brian.le02
Member
Hello just wondering what kinds of weeds these are and if they are edible for my baby sulcata?
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More weeds
- Thread starter brian.le02
- Start date
I just got a notice from HOA about weeds in yard[emoji23]♀️... I’m going to pull the environmental card, we got yard of the month 2 times before we got Daisy!
I have those same weeds, daisy ignores them and eats grass [emoji481]
I will not spray my yard!! Or use weed killer. Will go to EPA, it’s not unruly, just spotty
The first picture is horseweed. It’s not harmful but most tortoises won’t eat it. I would pull it simply because it turns into a large and hideous plant very quickly.
The fifth picture is a spurge. This is a hard one to advise on. Desert tortoises eat it as a regular part of their wild diet. Some folks here let their tortoises eat it with no harmful effects. If you read the Tortoise Table database, which is a primary source of plant information for tortoises, it’s listed as an absolute do not feed, due to the possibility of the sap being an irritant. The Tortoise Table is highly conservative; not everyone here takes its assessments at face value. I wouldn’t worry about my tortoise eating it but I encourage new owners not to feed anything they don’t feel comfortable with.
That last picture is so familiar to me but I can’t place it right now.
I don’t know the others.
The fifth picture is a spurge. This is a hard one to advise on. Desert tortoises eat it as a regular part of their wild diet. Some folks here let their tortoises eat it with no harmful effects. If you read the Tortoise Table database, which is a primary source of plant information for tortoises, it’s listed as an absolute do not feed, due to the possibility of the sap being an irritant. The Tortoise Table is highly conservative; not everyone here takes its assessments at face value. I wouldn’t worry about my tortoise eating it but I encourage new owners not to feed anything they don’t feel comfortable with.
That last picture is so familiar to me but I can’t place it right now.
I don’t know the others.
- We have lots of horse weed around here, and I don't recognize that one as horse weed. Not sure what it is, but I wouldn't let my tortoise near it.
- Grass. Chop it up super fine for a baby, or just feed it to a larger sulcata.
- I don't know this one.
- Same as number 3.
- Spurge. I don't get that one here, so I don't have any experience with it.
- Lambsquarter. I don't think its toxic, but my sulcatas won't eat it. My leopards eat it though.
brian.le02
Member
I have been told awhile that someone feeds their sulcata spruge all the time and it is fine but I have fed t to him once and I didn’t notice anything weird I only feed it once and awhile I usually feed him mallow along with a weed called prickly lettuce or something
brian.le02
Member
Will be sure to remove all the horse weed from my yard just to make sure I don’t give it to him and I have heard spruge is good and bad I will do some research and I will be sure to feed my sulcata the grass I think he will like it thank you!
brian.le02
Member
Can anyone help with images 3 and 4 also if they have feed their sulcatas spurge and if it’s safe I have heard many different answers also if someone has had experience with lambsquarter I would really appreciate it!!!
I’m not sure it’s lambsquarters (lambsquarters look a bit more gray) but a likely relative in the amaranth family (pigweed?). Same feedback as I would give for lambsquarters; plenty feed it, some don’t. I offer it, my Russian doesn’t care for it. She does occasionally eat other kinds of amaranth. I think it’s perfectly fine.
brian.le02
Member
Thank you you have any experience with spruge? Or have u seen images 3 and 4?
No, I am not familiar with the other weeds.
I have a Russian tortoise so I can’t speak to what is absolutely right for a sulcata. I personally don’t worry about the spurge in your picture; I offer it occasionally but my tortoise hasn’t been very interested. I’m just one owner though.
I can see you are working hard to figure out what is and is not safe for your tortoise and that’s good. Ultimately only you can decide what is best for your tortoise. There is no rush to decide if you feel okay about spurge or not. Your tortoise is going to live for years and years! Why not think about it a while longer before you decide what feels right to you?
I know we talk about the importance of feeding weeds here all the time and it’s true owners should try to feed them when they can. But if you aren’t comfortable with plants you don’t know, there are plenty of good foods you can feed in the meantime. Again, you have many, many years of feeding ahead of you. You don’t have to figure it all out at once.
I have a Russian tortoise so I can’t speak to what is absolutely right for a sulcata. I personally don’t worry about the spurge in your picture; I offer it occasionally but my tortoise hasn’t been very interested. I’m just one owner though.
I can see you are working hard to figure out what is and is not safe for your tortoise and that’s good. Ultimately only you can decide what is best for your tortoise. There is no rush to decide if you feel okay about spurge or not. Your tortoise is going to live for years and years! Why not think about it a while longer before you decide what feels right to you?
I know we talk about the importance of feeding weeds here all the time and it’s true owners should try to feed them when they can. But if you aren’t comfortable with plants you don’t know, there are plenty of good foods you can feed in the meantime. Again, you have many, many years of feeding ahead of you. You don’t have to figure it all out at once.
brian.le02
Member
No, I am not familiar with the other weeds.
I have a Russian tortoise so I can’t speak to what is absolutely right for a sulcata. I personally don’t worry about the spurge in your picture; I offer it occasionally but my tortoise hasn’t been very interested. I’m just one owner though.
I can see you are working hard to figure out what is and is not safe for your tortoise and that’s good. Ultimately only you can decide what is best for your tortoise. There is no rush to decide if you feel okay about spurge or not. Your tortoise is going to live for years and years! Why not think about it a while longer before you decide what feels right to you?
I know we talk about the importance of feeding weeds here all the time and it’s true owners should try to feed them when they can. But if you aren’t comfortable with plants you don’t know, there are plenty of good foods you can feed in the meantime. Again, you have many, many years of feeding ahead of you. You don’t have to figure it all out at once.
Thanks you! You are right I have a lot of time and yes I just want my little guy to grow up old with me haha and I feed it to him occasionally but I just don’t want to harm my little man and thank you using ur time to respond!
We have lots of spurge, and my sulcatas love it. I don't know the name of that first plant, but my sulcatas ignored it and it was horrible to pull up, especially as it got bigger. It has a tap root longer than the plant is tall. I recommend getting it out of there as soon as possible before you have a control problem. Mine wouldn't eat mallow, but they love dandelion.
Spurge grows naturally in the CDTs home range, so they are adapted to eating it. It's high in oxalic acid, and not something sulcatas have evolved eating, so I wouldn't purposely feed it to a sulcata.
Lambsquarter is not tortoise food.
brian.le02
Member
Oh thank you to all of you who have helped my tort is loving mallow and the prickly lettuce
