# Lethal foods from the first time



## ImMel (Sep 28, 2015)

Hello, recently i got a baby tortoise and im amazed by the amount of research needed just to feed those guys.
In my garden i have mostly plants which are safe to consume and some which aren't like tomatoes.

In the case of tomatoes if you feed them once there is no problem, that made me wonder if there are foods so toxic that if the tortoise eats them just once it would be lethal for them.


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## tortadise (Sep 28, 2015)

The actual fruit of the tomatoes are ok every once in a while. I rarely feed them. But some species will get fed them every 4-5 months, the leaves are not ok feed though. Plants that ar extremely toxic to the point of loss of life would rarely be willingly consumed by a tortoise. Hemlocks, oleanders, poinsetta, cedar/juniper,


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## ImMel (Sep 28, 2015)

tortadise said:


> The actual fruit of the tomatoes are ok every once in a while. I rarely feed them. But some species will get fed them every 4-5 months, the leaves are not ok feed though. Plants that ar extremely toxic to the point of loss of life would rarely be willingly consumed by a tortoise. Hemlocks, oleanders, poinsetta, cedar/juniper,


I've noticed that the most beautiful flowers are the most toxic for them.


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## tortadise (Sep 28, 2015)

The list goes on for toxic plants for sure. But there's really just a handful that would cause extremely major issues. Tomatoes would not be one of them. Now if fed every day all day, yes that would cause some issues, as it's not a very suitable food source to begin with.


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## Tom (Sep 28, 2015)

ImMel said:


> I've noticed that the most beautiful flowers are the most toxic for them.



Oh, I don't know about that. Gazanias, roses, hibiscus, lavatera, pansies, geraniums, cape honeysuckle, etc., are all quite attractive and very edible on a regular basis.


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## tortadise (Sep 28, 2015)

ImMel said:


> I've noticed that the most beautiful flowers are the most toxic for them.


Rose of Sharon, Andy hibiscus really (leaves and flowers), roses, leaves and flowers, pansies, daffodils, honeysuckle, trumpet vine are all ok. Morning glory is not. But they will not eat it as I've tried. They're smarter than you think. But in the event a toxic flower or leaf is eaten it won't cause major major issues immediately unless extremely poisonous.


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## tortadise (Sep 28, 2015)

Tom said:


> Oh, I don't know about that. Gazanias, roses, hibiscus, lavatera, pansies, geraniums, cape honeysuckle, etc., are all quite attractive and very edible on a regular basis.


Yep, see even more than I said before, ha


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## Prairie Mom (Sep 28, 2015)

The University of California website has some nice plant lists. Their toxic plant list is pretty handy because it lists what type of toxicity some common plants have. http://ucanr.edu/sites/poisonous_safe_plants/Toxic_Plants_by_common_Name_659/

On the subject of tomatoes, the greens are toxic only in very large amounts compared to the size of the animal eating it. Bites here and there aren't usually a problem for most animals as my young sulcata, cats, and dog can agree to....sigh. However, the actual plant "Deadly Nightshade" regularly occurs in my yard and garden. It is deadly toxic. It's horrible because it even grows berries from a very young sprout. It's actually quite a pretty and inviting little deadly plant. Argh!

I work really hard to keep my yard edible and safe, but last Spring my tortoise found some Tulips and had a reaction from eating too many. I included photos and will post a link if you're curious...
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/we-had-a-case-of-tulip-poisoning.116334/


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## ImMel (Sep 28, 2015)

Im using this database to search for plants: http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plant_database_14.asp


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## Prairie Mom (Sep 28, 2015)

ImMel said:


> Im using this database to search for plants: http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plant_database_14.asp


Keep using it! It's a great one!


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## Anyfoot (May 2, 2016)

tortadise said:


> Rose of Sharon, Andy hibiscus really (leaves and flowers), roses, leaves and flowers, pansies, daffodils, honeysuckle, trumpet vine are all ok. Morning glory is not. But they will not eat it as I've tried. They're smarter than you think. But in the event a toxic flower or leaf is eaten it won't cause major major issues immediately unless extremely poisonous.


 @tortadise . I keep hearing conflicting info on daffodil's. Do you feed daffodil's? My reds have eaten the flowers before to no ill effect. Dawn reckons we shouldn't feed them, so I haven't fed since. I need to know one way or the other, we have hundreds of them in the garden. Feed or not to feed, that is the question.


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## JoesMum (May 2, 2016)

Anyfoot said:


> @tortadise . I keep hearing conflicting info on daffodil's. Do you feed daffodil's? My reds have eaten the flowers before to no ill effect. Dawn reckons we shouldn't feed them, so I haven't fed since. I need to know one way or the other, we have hundreds of them in the garden. Feed or not to feed, that is the question.


Daffodil plant, flower and bulbs contain toxins. Tortoise Table has them as do not feed. There's plenty of stuff far safer than daffodil to feed


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## tortadise (May 2, 2016)

Anyfoot said:


> @tortadise . I keep hearing conflicting info on daffodil's. Do you feed daffodil's? My reds have eaten the flowers before to no ill effect. Dawn reckons we shouldn't feed them, so I haven't fed since. I need to know one way or the other, we have hundreds of them in the garden. Feed or not to feed, that is the question.


I have before yes. Not in large amounts though. So it's common that it may be semi-toxic and have adverse reactions if over fed.


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## Iochroma (May 17, 2016)

tortadise said:


> Rose of Sharon, Andy hibiscus really (leaves and flowers), roses, leaves and flowers, pansies, daffodils, honeysuckle, trumpet vine are all ok. Morning glory is not. But they will not eat it as I've tried. They're smarter than you think. But in the event a toxic flower or leaf is eaten it won't cause major major issues immediately unless extremely poisonous.


I beg to differ: daffodils are not safe


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## tortadise (May 17, 2016)

Iochroma said:


> I beg to differ: daffodils are not safe


All species? Perhaps this is one of those much like pothos. The Asian species can consume large amounts of it without Ill affect. Along with taro species too. I'd love to know what additional gut flora or bacterium allows some species to consume high amounts of some of these toxic plants.


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## Iochroma (May 19, 2016)

tortadise said:


> All species? Perhaps this is one of those much like pothos. The Asian species can consume large amounts of it without Ill affect. Along with taro species too. I'd love to know what additional gut flora or bacterium allows some species to consume high amounts of some of these toxic plants.



I can't answer the "all species" question. Most common garden hybrids are from _Narcissus pseudonarcissus; _this is the most studied species and it is considered highly toxic - classified as 1b.
I will say that good field evidence exists for Hermann's tortoises eating the similar "sea-daffodil" - _Pancratium maritimum. _However, they only eat parts that have completely dried up. Also, they can choose this among a variety of available foods, and it is only a very small part of their natural diet. 
I can find no reports of Russian tortoises eating _Narcissus, _although they do consume tulip flowers. 
I think the blanket reccomendation should be avoid all daffodils.


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