Before I completely freak out.....

[Odin's Gma]

I caught Odin eating this plant that popped up in his playpen

After snatching him up ,bringing him in, giving him a nice long soak while furiously googling...it appears to be black nightshade!

He seems normal and happy but it's only been about an hour. It looked as though he consumed a whole leaf.
How freaked out should I be? What should I do? I think I am having a panic attack.....

 

[Tom]

@Iochroma

Can you help us with this one?

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

It sounds like, as with many members of the nightshade family, toxicity of Solanum nigrum isn't always so clear cut. There is an interesting read here: http://www.rootsimple.com/2011/11/deadly-nightshade-vs-black-nightshade/

"these plants are browsed and used as fodder for animals without any detrimental effect in some areas, and Rogers and Ogg (1981) suggested that the development of toxic levels of these alkaloids is dependent on their growth under certain conditions or in certain localities, and even on the age of the plants concerned. Other reports suggest that the amounts of poisonous ‘princinples’ vary greatly with climate, season and soil type (Cooper and Johnson 1984)."
​

If it were me, I would want to check in with a well informed vet (or wait to hear from an expert here), but if there is nothing you can do but wait, at least know that there is quite a bit of ambiguity as to the toxicity of black nightshade. I'm sorry and good luck.

 

[Big Charlie]

I've seen these! I hope Odin is okay.

Please report back as to their toxicity.

 

[Odin's Gma]

So far he is still fine, as a matter of fact last time I checked on him ( a few minutes ago) he was munching away on some aloe and gave me a look like "what the heck are you staring at me for?".

 

[TMartin510]

So far he is still fine, as a matter of fact last time I checked on him ( a few minutes ago) he was munching away on some aloe and gave me a look like "what the heck are you staring at me for?".

Haha he's a hungry lil fella. I hope he is ok! Hopefully he didn't get to much of it.

 

[Odin's Gma]

Checked on him this morning before I left for work, gave him some opuntia, aloe and mazuri, and my son was going to give him a soak before he left for work. He still seems like his normal grumpy and hungry self.

I did a lot more reading on black nightshade before I finally went to bed, and I found almost as much information stating it was a safe and delicious addition to human diets around the world as there was information saying how dangerous and deadly it is. I just don't know what to think.

But I'm still freaking out.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

I think with livestock, symptoms usually present themselves within a few hours of consumption. I don't know what the timeline would look like for tortoises with their distinct metabolisms, but I imagine if you see no symptoms after 48 hours you are in the clear. Someone here may have more experience though.

 

[Odin's Gma]

Got home from work, soaked Odin, took him out to the playpen and he immediately hid underneath a hosta. I got worried and gave him a squash flower


After that he roamed for a bit but didn't really eat anything else, and then went to one of his self-made burrow spots and went to sleep. It is overcast today and only in the high 70's, two things that make him grumpy, so I don't know if I should continue to freak out or not. I mean, he looks good, doesn't he? I can't base his health on his grumpiness because he's a moody little bugger, but he still has an appetite when presented with his favorites, and he took a big poop in his post outside bath which looked normal.

Am I freaking out for nothing?

 

[TMartin510]

I'm not sure how long something like that would take affect in a torts system, but I would think if it was deadly to a tort he would have been affected by now. So hopefully it was just a scare and both of you will be ok! He seems to be just doing tort type things

 

[Alaskamike]

I have heavily planted areas for all mine. In summer seeds get blown everywhere and stuff I know I didn't plant magically appears

My larger Sully grazes the entire backyard daily and eats whatever he wants. Mostly grass but lots is mixed in there. I've watched them graze and it's funny how they will smell a plant before taking a bite. I wonder what they are smelling for? Sometimes my sully will snif a weed several times before taking. A bite or move on and leave it alone.

Do they just sense sometimes toxicity ?

I know torts have been poisoned and we raise them in areas of the world they did not evolve in. They find plants their ancestors never encountered. But I still wonder if some self preservation instinct helps them.

I also notice an interesting pattern in grazing tortoises. Unlike when I've fed them , with a big pile. When grazing they take a few bites and move on to take more bites a few steps away. They don't stay and eat all on one thing , or in one place. This too could be a survival instinct giving them variety and not too much of one thing.

Doesn't help your situation I know.

It's highly likely your baby will be just fine. If you have it , some opuntia cactus pad can get their system moving and clean them out. Aloe does that too.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Good looking tortoise there, I hope all goes well. Keep in mind that even though they eat things not recommended or desirable, they have been doing it for many millions of years and their standards are more liberal than ours.

 

[Careym13]

He sure looks happy and healthy to me

 

[Odin's Gma]

Well, it's been 48 hours and Odin doesn't know what the fuss is about, but he is pretty tired of me staring at him.

If it is toxic he either didn't eat enough of it, or he is immortal. Either way, he does indeed seem fine.

Thanks for letting me freak out here!

 

[Odin's Gma]

When grazing they take a few bites and move on to take more bites a few steps away. They don't stay and eat all on one thing , or in one place. This too could be a survival instinct giving them variety and not too much of one thing.

I have noticed the same of mine since we started allowing him to free graze both outdoors and in. There isn't much that he will stay put and eat the entire thing (exceptions are dandelion and squash flowers) he tends to bite, bite, bite, step, bite, bite, bite, step. It's pretty adorable.

If you have it , some opuntia cactus pad can get their system moving and clean them out. Aloe does that too.

Those are the exact two things I gave him immediately after bringing him in that day, and twice a day since. It's like Christmas for him!