Baby Grapes?

[Tom]

Here is a question I've long pondered and I wonder if anyone out there has any knowledge on the subject to share: Can we feed baby grapes to our tortoises?

I know ripe grapes have a high sugar content which is to be avoided for non-forest species, but what about the baby grapes? My vines are back after winter and taking off fantastically, and they are making lots of baby grape pods. I've been told that if you pinch the newly forming grape clusters off you can get more vine growth, so I always do. The problem is that I'm throwing away POUNDS of fresh green growing plant material that I would like to feed to the tortoises, if its okay to do so. I've fed small amounts to large sulcatas in the past just to see if they'd eat it (They did.), and it appeared to do no harm.

Anyone have any insight?

 

[dmmj]

have you ever tried Those Grapes yourself? The Grapes that grow on my plant are much much sweeter with a higher sugar content than the store-bought grapes

 

[ZEROPILOT]

have you ever tried Those Grapes yourself? The Grapes that grow on my plant are much much sweeter with a higher sugar content than the store-bought grapes

My baby grapes lack almost all of the sweetness and are actually a little sour at that size.
It might be viable.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I have no facts but like green apples are sour and I wouldn't feed them to my torts . But I do run 5 composters that would take them rather then throw them away .

 

[Tom]

I have no facts but like green apples are sour and I wouldn't feed them to my torts . But I do run 5 composters that would take them rather then throw them away .

Would you like to drive over and get them a couple times a week?

They go in the "Green Waste" recycling bin. Then I buy them back as "soil" for my raised planter beds weeks or months later.

 

[ethan508]

Very good question. Are we okay feeding grape flowers to tortoises? My theory would be that small green fruit would be pretty similar to flowers in nutrient content. Is there a botanist in the house for this one?

I have fruit trees and a few grape vines, and thinning green fruit is always a bit of a paradox. Last year I had gallons of quarter sized green peaches, wishing they would have all grown into full sized ripe fruits but also knowing that leaving them on the tree would have resulted in undersized fruit all around with a very real risk of broken branches

 

[ZEROPILOT]

These.
I just ate a few.
Not sweet.

 

[Yvonne G]

I have several mulberry trees with fruit and right now they are in the same stage of growth as Tom's grape picture. When cutting off branches for my tortoises I leave the baby berries on and everything gets eaten. Don't know if it's good or bad, but they eat it.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

plant veal.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

 

[wellington]

The paragraph under sugars might help some.
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/w...astate.edu/files/wine/compositionofgrapes.pdf

 

[huff747]

On the topic of grapes does it matter what kind of grape plant? The rural king near me has grape cuttings for sale for several types of grape, both green and red and a variety of each. I thought about picking one or two up and starting it but didn't know if type mattered at all.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Maybe check and see what type grow well nearby.
I sent several members some seeds from my vine that originated in South Carolina. A strain of Muscadine. (Carlos)
Some did well and some not well at all.
Most of the ones that grew were from Northern U.S. Eastern states.
Not to hard to understand why I guess.
As far as what leaves tortoises prefer to eat, I cannot say.
My tortoises used to eat the leaves of my grapes like crazy. Then just the tiny, tender and new growth. Then about 4 years ago, they stopped eating them all together.
Recently, I found that my baby Redfoot clutch will eat them.
I'm at a loss as to what's going on.
However, I am feeding baby grapes to my baby Redfoot. Untill Tom raised the question I'd never considered it.
This is unrelated to Sulcata care.

 

[MichaelaW]

I do know that the more ripe a fruit is, the higher the sugar content. So I would assume that baby grapes are low in sugar.

 

[shuda huda]

Nice topic...so far as i see from my tortos, they just eat grape leaves. I have grapes, okra and tomatoes plants at backyard, but my sulcata love to eat grapes leaves and okra fruit.