# Plantain and dandelion question



## ChiKat (Aug 2, 2009)

I have a large field behind my house that has quite a few dandelion and plantain plants (both broad leaf and English.) I plan on taking my future Russian tortoise hatchling (who I will be getting in TWO days, might I add ) outside daily, but I was wondering how nutritious dandelion and plantain is. 
Is this something I should only give him as a treat? Is it okay if he munches on them every day when I bring him outside?
Thanks 

eta: Oh and for the plantain plants can he eat the entire plant (the weird seedy things included) or just the leaves?


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## Yvonne G (Aug 2, 2009)

These would both be an excellent part of a varied diet. If possible, gather some of the seeds and sow them in your yard.

I used to be really anal about my sculptured lawn...edging and mowing and cutting out the weeds. Then I put some tortoises in there and now I encourage the weeds!

Yvonne


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## ChiKat (Aug 2, 2009)

haha yes my mom thought it was funny that I planted some dandelions earlier...
I might just dig up some of the plantain and dandelion plants and plant them in a corner of the garden


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## spring pace (Aug 3, 2009)

no more mowing for me either, my sulcata does a great job at that, tho there are some things in the grass hes not interested in so they grow and grow, the grass scutter comes out just once a month to even and clean things up around here, so glad of that, its too hot in so. calif to mow the grass every week, id much rather water to encourage the grass and the tort. i love the spring time around here, the dandies grow tall and strong and i can pick them by the armload a couple times a week for about month to 6 weeks. its a great help to a tort that loves to have dandie breadth. its sad for hima nd me when the season is over. big smiles from galileo & spring


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## tortoisenerd (Aug 3, 2009)

Dandelion and plantain are great, as long as that's not him only diet (they are better than lettuce greens from the store for example)! Just make sure no pesticides/fertilizers. Yes it is fine for him to munch as he gets exercise. You may want to scatter some more seeds for variety if you can, or as you said try to transplant them. Are you sure that's all that is out there? Kinda odd for a field to only have two things. If he looks like he's eating the whole time he's out there, or gains weight (probably not an issue if he's walking around), you may want to cut back on food you feed inside. More of a wait and see thing though.


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## ChiKat (Aug 3, 2009)

I'm pretty sure those are the only two weeds out there- maybe a few different types of grass too. It's kind of like a soccer field. There are a few weeds here and there but it's mostly grass.
I was in rural Michigan this past weekend and there were huge fields full of weeds- tortoise heaven!


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## Crazy1 (Aug 3, 2009)

ChiKat, is this a wild field or a groomed field like a soccer or sports field? sports fields they use chemicals on these plants you would not want to let him eat at his leisure. Things like pestisides an fertilizers can cause him to become ill and build in his system. And if it is a wild field Kates right there are more than likely lots of different types of weeds. Please be careful.

Leads me to a story:
I found a wild field close to my house and was thrilled with the idea I would be able to add this lovely weed to my torts diet. It had a wonderful yellow flower and a friend of mine said it was ragweed. I knew it was not ragweed but on closer inspection and research I found out it wasn't what I thought either. It was fiddler leaf. This weed is BAD for torts. Sure glad I looked it up and took a few days to do research. It was a cost I was glad to pay to have healthy torts.


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## ChiKat (Aug 4, 2009)

It's not a sports field, that's just what I was comparing it to because it's big and open and mostly grassy. The town is in charge of mowing it but they don't put any fertilizer or anything on it. It's a large field surrounded by houses- basically an extension of my backyard. I'll try to get a picture of the field.
The only weeds that seem to be predominant in my area are dandelions, plantain and clover. Even when I go for walks I never really see other kinds of weeds.


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