# Honeysuckle leaves?



## Greg Earnest (Jul 13, 2015)

Is it okay for a tortoise to eat leaves of a honeysuckle or just the flower?


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 13, 2015)

No. according to the net, they are poisonous unless boiled.
Also, if you have a sulcata, the sugar content might be a little high, too.


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## Turtulas-Len (Jul 13, 2015)

I have never heard that honeysuckle is poisonous. I have been feeding it (japanese honeysuckle, lonicena japonica) (leaves, flowers, and new growth stems) to tortoises for years, some love it and some don't. I grow it in several different places just for the tortoises to eat and the aroma the blooms give off during the summer months. Honeysuckle is a part of the seasonal varied diet I grow to feed to my tortoises. Unless you have some weird type of honeysuckle I think it might be safe to give some as a treat to your tortoise.


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## Greg Earnest (Jul 13, 2015)

Turtulas-Len said:


> I have never heard that honeysuckle is poisonous. I have been feeding it (japanese honeysuckle, lonicena japonica) (leaves, flowers, and new growth stems) to tortoises for years, some love it and some don't. I grow it in several different places just for the tortoises to eat and the aroma the blooms give off during the summer months. Honeysuckle is a part of the seasonal varied diet I grow to feed to my tortoises. Unless you have some weird type of honeysuckle I think it might be safe to give some as a treat to your tortoise.


I don't think it's a weird kind just a normal everyday honey suckle. Bought it from my local nursery. Thank you for the info!


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 14, 2015)

I just typed "Honeysuckle leaves edible" into the web.
I have no other information.


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## Yelloweyed (Jul 14, 2015)

According to TheTortoiseTable, the flowers are okay in moderation but avoid the berries and leaves.

I give Cape Honeysuckle flowers to my Sulcata and s/he gobbles it up with no problems.


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## matchdog (Jul 21, 2015)

I had the same question about the flowers. I had a vine grow over my fence and wanted to give my Spike the flowers. So the the white flowers are safe?


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## Prairie Mom (Jul 21, 2015)

matchdog said:


> I had the same question about the flowers. I had a vine grow over my fence and wanted to give my Spike the flowers. So the the white flowers are safe?


Totally safe. Heck, my family eats them! They're super sweet if they still have their nectar inside. If your variety gets berries, just always avoid the berries.


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## Karenxx67 (Aug 29, 2017)

So no leaves?


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## Kapidolo Farms (Aug 29, 2017)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecoma_capensis Cape HoneySuckle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeysuckle True Honeysuckle

I had a similar question sometime back and found many people feed both types. Leaves, stems, flowers (maybe not berries). I feed Cape honeysuckle flowers out in great abundance with some individuals going out of their way to get them.

I had a green iguana that survived well on 'true' honey suckle (plant nursery common type). By well, it was most of it's diet, a huge bush grew in the enclosure and that was the preferred diet item to such an extent I stopped feeding him most days.


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## HarvestHerp5 (Aug 30, 2017)

This is good to know. I have plenty of honeysuckle growing around my yard. Maybe my picky redfoot will eat it. She doesn't like hibiscus!


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