# Dandelion Salad



## Lyn W (Jan 29, 2015)

My local supermarket has just started selling a 100g pack of dried dandy salad for rabbits. g/pigs, chinchillas and degus - no mention of torts but they do eat some similar things.

The ingredients are dandelions 28% green oat 28% meadow hay 27% marigold 5% carrot 5% and peppermint 5% (doesn't say what the last 2% is - but I will email the makers Rosewood to find out)

I am tempted to buy some to help provide a more varied diet while its so cold here in the UK, but is there anything in the mix that could be dangerous to my leopard? I'm definitely not sure about the peppermint! 
All help gratefully received.
Thanks all
Lyn


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## HotdogKnight (Jan 29, 2015)

Ooh interesting! Is it just local or is it a chain store? Would love to have access to something like that.
I'm sure if it was mixed with regular greens it should be fine (as carrot is only supposed to be minimal) but it sounds good.


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## Lyn W (Jan 29, 2015)

Hi there HotdogKnight - it's sold in Morrisons Supermarkets, however I've just answered my own question by looking peppermint up on the Tortoise Table site which says

_*Common name* : Peppermint
*Latin name* : Mentha piperita
*Family name* : Lamiaceae/Labiatae 
*peppermint* contains the natural organic compound pulegone (also found in Pennyroyal), which has been found to cause liver damage and to be toxic to rats if consumed in large quantities. The levels differ from plant to plant in *peppermint* so we would prefer to err on the side of caution and say not to offer this one to your tortoise. _

So looks like its a no!
Big shame as I'd love to be able to give a more varied diet at the mo.


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## HotdogKnight (Jan 29, 2015)

That's such a shame, it's so hard to get weeds round here at the moment!


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## Lyn W (Jan 29, 2015)

I know and growing my own hasn't been very successful - can't wait for spring!


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## ladyengineer (Feb 6, 2015)

I must say, I agree it's particularly difficult to find tort food in the UK at the moment. I had a flowerbed full of tortoise food all summer but they've all died except a plant that looks a bit like a cabbage/spinach and I've picked most of the greens that were left, and the frosts are killing the rest. As a last resort do you know any easy to find stuff in the UK that's ok to feed?


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## HotdogKnight (Feb 6, 2015)

I've been using Florette crispy salad and kale bags, there's a lot of variety in those whilst also adding clover sprouts that I had growing and pansy flowers I got from the garden centre


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## ladyengineer (Feb 6, 2015)

I have spotted that pansies are very cheap from B&Q at the moment, I was toying with buying some, maybe that's a good idea...


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## dmmj (Feb 6, 2015)

plus no because of the oats, it is hard sometimes to find food in the UK. Does your local grocery store sell anything like turnip, or mustardd greens. Radishes that you can feed the tops to. dandelions? I know they have rocket ( awesome name) salad.


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## HotdogKnight (Feb 6, 2015)

Annoyingly my city doesn't have any 'local grocers' or anything so I have to pick things as they come.


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## Anyfoot (Feb 6, 2015)

ladyengineer said:


> I have spotted that pansies are very cheap from B&Q at the moment, I was toying with buying some, maybe that's a good idea...


You need to be careful with feeding pansies from b n q. Or any flower from any garden shop for that matter. Some, not all, but some put pesticides on to force there growth, not good for torts. I know b and q do for a fact, my brother did 3 months there before getting the sack for speaking his mind. lol


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## ladyengineer (Feb 7, 2015)

Anyfoot said:


> You need to be careful with feeding pansies from b n q. Or any flower from any garden shop for that matter. Some, not all, but some put pesticides on to force there growth, not good for torts. I know b and q do for a fact, my brother did 3 months there before getting the sack for speaking his mind. lol


Thanks for the heads up. I'll not get those in that case. It's just such a lean time for the weeds I normally feed my guy right now. Perhaps I'll need to get some salad mixes once in a while.


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## Lyn W (Feb 12, 2015)

I can't wait for the dandies and plantains to grow again my leopard loves them and I'm really looking forward to letting her graze out on grass! Meanwhile for the winter I too use Florette Classic Crispy salad bags but after great advice from the forums I spray these with water and add Readigrass which has been ground almost to a powder in a blender, then I spray again before mixing it in. She won't eat dried grasses on their own or even fresh grass that I cut for her but by tricking her I am getting more fibre into her diet.


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## HotdogKnight (Feb 12, 2015)

Another one I found today, to add more leafy greens ASDA have a 'mixed leaf salad' which identifies what leaves they use on the back, I didn't get the spinach or rocket because it's too much of one leaf but there is one that has rocket, spinach, some kind of lettuce and chard.


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## Lyn W (Feb 12, 2015)

P.S I use the Florette Classic Crispy salad mix rather than others because I was advised to on the forums and I believe they have the best mix of leaves plus there are no additives......its not the cheapest though, but Tescos have it at £1 a bag at the moment


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## Lyn W (Feb 12, 2015)

Forgot to mention that I did contact Rosewood about the dandy salad and someone emailed me to say that they are very interested in extending their range to dried tortoise food and own a tortoise themselves. They wanted my advice on what foods to use but I explained that I am a novice and still learning myself but told them to look at the Tortoise Table and recommended they research the diet and care sheets for different species on these forums.
So maybe next winter there may be more available.


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