Gaillardia?

Bambam1989

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I was wondering if any tort keepers feed Gaillardia plants to their tort?
I bought some seeds a while back after seeing that they were safe in moderation on the Tortoise Table. But when I went to double check to see if oxalates or anything else was mentioned, the website no longer has it listed.
Now I'm wondering if I even saw it on the Tortoise Table website or if I've officially become delusional! [emoji33]
 

wellington

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Your delusional lol, just kidding. I know nothing about it.
Maybe @Will knows. He has the thread about what's in different foods we feed.
 

Maro2Bear

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Hey....maybe check on the safety of sunflower/Asteraceae flowers and plant.

From Wiki, Gaillardia is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, native to North and South America.

From The TortoiseTable:
  • Common Name: Sunflower
  • Latin Name: Helianthus annuus
  • Family Name: Asteraceae/Compositae
Sunflowers readily accumulate nitrates from the soil, especially if the plants are fed with artificial fertilisers. Nitrates are toxic to cattle, causing congestion of lungs, collapse and even death. So although the plant itself is safe, it's not one to offer on a regular basis.

Based on the above, id give it a pass.
 

Bambam1989

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Hey....maybe check on the safety of sunflower/Asteraceae flowers and plant.

From Wiki, Gaillardia is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, native to North and South America.

From The TortoiseTable:
  • Common Name: Sunflower
  • Latin Name: Helianthus annuus
  • Family Name: Asteraceae/Compositae
Sunflowers readily accumulate nitrates from the soil, especially if the plants are fed with artificial fertilisers. Nitrates are toxic to cattle, causing congestion of lungs, collapse and even death. So although the plant itself is safe, it's not one to offer on a regular basis.

Based on the above, id give it a pass.
I did go through and take a look at the asteraceae family and it seems to be a bit of a mixed bag of safe and unsafe.

I actually offer my tort a sunflower leaf about once a week, I have been growing my own from seed and haven't used fertilizers on them so I'm confident that their not overloaded with nitrates.
 

RosemaryDW

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I don’t like to generalize too much about plant families; the lines are not always clear.

That said, I offer wild and domestic sunflower to my tortoise. Plenty of fiber! Naturally she isn’t interested in it this year. :/
 
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