How Toxic is Boxwood?

[FomTarro]

Hello!

Our little Russian Tortoise ingested a few leaves from low-hanging new growth from a boxwood today. The tortoise table lookup database lists this as "toxic" with a description of severe symptoms it can cause. How concerned should I be? I've immediately begun hydrating her in an attempt to dilute and flush. It was only a few leaves, but given that she only weighs 2lbs, I don't really have a sense for what's considered a dangerous quantity.

Thanks!

 

[RosemaryDW]

She will be fine, the Tortoise Table is a bit extreme sometimes. I’m not saying it’s a good plant, I’ve just not seen an incident with a few leaves. Clip the boxwood very closely going forward or get rid of it so as not to worry about it.

It’s a good idea to research a herp vet in your area so you’ll be prepared if you ever need one. There is a sub forum dedicated to vet lists and/or you can ask for help finding one there and in the health sub forum.

 

[FomTarro]

Yeah, the reptile doctor referred us to poison control, and I wrote this post while waiting on hold. I figured it's probably an over-reaction, but the language on the database listing was pretty strong.

She seems totally fine 10+ hours later, so I'm guessing it's only really dangerous if it were to be an entire meal.

 

[RosemaryDW]

If they’d given any reason why it’s toxic I might have been less casual about it. I’m sure it’s been a stressful ten hours.

Again, I’m not saying it’s something to leave around your tortoise. It’s useless as a data point but it’s never looked “right” to me.