Opuntia catctus is good for my Sully, but is Asparagus OK?

[PEEEETE]

I picked up some cactus for Pépe, and noticed that is has a similar consistancy to Asparagus stocks. I eat it a lot, and always have a bunch of stumps leftover that I just toss out. If it's healthy for me, I imagine it's healthy for my 2 month old hatchling Sulcata. It seems fibrous, deep green (usually a good sign) and I'm guessing he'd like little sliced up pieces of the stocks, and maybe even some of the tops.

I've searched on here but found conflicting answers. Some say it's like kale, in that you don't want to feed them too much of that, and others that say none at all would be best.

Thanks in advance TFOers!

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

I looked up asparagus as it is cheap and readily avaiable for me too. I found something really interesting.. Asparagus is not only low in oxalic acid (which can cause kidney stones) but there is even debate regarding asparagus being effective in breaking down kidney stones in humans. Interesting stuff! I might introduce it once a week and see what they think. Let me know what your Sully think's too if you decide to feed it.

 

[ascott]

chiming in here I have one of my CDTs that will chomp this down ...like an old fashion typewriter...start at one end and chomp chomp chomp down to the finger (yep, was hand feeding) now, the other guys think, Nope, not so thrilling but we will take a bite or two....LOL

 

[chairman]

Just looked it up myself, too. Only thing I would worry about with asparagus is that it has a 1:3 calcium to phosphorus ratio. Otherwise the stuff looks pretty good.

 

[dmarcus]

We have asparagus growing in our yard and my Sulcata won't touch it, he sniffs it and keeps on walking....

 

[Guggie]

3 words: Smelly Tortoise Pee!!!

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

I was thinking that if it worked kind of like a kidney stone preventative it would be worth a shot. I think it has a pretty low nutritional value so I am having a hard time figuring out where I can add it into my torts strict diet.

 

[PEEEETE]

Great input so far, guys!

I was thinking that if it worked kind of like a kidney stone preventative it would be worth a shot. I think it has a pretty low nutritional value so I am having a hard time figuring out where I can add it into my torts strict diet.

Would you ming sharing what your diet is? It looks like your tort isn't a sulcata

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

My diet is the same for my new Sully, Sid and my adult Leo, Princess Leia. They both get grass and weed mix that I grow in their outdoor enclosures from sulcatafood.com. In addidition to that they get Mazuri Lasagna wich consist's of mixed greens, timothy hay, grass & mazuri twice a week. The other 5 day's I alternate kale, red & green leaf, collard greens, opuntia catus, Endive and Raddichio in with their grass & weeds. Occasional treats are dandelions and romaign lettuce. My baby leopard has a very similiar diet except no timothy hay. I live in the north and rely more heavily on store bought produce in the winter and they will all have to be moved inside by the end of Sept. But I am having some luck growing grass and weeds indoor's. One thing I have had no luck growing is hibiscus.

 

[Livingstone]

Asparagus is a diuretic thats why it breaks down kidney stones, it has a high acid content which is why your pee smells funny too. Its great for humans but we metabloize calcium very differently than a reptile. I wouldn't draw reptile conclusions from human experience. If you want to avoid kidney stones then feed some romaine (yes I said it), the water content will keep the tort well hydrated from the inside.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Good point about not drawing conclusions from human experience. Thank's for the tip about the Romaine.

 

[Tom]

I feed asparagus to my big sulcatas from time to time, but its a relatively small amount and pretty infrequent. I don't think I'd feed it to a baby.