be safe to feed!
Oh Wow, I'll definetly see if i can get this. I knew there was another app like this but i couldn't remember the name. Thank you! Xx
 

RosemaryDW

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It is a big post! That said you are in luck tonight in that I have too much time on my hands. Let’s see.
1. I don't know the bush leaves in th middle of the pic, but there are some good edible weeds at the bottom of the photo.
Agreed with the edible plants on the lower right corner of the photo. These are various sow thistles, dandelion relatives and all good. Take a look at the smallest weed there; do you see how the leaves are notched and have a bit of an arrow look to them? Most of the dandelion relatives will eventually grow leaves that are similar in shape, at least at the bottom of the plant. Some are rounder than others but generally speaking that’s how you know. The other way to tell is to look at the edge of one petal of any of them; they will be notched . This is a dandelion flower, not a sow thistle but the notches are easier to see on a dandelion.

34251EA5-3BDB-412D-BCFB-0EACE8BD1FC9.jpeg

As for the waxy plant, I got nothing.

2. Don't know this one either. Looks like a cross between horse weed (bad) and narrow leaf plantain (good), but I don't think its either.
Agreed. It seems familiar but in a “don’t feed” way so I wouldn’t bother with it.
3. Oxalis, do not feed. Its also discolored and may have been sprayed with something.
Agreed.
4. Don't know.
I think it’s one of the cranesbill geraniums; I’d pull up some images of that plant and compare the leaves. You’ll want to look at several photos; there are tons of different leaf shapes. Some are fairly round, others look like these.
5. Bristly ox tongue. Good tort food.
Agreed. Ox tongue is one of the dandelion relatives; the leaves don’t have much of an arrow shape but the yellow flowers will be notched, just like all the relatives. Ox tongue will stick to your shirt, if you want to give it a test.
6. I wouldn't feed grass to a Russian. You can chop it up to mix in with grocery store greens to add fiber, but they generally don't digest it well. Just passes through.
Yup.
7. Too much going on there. I see some dandelion.
There is a lot going on. Tom is right, there is a dandelion relative in there. The spiky looking thing could be a bitter or similar cress that’s gone to seed or... a pine tree! Keep an eye on it and come back if it puts out any flowers. Cress is edible, pine trees are not!
8. Too many plants here. I think the main one with little flowers might be edible, but not sure.
I think the one with little flowers could be chickweed but you’ll need to confirm by doing an image search or such as I don’t have any growing near me. Chickweed is edible.
9. No on the central plant.
The spiky looking one in the middle I can’t say for sure other than that it is not edible. The one on the left might be narrow leaf plantain, it’s a bit thrashed so I can’t say for sure. Safe, if you can confirm that’s what it is. Another dandelion relative on the right.
10. Too many things going on here. All look okay for tortoise food.
More sow thistles and grass.
11. Same as 5.
Agreed, bristly ox tongue.
12. Don't know this one.
The lacy looking one with purple flowers I don’t know. Do you maybe have a berry or bramble growing under there? If so it’s edible.
13. Don't know.
Another cranesbill geranium, I think, although the flowers don’t look quite right at this angle. Do an image search.
14. Good food.
More sow thistle.
15. Two good plants with one unknown in the middle.
More sow thistle and/or a young bristly ox-tongue. The waxy purple thing, I am just going to say don’t feed. I’m not a believer in anything waxy, lol.
16. Don't know.
Hmm, that is a brassica of some time although I have no idea which one, really interesting. All the brassicas are safe. Brassicas you may know include watercress, arugula, kale, radishes, turnips, cabbage, mustard, broccoli, cauliflower, the list goes on and on. That one will likely be spicy if you taste it.
17. Don't know.
Maybe yet another geranium on the middle right. Baby sow thistles on the left. Heart shaped plant maybe a violet? And again some more possible, straggly looking narrowleaf plantain.
 
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It is a big post! That said you are in luck tonight in that I have too much time on my hands. Let’s see.

Agreed with the edible plants on the lower right corner of the photo. These are various sow thistles, dandelion relatives and all good. Take a look at the smallest weed there; do you see how the leaves are notched and have a bit of an arrow look to them? Most of the dandelion relatives will eventually grow leaves that are similar in shape, at least at the bottom of the plant. Some are rounder than others but generally speaking that’s how you know. The other way to tell is to look at the edge of one petal of any of them; they will be notched . This is a dandelion flower, not a sow thistle but the notches are easier to see on a dandelion.

View attachment 325955

As for the waxy plant, I got nothing.


Agreed. It seems familiar but in a “don’t feed” way so I wouldn’t bother with it.

Agreed.

I think it’s one of the cranesbill geraniums; I’d pull up some images of that plant and compare the leaves. You’ll want to look at several photos; there are tons of different leaf shapes. Some are fairly round, others look like these.

Agreed. Ox tongue is one of the dandelion relatives; the leaves don’t have much of an arrow shape but the yellow flowers will be notched, just like all the relatives. Ox tongue will stick to your shirt, if you want to give it a test.

Yup.

There is a lot going on. Tom is right, there is a dandelion relative in there. The spiky looking thing could be a bitter or similar cress that’s gone to seed or... a pine tree! Keep an eye on it and come back if it puts out any flowers. Cress is edible, pine trees are not!

I think the one with little flowers could be chickweed but you’ll need to confirm by doing an image search or such as I don’t have any growing near me. Chickweed is edible.

The spiky looking one in the middle I can’t say for sure other than that it is not edible. The one on the left might be narrow leaf plantain, it’s a bit thrashed so I can’t say for sure. Safe, if you can confirm that’s what it is. Another dandelion relative on the right.

More sow thistles and grass.

Agreed, bristly ox tongue.

The lacy looking one with purple flowers I don’t know. Do you maybe have a berry or bramble growing under there? If so it’s edible.

Another cranesbill geranium, I think, although the flowers don’t look quite right at this angle. Do an image search.

More sow thistle.

More sow thistle and/or a young bristly ox-tongue. The waxy purple thing, I am just going to say don’t feed. I’m not a believer in anything waxy, lol.

Hmm, that is a brassica of some time although I have no idea which one, really interesting. All the brassicas are safe. Brassicas you may know include watercress, arugula, kale, radishes, turnips, cabbage, mustard, broccoli, cauliflower, the list goes on and on. That one will likely be spicy if you taste it.

Maybe yet another geranium on the middle right. Baby sow thistles on the left. Heart shaped plant maybe a violet? And again some more possible, straggly looking narrowleaf plantain.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post. I'm sorry or was so lengthy, i should have broken it up like Tom said. Atleast i know for next time.
These are the plants that i have in the UK but needed to make sure they are safe so that i can give my tortoise a varied diet. Thank you so much for your help and i will look up the other ones, i just didn't know the names. Xx
 

Sarah2020

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There is a site called tortoise table have a look on there and filter green good and match up etc ...
Best and most favourite is a dandelion with stalk and leaves. Have a read of this care sheet to help you

 
Joined
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There is a site called tortoise table have a look on there and filter green good and match up etc ...
Best and most favourite is a dandelion with stalk and leaves. Have a read of this care sheet to help you

I have and thank you. Although i did hear that you shouldn't give them to much of the stalk as it has too much oxalic (i think that's what it's called) which isn't good for their calcium uptake. Mine doesn't tend to eat the stalk anyway.
I did have a question though..i always find these little translucent like bugs on my dandelions..i always make sure to wash them off before i give them to my tortoise but i just wanted to know what they are.
 

Moonflwrmama

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As a tortoise owner, why would you want to suppress weeds? That is the best tortoise food there is, and its free.
Because it’s an abandoned lot in a metro city with all kinds of stuff hiding under the weeds so I cleaned the lot and put turf down and while there are some weeds the forest that it was is gone and no grass grows only big giant ones seemed to grow into mini tree things with berries on it. So those got taken out and now we have a useable area for people and kiddos too.
 

RosemaryDW

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I have and thank you. Although i did hear that you shouldn't give them to much of the stalk as it has too much oxalic (i think that's what it's called) which isn't good for their calcium uptake. Mine doesn't tend to eat the stalk anyway.
I did have a question though..i always find these little translucent like bugs on my dandelions..i always make sure to wash them off before i give them to my tortoise but i just wanted to know what they are.
The warnings about oxalic acid are out of date and actually have no research to back them up. They are fine in a varied diet, actually fine in large amounts. In fact in the wild dandelion relatives make up a large part of what they eat in the spring. It’s odd but the warnings about dandelions usually come from old info in the U.K., not here. The stalk is full of great fiber! Keep offering them and I bet one day they get tasted.

I have no idea what the bugs are but tortoises in the wild don’t have someone to wash off bugs; they get eaten and as a small part of the diet that’s fine. It’s certainly okay to wash the plants off but don’t worry about missing some.
 
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