# Maple leaves



## leigti (Jun 9, 2017)

My outdoor enclosure happens to be under a Mapletree. So now I have about 50 itsy-bitsy little maple trees starting to grow in the enclosure. Are the leaves safe for my tortoise to eat?


----------



## wellington (Jun 9, 2017)

Safe- Maple Acer saccharum
Found on this site. Had found it on other sites too, but I can't find them. This is the only kind listed. I do know the Japanese is not safe.
http://azeah.com/reptiles-amphibian...dible-plants-and-weeds-tortoises-land-turtles


----------



## Turtulas-Len (Jun 9, 2017)

I have a couple very large maple trees and after 12 years of several several different types of tortoise having access to their leaves i have never seem any bad reaction from them eating the leaves. In fact my 21 year old sulcata eats the fallen leaves all winter as his main diet, I don't rake them until spring, I leave them for him laying loose for him to munch on.


----------



## wellington (Jun 9, 2017)

Turtulas-Len said:


> I have a couple very large maple trees and after 12 years of several several different types of tortoise having access to their leaves i have never seem any bad reaction from them eating the leaves. In fact my 21 year old sulcata eats the fallen leaves all winter as his main diet, I don't rake them until spring, I leave them for him laying loose for him to munch on.


Do you know what kind they are? I think the most popular ones, that I think most people have from years ago, before all the newer species came in are the safe Acer ones.


----------



## Turtulas-Len (Jun 9, 2017)

wellington said:


> Do you know what kind they are? I think the most popular ones, that I think most people have from years ago, before all the newer species came in are the safe Acer ones.


Not sure of the 3 that drop leaves in the yard, but they are very large old trees. One has the big seeds and the other two are each different types and have the small seeds.


----------



## leigti (Jun 9, 2017)

I don't know what kind of maple tree that is. I know it is not a Japanese maple. The seeds drop down and they look like little helicopter blades.


----------



## leigti (Jun 9, 2017)

Well, I googled it and it looks like my maple is one of the many acer specimens. At least according to what the seats look like.


----------



## Grandpa Turtle 144 (Jun 9, 2017)

Every time I go to Mi . I bring home Maple leaves to feed to my torts as treats ! They love them !


----------



## christinaland128 (Jun 10, 2017)

I'm surrounded my maples here in mi and I didn't know they could eat them, awesome!


----------



## Markw84 (Jun 10, 2017)

There are lots of species of maples, but if you have the larger types that grow in the colder regions of our country, they are almost always the genus Acer of one species or another. The Acers thrive in cold winter locations. All good tortoise food.


----------



## Anyfoot (Jun 11, 2017)

I'm struggling to come to terms with this. I was aware torts can eat maple leaves, but I just assumed we don't have maple trees. 
Are these leaves off of a maple tree and are they edible. I did pick a seed up too but seem to have lost it on the way home. Seeds are those that drop like helicopters rotary blades. 
If this is maple I have vertually a yr round supply of food. These trees are literally everywhere in the UK.


----------



## Cowboy_Ken (Jun 11, 2017)

Tina, from what I'm figuring, based on our area, what you have is what we refer to as a "broadleaf maple". From looking on the TortoiseTable site it seems only the, "red leaf maple" is considered not edible. It is known to cause liver poison fast in horses that eat on it.
@leigti

The area I speaking of here is the Pacific Northwest


----------



## Markw84 (Jun 11, 2017)

Anyfoot said:


> I'm struggling to come to terms with this. I was aware torts can eat maple leaves, but I just assumed we don't have maple trees.
> Are these leaves off of a maple tree and are they edible. I did pick a seed up too but seem to have lost it on the way home. Seeds are those that drop like helicopters rotary blades.
> If this is maple I have vertually a yr round supply of food. These trees are literally everywhere in the UK.
> View attachment 210003


That is common in England, known as a sycamore, which is an Acer. In the US known as a sycamore maple. That is apparently not good tortoise food according to the tortoise table. I had always thought from other sources our US northern maples, and the acer genus, are good tortoise food - Red Maple, Big Leaf Maple, etc. But the tortoise table seems to list some of these as "moderation" or do not feed.


----------



## Anyfoot (Jun 11, 2017)

Markw84 said:


> That is common in England, known as a sycamore, which is an Acer. In the US known as a sycamore maple. That is apparently not good tortoise food according to the tortoise table. I had always thought from other sources our US northern maples, and the acer genus, are good tortoise food - Red Maple, Big Leaf Maple, etc. But the tortoise table seems to list some of these as "moderation" or do not feed.


 I looked on TTT and it mentions that sycamore is very high in sugar, could this be the reason they say do not feed?


----------



## leigti (Jun 11, 2017)

I think the tortoise table is pretty conservative as to what they say is safe and not safe. I will feed it, but not exclusively or as a huge chunk of the diet. I will go pull out a majority of those itsy-bitsy little trees.


----------



## leigti (Jun 11, 2017)

Cowboy_Ken said:


> Tina, from what I'm figuring, based on our area, what you have is what we refer to as a "broadleaf maple". From looking on the TortoiseTable site it seems only the, "red leaf maple" is considered not edible. It is known to cause liver poison fast in horses that eat on it.
> @leigti
> 
> The area I speaking of here is the Pacific Northwest


I have never seen a red leaf on this Mapletree.


----------



## leigti (Jun 11, 2017)

Anyfoot said:


> I'm struggling to come to terms with this. I was aware torts can eat maple leaves, but I just assumed we don't have maple trees.
> Are these leaves off of a maple tree and are they edible. I did pick a seed up too but seem to have lost it on the way home. Seeds are those that drop like helicopters rotary blades.
> If this is maple I have vertually a yr round supply of food. These trees are literally everywhere in the UK.
> View attachment 210003


You have yourself a maple tree  sounds like it's very similar to mine. Here's the leaves and seeds off of mine


----------



## leigti (Jun 11, 2017)

And here are the itsy-bitsy little trees.


----------



## Cowboy_Ken (Jun 11, 2017)

leigti said:


> I have never seen a red leaf on this Mapletree.


The "Red Leaf Maple" is a type of smaller maple similar to a Japanese maple and used often as a landscape type.


----------



## JoesMum (Jun 12, 2017)

leigti said:


> I think the tortoise table is pretty conservative as to what they say is safe and not safe. I will feed it, but not exclusively or as a huge chunk of the diet. I will go pull out a majority of those itsy-bitsy little trees.


I can't blame TTT from erring on the side of caution. It's better than being sued. 


Anyfoot said:


> I looked on TTT and it mentions that sycamore is very high in sugar, could this be the reason they say do not feed?


I am sure the sugar content is the reason. Not only is TTT cautious, but it aims at the Testudo which are most common as pets in the UK. That makes it good for Sulcata and Leopards too, but not for those species with wider diets like the Redfoots kept by @Anyfoot.


----------

