# Papaya Leaves



## Nobody (May 31, 2011)

Are papaya leaves good for Sulcatas?Can they be fed safely to them often as part of a varied diet?
Thanks.


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## exoticsdr (Jun 1, 2011)

So far, I've only found references to them being toxic to most species, though have found many of those references disagreeing on the degree of toxicity. They are pretty for sure, but I wouldn't feed them.

Doc



Nobody said:


> Are papaya leaves good for Sulcatas?Can they be fed safely to them often as part of a varied diet?
> Thanks.


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## SILVERSTAR (Jun 4, 2011)

wut about the papaya itsself?


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## Yvonne G (Jun 4, 2011)

Hi Nobody:

No, your sulcata should not be getting papaya. They should only have a bite of fruit, any kind of fruit, as a special treat.


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## CGKeith (Jun 6, 2011)

We have papaya/pawpaw leaves as safe on the stickied/important threads list for foods for desert dwelling tortoises.

Can we double check this?


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## exoticsdr (Jun 6, 2011)

I really doubt that desert dwelling tortoises would every come into contact with papaya leaves or pawpaw leaves as both require alot of moisture to thrive...that said, I've really found nothing concrete on tortoise species for papaya leaves. Pawpaw grows along rivers in many parts of the US and the deer don't touch it, so who knows if it is a good browse or not. If you find anything definitive, please let us know, would love to grow some papaya plants in my tort enclosures.


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## HLogic (Jun 7, 2011)

Papaya (_Carica papaya_) and North American Pawpaw (_Asimina triloba_) are two different plants.

From what I can find papaya, the tropical fruit, has no particular toxicity. There is a contraceptive effect from the consumption of the seeds with respect to sperm production/viability (in rats), however. I feed the fruit to my tropical torts on an infrequent basis.

The North American Pawpaw, on the other hand, exhibits toxicity on multiple levels due to the number and nature of the acetogenin content of the plant. Under no circumstances should it be fed but I doubt they would eat it in any case.


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