# mushrooms!



## evlinLoutries (Oct 5, 2011)

so, I recently saw a pict of tort eating a mushroom here, my questions is, can all type of tort eat mushroom?
and what kind of mushroom that safe for tort to eat?

because it is kinda strange here, mushroom as a food for tort..
thanks..


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## pdrobber (Oct 5, 2011)

I know redfoots can have them as part of a varied diet. I wouldn't give them to my Russians or Sulcata personally.


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## Tnewton (Oct 5, 2011)

pdrobber said:


> I know redfoots can have them as part of a varied diet. I wouldn't give them to my Russians or Sulcata personally.



Portabella mushrooms are loved by all my torts. I feed it up to 2x a week with my redfoots/elongateds. I also see no prob giving them to my sullys so every once in awhile as a treat they get them but not weekly


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## Redstrike (Oct 5, 2011)

Wild mushrooms are risky, some are pretty tough to key out and require some mycology skills, while others are fairly straight forward (Hen of the woods). Personally, I refrain from wild mushrooms as some carry awful toxins that result in delayed kidney/liver failure (e.g. Genus: Amanita is a fairly toxic group).

Grocery store mushrooms are probably fine for your torts though.


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## Tnewton (Oct 5, 2011)

Redstrike said:


> Wild mushrooms are risky, some are pretty tough to key out and require some mycology skills, while others are fairly straight forward (Hen of the woods). Personally, I refrain from wild mushrooms as some carry awful toxins that result in delayed kidney/liver failure (e.g. Genus: Amanita is a fairly toxic group).
> 
> Grocery store mushrooms are probably fine for your torts though.




I agree feed only store bought mushrooms, unlese you have planted them yourself


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## Floof (Oct 5, 2011)

I've been supplementing my leopard's diet with plain old "bulk white" mushrooms from the grocery store. He loves them (a bonus since he's quite picky), plus they're said to be plentiful in D2 (a less potent form of Vit D), and, who knows, maybe they have other benefits. I don't do it terribly often, maybe once every 1-2 weeks these days, but I haven't seen any downfalls to the regiment. I also offered it to the torts (Sulcatas, a Greek, and a Redfoot) I was pet-sitting over the summer quite regularly, and have managed to occasionally sneak some into the beardies' salads. Again, I didn't see any ill effects (and the torts invariably loved them... The beardies not so much, picky snots! lol).

I actually got the idea from work, of all places. The store owner believes in using mushrooms as a regular part of the diet for all the herbivorous and omnivorous reptiles. Any/all torts (which has been Russians and Red/yellowfoots since I've worked there; plus Leos and Sullies before), beardies, box turtles, and any others that fall into those categories get mushrooms as part of their salads a good couple times a week.

Granted, none of my experience is "scientific," and it'll be very interesting to see some more experienced/knowledgeable members' take on the idea.

Oh, and agreed, it should go without saying, wild mushrooms aren't one you want to mess with. Unless you're a wiz at ID'ing mushrooms, you never know when you might be feeding your tortoise something extremely toxic... And even when you are a wiz at 'shroom ID, it can still be risky.


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## Madkins007 (Oct 5, 2011)

Um, guys- Eastern box turtles and many other species of herbivorous and omnivorous chelonians have been reported eating a wide variety of incredibly toxic mushrooms and other fungi with no ill effect. Just because it is dangerous for us delicate mammals does not make it dangerous for our beloved shelled friends. [Disclaimer- this DOES NOT mean I am advocating random mushroom collecting and feeding- just sharing data here.]

In the New York area, early naturalists were baffled by the local native Americans insistence that box turtles were poisonous since they knew the same species was eaten widely in its range. Turns out- there was a toxic mushroom in the region that the boxies would eat and it poisoned their flesh!

Also- wild fungi are one of the few plant sources of vitamin D known. I cannot find research on 'farmed' 'shrooms, but since they need UV exposure to carry the D, I doubt they have it.

Other than vitamin D, there is not a lot of nutrients in mushrooms but lots of species have been seen eating them.


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## ascott (Oct 5, 2011)

My two little RFs seem to love them as well, I feed them the plain ole white shrooms as well as the portebella.....


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## Floof (Oct 5, 2011)

Thanks for the input, Mark, that was a very interesting and informative post. Makes me a bit less of a fan of the 'shrooms to know that the farmed ones probably don't have that vit D content... But the critters still love them (just gave my rats a couple that had dried out in the fridge--they're going nuts over them, lol!), so I guess it's still kind of worth it...

Maybe I'll try to ID some of the mushrooms that have popped up in the yard. I don't want to mess with anything toxic, as much for my own health, but I'd love to be able to divvy out some vit D-packed mushrooms to the torties.


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## exoticsdr (Oct 5, 2011)

Mark, I've got the biggest darned mushrooms in my yard....only wish I know if I could safely feed them.


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## evlinLoutries (Oct 5, 2011)

@ all : so all kind of mushrooms that sell in a grocery store are safe for all torts?
And how often u all gave them? Once a week or once a month?

Thanks,,

* sorry if I'm not replying u one by one,,


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## Madkins007 (Oct 6, 2011)

exoticsdr said:


> Mark, I've got the biggest darned mushrooms in my yard....only wish I know if I could safely feed them.



Check Mader's or other reptile med books- I don't recall seeing any examples of mushroom toxicity in tortoises. Your local county extension service, botanical garden, or a nature center can also often help ID local fungi.

Personally, I would just put the tortoises near them and see if they eat them, but that is just me. Tortoises are reasonably smart about avoiding poisonous foods, but not perfect.


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## Turtulas-Len (Oct 6, 2011)

I found a pretty good book that identifies mushrooms in North America, along with the other wildlife found in North America, I found mine at a friends thrift store, but it should be on sites like abebooks,ebay,etc.(i like abe books) It's,--Readers Digest, North American Wildlife, An Illustrated Guide To 2,000 Plants And Animals,-- the first printing was in 1982, the one I found was the 17th printing in 1992. Len


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