# South-east Asian (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malay, Indo, etc) Diet



## Via Infinito (May 2, 2018)

I want to have this thread to gather intel for asian plants diet as we seem to only have info on US-UK-European plants.

I am currently feeding these in a mix for my Sulcata, I cut them up every 3 days and store in a box in the fridge:
*From garden:*
- Axonopus compressus grass clippings *(staple)*
- Moringa oleifera (drumstick tree)
- Hibiscus leaves *(staple)*
-Some rose leaves (often)
- Ruellia simplex leaves (quite abundant here) (sometimes)
- Bougainvillea glabra leaves (paperflower) *(staple)*
- Nephrolepis cordifolia (ladder fern) *(staple)*

*From fridge:*
- Sauropus androgynus also called katuk ( vet doctor recommended) *(staple)*
- Asian watercress (once every two weeks)
- Mustard greens
- Brassica integrifolia also called (cai ngot), it has a sweet pleasant taste.
- a few Morning glory leaves
- Bok choy
- Salad greens *(staple)*
- Radicchio (rarely)


There are of course tiny sprouts of weeds in the garden that my tortoise plucked them out but I really can't find ways to identify them.


----------



## ascott (May 2, 2018)

Via Infinito said:


> I want to have this thread to gather intel for asian plants diet as we seem to only have info on US-UK-European plants.
> 
> I am currently feeding these in a mix for my Sulcata, I cut them up every 3 days and store in a box in the fridge:
> *From garden:*
> ...




So, are you wanting others in your area to add to this thread?


----------



## RosemaryDW (May 3, 2018)

@Via Infinito, regardless of what happens with this thread, your first post would be a great one to add to the “Tortoise Chef” thread that is pinned to the top of the diet section.

That thread describes what we are actively feeding out. I include my experiences feeding Asian and Indian foods when I can find them but we could certainly use more info. If you are willing, would you copy it into that thread?


----------



## Via Infinito (May 3, 2018)

RosemaryDW said:


> @Via Infinito, regardless of what happens with this thread, your first post would be a great one to add to the “Tortoise Chef” thread that is pinned to the top of the diet section.
> 
> That thread describes what we are actively feeding out. I include my experiences feeding Asian and Indian foods when I can find them but we could certainly use more info. If you are willing, would you copy it into that thread?


yes sure!


----------



## Via Infinito (May 3, 2018)

ascott said:


> So, are you wanting others in your area to add to this thread?



yes please!
or just from those countries from the south-east asia region. 
There are so many plants and weeds here where we don't have info on them regarding feeding to tortoises.


----------



## RosemaryDW (May 3, 2018)

Via Infinito said:


> yes sure!



Thanks!


----------



## Hugo's Home (May 4, 2018)

Nice list! Aren't morning glorys toxic though? And how does your tort like the moringa? I've always wondered about feeding that..


----------



## RosemaryDW (May 4, 2018)

Hugo's Home said:


> Nice list! Aren't morning glorys toxic though? And how does your tort like the moringa? I've always wondered about feeding that..



My Russian tortoise enjoys moringa.


----------



## RosemaryDW (May 6, 2018)

@Via Infinito, do you have access to Malabar spinach? I’m not sure of all the names, even in North America it has many, but here are some of the ones I found: Ceylon spinach, Vietnamese spinach (English); Saan Choy, Shan Tsoi, Luo Kai, Shu Chieh, Lo Kwai (Chinese); Tsuru Murasa Kai (Japanese); Mong Toi (Vietnamese); Paag-Prung (Thai); Genjerot, Jingga, Gendola (Indonesian).

It’s high in vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium. Somewhat high in vegetable protein. There is goo in the stems that has lots of fiber, sounds a bit like what is found in cactus here.

I also recently found here long bean leaves, which are said to be a native food for star tortoises. Lots of good stuff in there but the calcium/phosphorus rate isn’t the best. Good in moderation, I would think.


----------



## Via Infinito (May 6, 2018)

Hugo's Home said:


> Nice list! Aren't morning glorys toxic though? And how does your tort like the moringa? I've always wondered about feeding that..


Oh he's willing to eat it, but not ferociously like with katuk!


----------



## Via Infinito (May 6, 2018)

RosemaryDW said:


> @Via Infinito, do you have access to Malabar spinach? I’m not sure of all the names, even in North America it has many, but here are some of the ones I found: Ceylon spinach, Vietnamese spinach (English); Saan Choy, Shan Tsoi, Luo Kai, Shu Chieh, Lo Kwai (Chinese); Tsuru Murasa Kai (Japanese); Mong Toi (Vietnamese); Paag-Prung (Thai); Genjerot, Jingga, Gendola (Indonesian).
> 
> It’s high in vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium. Somewhat high in vegetable protein. There is goo in the stems that has lots of fiber, sounds a bit like what is found in cactus here.
> 
> I also recently found here long bean leaves, which are said to be a native food for star tortoises. Lots of good stuff in there but the calcium/phosphorus rate isn’t the best. Good in moderation, I would think.


Oh yes, that is plentiful here! Is it a good staple? I can add that in!


----------



## Kapidolo Farms (May 7, 2018)

Here are some with details about their value as a food item. If you seek to know the food value ask me in a PM and I'll post it that other thread.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/w...-published-nutrient-list.161833/#post-1541855

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/w...-published-nutrient-list.161833/#post-1542141

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/w...shed-nutrient-list.161833/page-2#post-1561959

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/w...shed-nutrient-list.161833/page-2#post-1587315

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/w...shed-nutrient-list.161833/page-3#post-1602442


----------



## RosemaryDW (May 8, 2018)

Via Infinito said:


> Oh yes, that is plentiful here! Is it a good staple? I can add that in!



I think it’s a good one to rotate in and out.


----------



## Kapidolo Farms (May 8, 2018)

RosemaryDW said:


> @Via Infinito, do you have access to Malabar spinach? I’m not sure of all the names, even in North America it has many, but here are some of the ones I found: Ceylon spinach, Vietnamese spinach (English); Saan Choy, Shan Tsoi, Luo Kai, Shu Chieh, Lo Kwai (Chinese); Tsuru Murasa Kai (Japanese); Mong Toi (Vietnamese); Paag-Prung (Thai); Genjerot, Jingga, Gendola (Indonesian).
> 
> It’s high in vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium. Somewhat high in vegetable protein. There is goo in the stems that has lots of fiber, sounds a bit like what is found in cactus here.
> 
> I also recently found here long bean leaves, which are said to be a native food for star tortoises. Lots of good stuff in there but the calcium/phosphorus rate isn’t the best. Good in moderation, I would think.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basella_alba


----------



## RosemaryDW (May 19, 2018)

@Via Infinito, I was looking over some more foods today and wonder if any of these are near you; all of them are in Southeast Asia somewhere. You’ll have to run them through Google Translate in different languages, most of them have multiple names:

Sour leaf (gongura): A hibiscus relative and supposedly a native food for Indian Star tortoises, fine to feed

Okra: another hibiscus relative, just the leaves, not the vegetable, fine to feed

Bittermelon: leaves and vines only, fine to feed

Water spinach, AKA river spinach, Chinese spinach, water morning glory, etc.: fine once a week or so

Pennywort, the most common name I find for it is gotu kola: fine on occasion. It has very thin stems, which makes it difficult for my small Russian to pick up but I don’t think a larger tortoise would have difficulty with it.

In case you are wondering, I live in an area with high Asian and Indian populations so these foods aren’t too hard to find in our weekly open stall market.


----------



## Via Infinito (May 28, 2018)

RosemaryDW said:


> @Via Infinito, I was looking over some more foods today and wonder if any of these are near you; all of them are in Southeast Asia somewhere. You’ll have to run them through Google Translate in different languages, most of them have multiple names:
> 
> Sour leaf (gongura): A hibiscus relative and supposedly a native food for Indian Star tortoises, fine to feed
> 
> ...



we have all 5 of those


----------



## RosemaryDW (Jul 28, 2018)

@Via Infinito, I was looking over some foods I’ve seen/fed recently, I don’t know about distribution but I think every country will have some of these..

Because they have a different name in every region, I added the Latin names. In case someone wants to get some exact images for comparison.

Snake gourd, _Trichosanthes cucumerina_; leaves and vines, gourd on occasion

Sesame, _Sesamum indicum_

Luffa, _luffa_; leaves and vines, gourd on occasion

Methi, _Trigonella foenum-graecum_

Daikon/white radish, leaves only

Celtuce, _Lactuca sativa var. augustana,_

Purslane, _Portulaca oleracea_

Mulukhiyah, _Corchorus olitorius_

Chinese mallow, _Malva verticillata_


----------



## Via Infinito (Jul 31, 2018)

RosemaryDW said:


> @Via Infinito, I was looking over some foods I’ve seen/fed recently, I don’t know about distribution but I think every country will have some of these..
> 
> Because they have a different name in every region, I added the Latin names. In case someone wants to get some exact images for comparison.
> 
> ...



Yes we have most of these as well
Are these fine to feed?


----------



## RosemaryDW (Aug 1, 2018)

All fine, always as part of a varied diet. 

My Russian does not like sesame but I have read that other tortoises do.


----------



## cihuyMarihuy (Jun 11, 2021)

Via Infinito said:


> I want to have this thread to gather intel for asian plants diet as we seem to only have info on US-UK-European plants.
> 
> I am currently feeding these in a mix for my Sulcata, I cut them up every 3 days and store in a box in the fridge:
> *From garden:*
> ...


hello there I lived in Indonesia, I had tried mustard green, Katuk, and bok choy. my baby sulcata didn't want to eat. I don't know why my tortoise loves eating kangkong so much. I made a trick when feeding by hand, making kangkong(ipomoea reptans) sandwich with katuk or grass/weeds


----------



## MEEJogja (Jun 11, 2021)

I'm in Indo, and a staple for us is talas (_*Colocasia esculenta). *_It grows beside every paddy field (check for herbicide/pesticide use first) and the torts go nuts for it.


----------



## RosemaryDW (Jun 14, 2021)

cihuyMarihuy said:


> hello there I lived in Indonesia, I had tried mustard green, Katuk, and bok choy. my baby sulcata didn't want to eat. I don't know why my tortoise loves eating kangkong so much. I made a trick when feeding by hand, making kangkong(ipomoea reptans) sandwich with katuk or grass/weeds


My Russian loves kangkong as well but she’s not a grass eater so I don’t have to worry about it much.  

Mixing the other foods in is the smart way to go. Once he gets used to the taste of the new things you can increase the amount and slowly cut down on the kangkong.


----------



## RosemaryDW (Jun 14, 2021)

MEEJogja said:


> I'm in Indo, and a staple for us is talas (_*Colocasia esculenta). *_It grows beside every paddy field (check for herbicide/pesticide use first) and the torts go nuts for it.


What kind of tortoises do you have?


----------



## MEEJogja (Jun 14, 2021)

RosemaryDW said:


> What kind of tortoises do you have?


Manouria Emys Emys  

I have tried kangkung repeatedly to no avail. I'm going off it myself as it's all stalk once cooked, maybe theyre jumping on the bandwagon.


----------



## RosemaryDW (Jun 15, 2021)

MEEJogja said:


> Manouria Emys Emys
> 
> I have tried kangkung repeatedly to no avail. I'm going off it myself as it's all stalk once cooked, maybe theyre jumping on the bandwagon.


I see. From my limited understanding taro is a staple for for manouria so I suppose it’s not the worst thing if they don’t like the kangkung. It’s pretty good stir fried in my opinion but I’m sure not everyone feels the same.


----------



## MEEJogja (Jun 15, 2021)

RosemaryDW said:


> I see. From my limited understanding taro is a staple for for manouria so I suppose it’s not the worst thing if they don’t like the kangkung. It’s pretty good stir fried in my opinion but I’m sure not everyone feels the same.


Here it's available everywhere and I was a big fan. Then I reacted positively to genjer and my partner has been cooking that for me all the time, with kangkung falling to the wayside. It is all leaf and no stalk, so kangkung feels like a lot of work by comparison.

Incidentally Genjer (Limnocharis flava) and the similar Common water hyacinth (Eceng gondok) are both safe to feed and grow rampantly in SEA, so should perhaps be on this list. They are non native and highly invasive though, so should only be taken from clean, responsible sources.


----------



## RosemaryDW (Jun 15, 2021)

MEEJogja said:


> Incidentally Genjer (Limnocharis flava) and the similar Common water hyacinth (Eceng gondok) are both safe to feed and grow rampantly in SEA, so should perhaps be on this list. They are non native and highly invasive though, so should only be taken from clean, responsible sources.


That’s great, thank you.

I don’t have access to edit this post to make an all inclusive list at the top so now that you have provided these two here they are as “official” as they can be.  

They will end up as searchable terms so people should be able to find them even if they don’t know about this specific post. We have other posts about water hyacinth but yours is the first on genger!


----------

