wondering

[reticguy76]

I have a yearling or so, wc desert tortoise (I live in Arizona). I am terrible at figuring out native growing wild weeds and flowers and bushes and such, and finding any good pics and stuff to accurately figure out what I actually have growing in my yard (pretty sure they are weeds), and whether they are toxic or not.

My question is, I guess, are all Arizona weeds that grow naturally here, ok for Arizona native desert torts ??
If I just put him/her in the backyard to roam and get sun during the day, is it safe to assume that pretty much the grass patches and weeds (whatever they may be) are ok for him/her to graze on while outside ??

 

[wellington]

I would say it is a safe bet that he will eat what he wants and not eat what isn't that good for him. A lot of members think that even non native species will do this. I say go ahead as long as the yard has not been treated with anything.

 

[reticguy76]

I have read many members say and believe that they will eat whats good for them and not eat whats bad for them. The yard (in my 3 years I have been in my house) has never been treated with anything

I guess one last question on this, if i brought the weeds and such that are growing naturally in my yard and leave them for him/her to eat in his/her enclosure, will the same apply ?? Meaning, will he/she decipher which ones are good and not good ??

 

[ascott]

wc desert tortoise (I live in Arizona)

What does this mean? Did you pick up a tort from the wild??

 

[Laura]

If its truly wild caught it should know what good and bad... but they seem to know regardless..
I hope you 'saved' it from a bad wild situation.....

 

[reticguy76]

its wc, meaning a he/she came into my emergency animal hospital for, most likely, canine bite wounds out in the desert and a hiker saw it and brought it in to my hospital. I decided to nurse it at home. However, az state regs/law states that if a licensed wildlife person or organization keeps native (protected) wildlife in their possession for greater than 72 hours, it is illegal to release back into the wild. The wounds needed attention and treatment for more than 72 hours. So, i just kept the dt.
Normally, it is illegal to even move a dt off the road onto the side, here in az. Az regs and laws are very harsh on protected wildlife species. Ive always wanted a dt, but just never felt like going and adoptinig one (as most are adults anyway, its pretty rare to find a baby dt in the wild), and this one makes it a pretty cool story, coming into my hospital and stuff

 

[Tom]

All of us have seen different things and had different experiences. This is one reason that I think this forum is so great. There is a large pool of knowledge and experience to draw from. In most captive situations, most torts seem to know what to eat and what not to eat. A large yard with plenty of grass and a variety of weeds would be a pretty good scenario for success in this regard in my opinion. HOWEVER, sometimes they will eat things they shouldn't, so some caution is necessary. In an indoor set up, a hungry tortoise might be encouraged to eat something toxic, simply because there is nothing else to eat and they are hungry. This is how we get the, to eat thing that we know are good for them, but they dont want to eat for whatever reason. If a few bad ones are mixed with a few good ones, the bad ones might get eaten too. I have personally seen this on several occasions. If you post pics here, we can try to ID what you've got. If we can't ID it, a trip to a local garden center with some samples, should get you the info you need.

 

[reticguy76]

Thanks everybody, and thank you Tom for your post. This is a great and very informative forum. When I had my sulcatas and leopard (both also rescues at my clinic), they were easier, for me anyway, learn their diet, being non-native. My dt, being native to here, and not knowing pretty much what any of the weeds and flowers here in Az, let along, which ones are good vs not good for desert torts, is a little, well, frustrating. I think I have dandilion weeds, but I read and hear about plantains and mallows and others, but just cant quite figure out what they are. Maybe I will take some pics of the ones in question and see what you guys and ladies all think/know

 

[Laura]

Take pics of what you have and post, or look in the diet section.. there are several good sites for IDing plants..and lots where people have posted pictures and we ID d for them.
Thanks for taking this little one in.

 

[reticguy76]

I will. Thank you. I believe there are 3 different types of weeds in my backyard and some naturally growing grass.

 

[ascott]

Good save My biggest problem is that the property our house is on was bulldozed so many times before I even owned it (idiots removing weeds this way, which of course also messes with the overall grade) that the only thing that was prominent was all the invasive weeds...cheat grass, fox tails, yellow fox tails and very little else....so after years of pecking away at pulling and spreading native seed I finally am having some luck with patches of nice areas...right now I am planning where the torts here will ultimately be based on the best growing results from my efforts...lol...for now, they will have to make due tapping their toes in their current yards...

The link below is one of my favs...there are soooo many kick *** native plants (to your general area) to choose from....I would suggest (since your dt is a baby still) that you start picking up seedlings and packets from your local nursery (you will have luck with nurseries vs the big chain stores) and yes, I have been known to accidentally have seeds stuck to my shoes and such while exploring the mojave and adjoining areas here ...that somehow make it back to our property....

Do you have an outdoor yard set up for your baby? The outdoors is soooo much better for the nice times of year....secure of course


http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/tortoise/documents/NativePlantsforDesertTortoises_2008.pdf

http://www.desertsurvivors.org/Nursery.html

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http://cals.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/

oooo, this one too

 

[reticguy76]

I go on game and fish all the time. I have an area that Id like to make into his/her pen. Basically, its a long (20 feet or so) x 6 foot width along the side of my house and the other side is the wall adjoining my and my neighbors yard. I just need a good fence of some sort to block from the outside to the rest of my yard (as I dont want my pit bull getting to him/her). But it will workout well, as he/she will get about 2-3 hours of direct sun around midday, when the sun is at its peak. and thats where all my weeds and grass grow. Once I figure out a secure and proper fence to block off that strip to the rest of the yard, he/she will go back there and be extremely happy, Im sure