Are figs bad?

[Nm767]

I'm looking at getting a tort likely near the end of October. Not sure what type yet but a sulcat is definately a possibility.
I'm wandering if figs are bad for torts? Eventually whatever I decide to get will be roaming my back yard and I have a very large mature fig tree that drops figs all over. Also provides lots of shelter and hiding places but lots of figs.
What are your opinions of this?
I'm considering leopard and sulcatas.

 

[jaizei]

As an occasional treat, figs are fine for Leopards and Sulcata. I'd watch them to make sure they don't become too dependent on figs, i.e. walking around the yard looking for figs in lieu grazing.

 

[Edna]

If you box up some of those extra figs and send them to me, my torts can try figs too

 

[Nm767]

Ok so as long as they are not poisonous to them or cause harm.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

As an occasional treat figs are fine. But I personally would not allow any Sulcata of mine to eat them more than once a month. Fruit is bad for Sulcata. They cannot process sugar like we can, so in my opinion I wouldn't allow any tort free access to a fig tree. Sulcata's kidney's and liver simply cannot process sugar like ours does. So I would say that figs are bad for Sulcata and most other tortoises. Can't you block off that area to tortoises?
Possibly a more experienced keeper than I will disagree with me and give you better advice, but that is my opinion...

 

[terryo]

I don't know anything about Sulcata's, but Pio is always eating figs that I grow. I have a few fig trees and my Cherries and Box Turtles love them, and eat them all Summer. There was a thread on here all about fig trees that Mark started ...somewhere.

I found it...
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Figs-figs-the-magical-fruit#axzz1ZeqiF4jL

 

[Madkins007]

Sorry, but I do not know the relationship of Sulcatas to wild figs. Many tortoises live in places where figs are native and a major source of nutrition to many species (something like 350 species, not including insects, will be found on or near a fruiting fig tree in Brazil).

But we also need to remember that for the most part, there are probably only a couple fruiting trees in a given tortoises range, and they will not fruit all the time. The typical tortoise probably gorges on figs only once or twice a growing season.