Horsfield tortoise and buttercups

Aries98x

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Nov 18, 2019
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London
Hey

I have a 4 year old Horsfield tortoise. He has a small enclosure n the garden that I put him in when the weathers nice. I pick out any daisies and buttercups that grow in there but I must have missed a buttercup and when I turned around he was eating it.

I’ve read that buttercups can be poisonous and now I’m really worried about him.

Is this likely to be harmful to him? Should I be taking him to a vets or anything??
 

Maro2Bear

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Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
One little Butter Cup won’t cause serious harm, but now you know to triple check. ButterCup is in TheTortoiseTable as a do not feed item. No reason for a vet visit, you can provide a few extra long soaks to dilute any toxins...

❌ As a lawn invader this plant is mildly toxic. Many tortoises nibble it occasionally with no ill effects but try and remove as much as possible as it contains the mild toxin protoanemonine and there is a reference to a tortoise dying after ingesting large quantities of Buttercup.
 

RosemaryDW

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I can’t agree with the Tortoise Table on that. Horsefields eat large quantities of buttercup in their native habitat and many of our UK members let their testudo tortoises eat it without harm. I can’t definitively say there is no harm but the reference is from 1989 and it doesn’t say what type of tortoise it is. It’s not adequate to convince me of harmful properties

My Russian (horsefield) so eagerly went at our buttercups the year I grew them I was a little sad for her; they didn’t last long and don’t grow fast enough for me to keep up with her.
 
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