Edible?

[John84]

are any of these 4 itemes ok for a sulcata to eat? And how nutritious are they? My little one will only crabgrass and I'm trying to introduce new foods to see if it will try them

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

yes.

 

[Yvonne G]

They're all edible.

 

[Yvonne G]

Clock-wise starting with the grass. It's some type of weed similar to fox tail, but it's edible. The next one is clover. The last two are prickly lettuce or sow thistle. I get them confused, but they're both edible.

 

[John84]

Thank you @russian/sulcata/tortoise and @Yvonne G.

 

[Tom]

Clock-wise starting with the grass. It's some type of weed similar to fox tail, but it's edible. The next one is clover. The last two are prickly lettuce or sow thistle. I get them confused, but they're both edible.

Are you sure the middle one is not oxalis?

John, what type of flower does that middle one produce? Little yellow inch long trumpets?

 

[John84]

@Tom that one didn't have any type of flower that's all it was, but the stem looks a little long for clover...right?

 

[Tom]

@Tom that one didn't have any type of flower that's all it was, but the stem looks a little long for clover...right?

Its the way it joins together at the base that makes me think oxalis. I would not feed that one until you know for sure. Its easy to tell once it flowers.

 

[John84]

@Tom I already fed it the clover part of that bunch since I was told it was fine. Will he be ok?

 

[Tom]

@Tom I already fed it the clover part of that bunch since I was told it was fine. Will he be ok?

Yes. A little oxalis one time won't hurt anything. I used to periodically feed it to my big sulcatas by the handful until I learned what it was. Its just very high in oxalates which bind calcium and make it unusable. Add a little calcium to the diet every other day for a week or two if you are really worried about it.

 

[John84]

@Tom sounds good. I'll add the calcium suplament I bought a while back.

 

[Lyn W]

Once you have names you can check ID and if they are safe or not at www.thetortoisetable.org.uk