POISON IVY

[Clawem]

Does anyone know if sulacata's can eat poison ivy? I know my sheep liked it and my neighbors cows would go crazy for it.

 

[Star-of-India]

I believe they can. I just wouldn't want them to transfer it to me from their shells.

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't know how reputable this site is, but they list poison ivy as toxic:

http://www.repticzone.com/caresheets/450.html

 

[Star-of-India]

I'd go with Yvonne's advice on this one. But I do think, emphasis on think, it's okay. I don't know for sure. Most animals can deal with it fine. Native Americans in California were so exposed to poison oak, our West Coast version, that they even cooked with it. That still doesn't quite mean that tortoises would have no problem with it.

 

[Jacqui]

I have never saw it growing in the sulcata enclosures, but I have it growing in the leopard area and hingeback ones. So far I have not saw any signs that they have ever eaten any of it.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

I can say with certainty that the native gopher tortoise do not eat it. I watch them in the fiends next door and they browse all around, however never touch poison ivy!

- This is poison ivy in this picture of one of our local native wild gopher tortoises, this is his path to his den! Makes you wonder if he strategically chose this path for some reason because it is riddled with poison ivy!

 

[Clawem]

Thanks I was just wondering I have it groing around the yard and it would be easier for the tortoises to eat it then to pull it out lol. I will keep them away just incase.

 

[harris]

Gaaaahhh! Poison Ivy is the DEVIL!
I'm breaking out just looking at the photo.

 

[kball]

I don't think so. It's on a lot of poison lists for desert tortoises.

 

[Star-of-India]

Looks like poison ivy is okay, I was just reading Behler's care sheet on radiated tortoises and he refers to poison ivy as being part of the outdoors browse for his radiateds. I found it in some CTTC lit.

 

[westernstar]

Resurrecting an old thread here, but I've had some poison ivy recently growing in my Sulcata's outdoor pen area and he's been caught eating it. So far, I've not seen any side effects, but has anyone run into any credible information that says it's okay or not? It's actually one of the few plants he desires to eat, so if his system can deal with it, then it's definitely a win/win for me to have him mow it down and a big plus that I'm getting him to eat more plants outside (he's about 3 yrs old now and finally starting to develop a taste for hay and such). Thanks in advance !