We recently got our first Sulcatta Tortoise, it has been a great pet so far, we are really enjoying it! I have read information about caring for them and I have tried to educate myself as best I can. The people we got the tortoise from fed them mainly vegetables from the grocery store, we have since put the tortoise on a green grass and hay diet. We do give her pumpkin and a little lettuce from time to time for a treat!
My question is, is the grass/weeds in our yard safe for the tortoise to eat? We have been taking it outside to graze and it does really good, it loves to be outside. However last night it was raining and ugly so we couldn't go out, I went and picked some grass, clover, just the stuff it normally eats... I went in to check on it and it was foaming at the mouth and stretching its neck out, it almost looked like it was chocking. I started looking for answers on the Internet and held the tortoise in my hand under luke warm running water. I noticed immediately it was doing better but from what I read it sounds like she got some type of poison. We do not use anything on our yard like pesticide or fertilize. I really have no idea what it could have been, she has been eating the grass from our yard for several weeks and this is our first problem. After about five minutes of running water it was back to normal, she went back in her box and I gave her a dab of pumpkin. She ate it just fine, she has been normally ever since...
Any advice?
My question is, is the grass/weeds in our yard safe for the tortoise to eat? We have been taking it outside to graze and it does really good, it loves to be outside. However last night it was raining and ugly so we couldn't go out, I went and picked some grass, clover, just the stuff it normally eats... I went in to check on it and it was foaming at the mouth and stretching its neck out, it almost looked like it was chocking. I started looking for answers on the Internet and held the tortoise in my hand under luke warm running water. I noticed immediately it was doing better but from what I read it sounds like she got some type of poison. We do not use anything on our yard like pesticide or fertilize. I really have no idea what it could have been, she has been eating the grass from our yard for several weeks and this is our first problem. After about five minutes of running water it was back to normal, she went back in her box and I gave her a dab of pumpkin. She ate it just fine, she has been normally ever since...
Any advice?