Bummer, I have an abundance in my yard. From what I can see about oxalis, it is probably best to avoid it all together. Thanks for your input, Tom.That would be oxalis. For years that has been known as a "do not feed" due to a high oxalic acid content, but I'm not sure where we stand on this one anymore. High levels of oxalic acid do not seem to be the problem that we once thought they were in tortoises, at least in some cases.
I mistakenly fed small quantities of this mixed in with other food to my tortoises years ago, and it didn't appear to do any harm, but I stopped once I learned what it was.
Will @Kapidolo Farms ? Can you lay down some of your vast nutritional knowledge for us here?
I have a lot of it at my place too. I'm waiting for a trusted knowledgable voice to tell me they think its okay to feed. Until then, I skip it.Bummer, I have an abundance in my yard. From what I can see about oxalis, it is probably best to avoid it all together. Thanks for your input, Tom.
Will @Kapidolo Farms ? Can you lay down some of your vast nutritional knowledge for us here?
Having just burrowed through a couple of his threads mentioning oxalates in general and occasionally oxalis in particular I’m pretty sure he would say it’s fine as part of a varied diet; he allows some types to graze on it. Would he intentionally feed a ton of it, probably not. Perhaps not to babies either.? Can you lanyay down some of your vast nutritional knowledge for us here?
Thanks for the info! I am trying to feed more fresh weeds, but unfortunately only bad weeds grow in my small yard. I am thinking about trying to grow some from seeds in pots.Sorry for the double post!
Having just burrowed through a couple of his threads mentioning oxalates in general and occasionally oxalis in particular I’m pretty sure he would say it’s fine as part of a varied diet; he allows some types to graze on it. Would he intentionally feed a ton of it, probably not. Perhaps not to babies either.
My sense of oxalis is that we are overly fearful of it, given (likely outdated) research about oxalates. Perhaps this is because it is a common plant and comes up for discussion so often, more than nearly any other yard plant. There are other plants with oxalates that some point out as “bad” but I think this is the one that gets the worst rap.
My Russian has a varied diet and is in good health, I wouldn’t worry at all if she ate some if when she was out and about. That said, she has never shown any interest in it; I pull it from our yard only because it’s invasive. If she was being hand fed I probably would throw in the occasional leaf; I think it’s important to expose them to as many food types as we can.
Of course there is never any need to feed a plant you aren’t comfortable with; there are plenty of other choices to us here in Orange County. You’ve got an H Mart, a 99 Ranch Market, and plenty of Mexican grocers around if you want to branch out a bit.
I’m afraid it’s horseweed. Not poisonous but inedible and grows into a huge, hideous weed.What about this one? Does anyone know what it is?
They are the more or less the same. Those dandelions are more properly called chicories. They are grown as food elsewhere and like any vegetable, different strains have been developed. Just like some grocery store lettuces have some red or purple to them.Also, what's up with the purple dandelions? Do they just have higher nitrogen content? Or are they a completely different weed all together?
Thank you for all of the information. I think I actually found some thistle earlier. It has a lot of purple, but has grown fairly tall and has little thorns on the leaves. I guess I am so bad at identifying weeds because I had never had a need to what each weed is. There are only 3 weeds growing in my yard. The first I mentioned in the original post, and the other two are pictures below. Not sure what they are though.They are the more or less the same. Those dandelions are more properly called chicories. They are grown as food elsewhere and like any vegetable, different strains have been developed. Just like some grocery store lettuces have some red or purple to them.
Take a look at some big sow thistles once you start to recognize them. You’ll notice some of them have a lot of purple to the stem as well, while others are very green.
All these plants are closely related and edible for humans and tortoises: “true” dandelion; chicories; sow thistles; wild lettuce; hawksbeard; hawkbit; cats ear. Leaves that are serrated; yellow flowers with many small petals. All good tortoise food, just hard to differentiate at first.
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I will get some better pictures in a few days once the flowers open up. I think your answers seem pretty accurate though.Why would anyone have a need to identify weeds? It’s reserved for weird tortoise people.
That sounds like a regular prickly sow thistle, close but not quite the same as the smooth. They can get crazy tall, especially after rain or with regular water. Those prickles absolutely won’t bother your tortoise; go for it. Their jaws are crazy tough. The stems have great fiber.
I’d need to see flowers but I think the first is Scarlet Pimpernel. In our area the flowers are more an orange salmon that red. Problematic for cattle but to me that’s not necessarily a reason to to avoid it. That said, my Russian has never taken a bite of it.
The second, hmm. A wild geranium maybe. Do you have one with an open flower? And can you get a good picture of this bit, in red? It would be safe if it was a geranium. (Wild geraniums look nothing like you’d think.) My tortoise doesn’t care for them but plenty do.
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Again, it’s totally normal not to have access to a ton of weeds; I sure don’t, other than a few weeks in spring and I know what I’m looking at/for!
That's horse weed. Sites I've found say its toxic to mammals. Hurry up and pull it out by the root and toss it in the trash before it goes to seed.
Take samples of the whole plant to a local nursery. There is almost always a local "plant nerd" that can ID them for you. I have several of them here in SCV.Thank you for all of the information. I think I actually found some thistle earlier. It has a lot of purple, but has grown fairly tall and has little thorns on the leaves. I guess I am so bad at identifying weeds because I had never had a need to what each weed is. There are only 3 weeds growing in my yard. The first I mentioned in the original post, and the other two are pictures below. Not sure what they are though.
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That would be oxalis. For years that has been known as a "do not feed" due to a high oxalic acid content, but I'm not sure where we stand on this one anymore. High levels of oxalic acid do not seem to be the problem that we once thought they were in tortoises, at least in some cases.
I mistakenly fed small quantities of this mixed in with other food to my tortoises years ago, and it didn't appear to do any harm, but I stopped once I learned what it was.
Will @Kapidolo Farms ? Can you lay down some of your vast nutritional knowledge for us here?