Fresh Banana Stalks for Sulcata?

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings,

I'm in the middle of cleaning up our outdoor garden beds, plants and container grown plants and just trimmed back a large banana stalk. I know our sully and others will readily eat banana leaves, but I'm wondering if nice fresh chunky banana stalks would be good? Seems like they would be, nice and moist, plenty of roughage, and fiber. Thoughts? @Lancecham @Tom

Heres a picture to give all a clear idea of what I'm referring to. Ps: no pesticides or fertilizers used on the banana.

 

[Lancecham]

I do feed banana leaves regularly to my sulcatas, but I have never tried the banana stalks. I would be interested in seeing what others have to say...

 

[Tom]

I've never fed either the leaves or stalks to my guys. Sorry. I'm no help on this one.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Thanks Lance, Tom. Seems like the stalks would be alright. I guess i can try a few small pieces.

 

[Prairie Mom]

Looks like something my own tortoise would enjoy.


Do you feed the stalks, @Turtulas-Len ?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Well, ive gone ahead and provided our Sully with a handful of the pictured banana stalk junks - and he munched them right down. They are very saturated/juicy, so the key here might be moderation of course.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Quick update, so far so good. Ive been providing our Sully a few chunks of the banana stalk daily now and really no change in anything. So, seems like stalks are another good food source, and adds variety of course.

 

[Pearly]

In my logic: if leaves are ok so are the stalks. The only difference they'll be more fibrous.

 

[Len B]

Banana trees used to be a large part of Walkers winter diet when he came inside to the garage. Now that he stays outside all year he doesn't eat it as much, he now has a better winter variety available to choose from. Sylvia eats more of the trees than the others, This could be because he needs the moisture (don't drink from a bowl) and can reach the pieces I cut for him very easy.

 

[Maro2Bear]

I'm hijacking my own thread, but just came back from a walk in an over grown park where we found the motherload of fresh dandelion, dandelion blooms, clover, and grasses. Filled one large plastic grocery sack with this bounty. Our Sully already enjoying. Mind you, it's the middle of November here in MD, and we could easily have a few inches of snow this time of year!

 

[MPRC]

My redfoot decimated a big potted (expensive here in the NW @#$#%) banana tree that carelessly got knocked over. He ate it right to the dirt, leaves, stems and stalk, in a day. Go figure the little stinker prefers to pick his own greens vs. having them handed to him on a platter.

Also - for the next week he pooped like a St. Bernard. I think the fiber was good for him.

 

[W Shaw]

I'm not experienced with tortoises yet, but I would hesitate. We always peeled the bananas we gave to our chimps, even though they would love to wadge them, because pesticides tend to concentrate in the banana skins, so I'd assume they might also concentrate in the stalks.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Thanks Shaw, but these are banana stalks from my own trees. No pesticides or fertilizers have been used. So, I'm thinking they are fine. Ive been providing some every few days now with no outward I'll effects, I'm thinking the stalks are fine.

 

[W Shaw]

Thanks Shaw, but these are banana stalks from my own trees. No pesticides or fertilizers have been used. So, I'm thinking they are fine. Ive been providing some every few days now with no outward I'll effects, I'm thinking the stalks are fine.

Cool! It must be amazing to live where bananas grow! If you see any of those big banana spiders, you should post pictures! Sometimes they get accidentally shipped here with bananas and people find them. I'm always hoping, but so far have never been so lucky! (I'll stop randomly hijacking your post now!)

 

[Maro2Bear]

Cool! It must be amazing to live where bananas grow! If you see any of those big banana spiders, you should post pictures! Sometimes they get accidentally shipped here with bananas and people find them. I'm always hoping, but so far have never been so lucky! (I'll stop randomly hijacking your post now!)

No problem. We live in Maryland, not quite amazing banana territory these are in large containers that i drag in and out every winter, spring.

 

[AnimalLady]

Can I feed banana leaves to Redfoots and Russians?! I have a bunch!

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings all, reinvigorating this thread on banana leaves, stalks, etc, but now wondering about banana flower pods as an occasional food source, especially for sulcatas. Just back from our international market, and the have a bin full of banana flower pods available. I'm wondering if anyone has fed to their tortoises, or sees any harm in the occasional pod?

I have feed leaves and stalks, but never the flower pods themselves. Thoughts or concerns? The pods arent listed on the tortisetable web site. I'm guessing that an occasional pod would be fine.

Heres a pix of what's available.

 

[Yvonne G]

Greetings,

I'm in the middle of cleaning up our outdoor garden beds, plants and container grown plants and just trimmed back a large banana stalk. I know our sully and others will readily eat banana leaves, but I'm wondering if nice fresh chunky banana stalks would be good? Seems like they would be, nice and moist, plenty of roughage, and fiber. Thoughts? @Lancecham @Tom

Heres a picture to give all a clear idea of what I'm referring to. Ps: no pesticides or fertilizers used on the banana.

View attachment 154979

There's quite a difference between Manouria and sulcata, but here's my banana tree experience:

I bought a very nice 10 gallon banana tree and planted it in my Manouria's rain forest. A plant in a 10 gallon pot is quite big with a nice root system.

Within two days that whole tree was gone, eaten clear down to the ground, then dug up and the roots were gone too. The Manouria thought it was quite a treat.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm just guessing, because I don't know for sure, but it seems the banana flower might be a bit like feeding the fruit?????? Afterall, the flower does turn into the fruit, right?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Yes, same experience with the stalks thst i fed to Sully. So, flower pods?