I just wanted to double check that the common houseplant Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) is okay for my Hermann's tortoise to eat?
THANKS so much, tortadise- this is very clear and makes a whole lot of sense! Pothos is a NO- GO for my Hermann's!!!Well I would definitely not recommend them unless being given to species I mentioned. All those species have a very unique omnivorous nature to them and can digest and tolerate the mild to moderate toxicity of them.
The reason they're classified to have a toxicity is the insoluble calcium-oxalates content to them, they will crate crystals in the kidneys and cause some serious internal and possibly renal issues(renal failure is irreversible and almost leads to death, early death or very weakened animals) the best way to fulfill your tortoises dietary needs is to study the regions, and classifications of the species. By classification I am referring to which type is calls under. Example. Omnivorous deep rainforest, grassland, temperate, arid, tropical etc... Pothos is a variety of plant that does not naturally grow within 1000s of miles of any native Herman's, Greeks, egyptian, or marginated territory. So to me I would not even think to offer it based of the approach I take towards thinking "what's best for my tortoise".
I think a lot of times many keepers see a "safe to feed" plant, but don't take into consideration which species is it safe to feed to. In this case It is not safe (in my opinion) to feed a tropical under canopy rainforest dwelling plant to a grass/scrubland species of tortoise. The calcium rich diet needed by that species would be robbed from insoluble calcium-oxalates within the leave, stem, and anatomy of the entire plant.
Hope that makes more sense.
In my opinion yep I'd steer clear from it.THANKS so much, tortadise- this is very clear and makes a whole lot of sense! Pothos is a NO- GO for my Hermann's!!!
Hi I hope your still active on here. I was also looking to add plants to my tortoise table (in the process of upgrading from a smaller viv) I'll be using coco coir. I've seen alot of users put the link to the tortoisetable database sheet where it states "safe to feed". I also wondered how can they specifically say it's safe for every species. I have a hermann's too, would you be able to point me to some safe plants for her preferably ones that are easy to maintain (never planted in my life). Thanks ?Well I would definitely not recommend them unless being given to species I mentioned. All those species have a very unique omnivorous nature to them and can digest and tolerate the mild to moderate toxicity of them.
The reason they're classified to have a toxicity is the insoluble calcium-oxalates content to them, they will crate crystals in the kidneys and cause some serious internal and possibly renal issues(renal failure is irreversible and almost leads to death, early death or very weakened animals) the best way to fulfill your tortoises dietary needs is to study the regions, and classifications of the species. By classification I am referring to which type is calls under. Example. Omnivorous deep rainforest, grassland, temperate, arid, tropical etc... Pothos is a variety of plant that does not naturally grow within 1000s of miles of any native Herman's, Greeks, egyptian, or marginated territory. So to me I would not even think to offer it based of the approach I take towards thinking "what's best for my tortoise".
I think a lot of times many keepers see a "safe to feed" plant, but don't take into consideration which species is it safe to feed to. In this case It is not safe (in my opinion) to feed a tropical under canopy rainforest dwelling plant to a grass/scrubland species of tortoise. The calcium rich diet needed by that species would be robbed from insoluble calcium-oxalates within the leave, stem, and anatomy of the entire plant.
Hope that makes more sense.