Found a mushroom in my enclosure

Emily Deshar

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Just curious if she could'e eaten it or not. I know like 90% of mushrooms are poisonous so I threw it out to be safe. I attached a picture.
 

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jacksknight

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Just curious if she could'e eaten it or not. I know like 90% of mushrooms are poisonous so I threw it out to be safe. I attached a picture.

Hard to say what kind it is. Do you feed them mushrooms normally? Maybe it grew from one of those if you do. Even if it is poisonous to us, it probably isn't to them. We take ours outside a lot, and they seem to know what to eat and not to eat. I'm sure if it was harmful they would avoid it after checking it out.

I'm sure someone who knows more than me will respond, but i wouldn't worry about it to much. :)
 

Emily Deshar

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Hard to say what kind it is. Do you feed them mushrooms normally? Maybe it grew from one of those if you do. Even if it is poisonous to us, it probably isn't to them. We take ours outside a lot, and they seem to know what to eat and not to eat. I'm sure if it was harmful they would avoid it after checking it out.

I'm sure someone who knows more than me will respond, but i wouldn't worry about it to much. :)

Thanks. Yes I do but they are the brown ones. Interesting. Well i took it out just in case. Thank you.
 

Tom

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Some mushrooms are harmless and edible, and others are deadly toxic. Many of them look so similar that even Mycologists have a tough time telling them apart.

You were right to pull it out and toss it. I hope you got it all and washed your hands after.
 

Tom

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Hard to say what kind it is. Do you feed them mushrooms normally? Maybe it grew from one of those if you do. Even if it is poisonous to us, it probably isn't to them. We take ours outside a lot, and they seem to know what to eat and not to eat. I'm sure if it was harmful they would avoid it after checking it out.

I'm sure someone who knows more than me will respond, but i wouldn't worry about it to much. :)

Some of the time, in some situations, some tortoises will not eat the wrong stuff. Other times, the dummies will eat toxic plants and die. They do NOT know better. Not worth the risk.
 

Redstrike

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Fungi are complicated and I agree with Tom, when I see them in my enclosure, I remove them and wash my hands. I know tortoises have different tolerances to toxic substances than humans, but I don't take any risks.

There are certain groups of fungi that are deadly toxic upon consumption (most Amanita species fall into the category, interestingly there is a psychedelic in this group...) while others, like gyromitra species, have a narrow threshold of toxicity. If you're lucky, you get sick. If you're unlucky you die. There are even some species that make you feel ill post-consumption and you appear to recover only to need a kidney and liver replacement days or a week later or you die.

I don't mess with mushrooms. If you see them, just remove them. Nothing to panic over.
 
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