Urgent responses please- toxic plant eaten?

soph.h

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Hi all,
I had Colin outside this evening. He's always supervised as there are plants and things around it for him. He managed to get a bite out of what I believe is a dead 'red Robin' leaf. On tortoise table these are listed as toxic. The leaf was dead and he only got one bite, but he's small and so proportionally I am still concerned. What should I do???
 

zolasmum

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Hi all,
I had Colin outside this evening. He's always supervised as there are plants and things around it for him. He managed to get a bite out of what I believe is a dead 'red Robin' leaf. On tortoise table these are listed as toxic. The leaf was dead and he only got one bite, but he's small and so proportionally I am still concerned. What should I do???
I'm not sure what a red Robin leaf is, but I would try to dilute the contents of his digestive tract as much as possible - lots of cucumber and squishy stuff that you have to hand - I'm no expert, and maybe someone will come up with better ideas, but this might be helpful
Angie
 

Yvonne G

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I'm not sure what a red Robin leaf is, but I would try to dilute the contents of his digestive tract as much as possible - lots of cucumber and squishy stuff that you have to hand - I'm no expert, and maybe someone will come up with better ideas, but this might be helpful
Angie
photenia
 

soph.h

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I'm not sure what a red Robin leaf is, but I would try to dilute the contents of his digestive tract as much as possible - lots of cucumber and squishy stuff that you have to hand - I'm no expert, and maybe someone will come up with better ideas, but this might be helpful
Angie
thanks for the quick reply, Angie. Soaking him now and will be sure to do this.
 

zolasmum

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thanks for the quick reply, Angie. Soaking him now and will be sure to do this.
Please let us know how Colin gets on. I see you are in the UK -I live in Devon - where are you? I looked up Photinia plants, and I doubt if a tiny bite off a dead leaf would be really serious, but I would keep on with squishy stuff for a couple of days at least for safety. Zola would eat any amount of cucumber, and Colin may be the same !!
Best wishes
Angie
 

soph.h

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Please let us know how Colin gets on. I see you are in the UK -I live in Devon - where are you? I looked up Photinia plants, and I doubt if a tiny bite off a dead leaf would be really serious, but I would keep on with squishy stuff for a couple of days at least for safety. Zola would eat any amount of cucumber, and Colin may be the same !!
Best wishes
Angie
Hi Angie, I'm in the mid west! Colin is doing fine, I gave him some cucumber and a little bit of tomato (he was very pleased) and soaked him a couple of times- once today and once yesterday. He's not shown any signs of illness, thankfully. I was very worried! I'll keep up with squishy food for a bit longer. Thanks so much for your help :)
 

soph.h

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Please let us know how Colin gets on. I see you are in the UK -I live in Devon - where are you? I looked up Photinia plants, and I doubt if a tiny bite off a dead leaf would be really serious, but I would keep on with squishy stuff for a couple of days at least for safety. Zola would eat any amount of cucumber, and Colin may be the same !!
Best wishes
Angie
F47CE681-1640-4541-8A70-EC850C227DBE.jpeg
 

zolasmum

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Colin is a lovely little chap.I am very glad he is doing well -I know how worrying it is when one's tortoise does anything that might possibly be harmful, and it's good you noticed straight away. Zola once tried to eat a slug, years ago - I had the fun of extracting it from his mouth - most of it, anyway !
I hope all goes well with him now. How old is he?
Angie
 

soph.h

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Colin is a lovely little chap.I am very glad he is doing well -I know how worrying it is when one's tortoise does anything that might possibly be harmful, and it's good you noticed straight away. Zola once tried to eat a slug, years ago - I had the fun of extracting it from his mouth - most of it, anyway !
I hope all goes well with him now. How old is he?
Angie
Ewww slug is not a good one! Colin is 16- I've had him for about 8 months :) love him to bits, bless him. What type is Zola?
 

zolasmum

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Ewww slug is not a good one! Colin is 16- I've had him for about 8 months :) love him to bits, bless him. What type is Zola?
Zola is a Hermann's, and will be 22 next month - we have had him since he was a year old, and he is wonderful.- well, we think so, anyway. Is Colin 16 years old, or 16 months?
This is one of my favourite photos of Zola, - my husband managed to superimpose two little photos of him as well - one is him at 2years, and one at 3 - the sizes are not to scale, but you can see how his shell has changed over time. He was at Fowey harbour when the main photo was taken, on his birthday
Angiegrowing-up_sm.jpg
 

Gijoux

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Hi all,
I had Colin outside this evening. He's always supervised as there are plants and things around it for him. He managed to get a bite out of what I believe is a dead 'red Robin' leaf. On tortoise table these are listed as toxic. The leaf was dead and he only got one bite, but he's small and so proportionally I am still concerned. What should I do???
It is a good idea to keep human grade charcoal powder (used in hospitals for overdose or poisoning) on hand for times like this. Putting some charcoal powder in the soaking water once absorbed by the tortoise either by drinking or just absorption through the cloaca, it will help to remove any poisons. It will remove all drugs and some nutrients too, so it should not be used on a regular basis, just saved for emergencies like this.
 

zolasmum

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That's a really good idea - thank you. I will get some as soon as I can, and hope never to have to use it !
Angie
It is a good idea to keep human grade charcoal powder (used in hospitals for overdose or poisoning) on hand for times like this. Putting some charcoal powder in the soaking water once absorbed by the tortoise either by drinking or just absorption through the cloaca, it will help to remove any poisons. It will remove all drugs and some nutrients too, so it should not be used on a regular basis, just saved for emergencies like this.
Zola is absolutely beautiful!!
We think so too - his shell is shiny because he is stroked and held a lot - he has never had it polished !
 

soph.h

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Zola is a Hermann's, and will be 22 next month - we have had him since he was a year old, and he is wonderful.- well, we think so, anyway. Is Colin 16 years old, or 16 months?
This is one of my favourite photos of Zola, - my husband managed to superimpose two little photos of him as well - one is him at 2years, and one at 3 - the sizes are not to scale, but you can see how his shell has changed over time. He was at Fowey harbour when the main photo was taken, on his birthday
AngieView attachment 346133
So sorry for not responding- had exams and then got covid.. oops! What a gorgeous tort! Colin is 16 years :)
 
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