Wild flower mixture

[Krisw09]

Hello! Super New tortoise mom here. Going to plant some wild flowers for my baby red foot to eat. Besides hibiscus and dandelions I’m still very unsure of what else they can eat. There is a lot of information out there. I have this mixture. Can some tell me if all these are ok?

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome!

Wow, there is a lot going on there; it’s unfortunate they don’t include the common names.

I don’t own a redfoot, let me be clear on that; an experienced redfoot owner/breeder would know best so keep that in mind.

You’re going to get responses from people who have identified some of these as toxic based on a well known database of tortoise foods that’s housed in the U.K. It’s a database that errs on the side of extreme caution and some would say the assessments in it can be heat or miss as they are largely based on studies of mammals, not reptiles. I’m in that camp so don’t pay too much attention to it; others are very rigorous in using it.

I don’t see anything in there that is problematic with the possible exception of the Mirabilis, or Four O’clocks. There is a plant in this family, the desert four o’clock that is fine for desert tortoises and tortoises in the Testudo family but I’ve not heard of redfoots eating it. That doesn’t mean they can’t/don’t, just that I don’t know. I’d be okay with it, particularly as there isn’t much of it in the mix, but you may not feel the same way. Redfoots seem to be able to eat just about anything—and I mean anything—but you’ll have to judge for yourself if that’s something you’re comfortable with.

Someone might identify the plant listed as a delphinium as dangerous. I’m generally not in agreement with that assessment; this plant is a buttercup which is a common native food for any tortoise in the testudo family. But again, I can’t claim to know if it’s okay for redfoots as it’s not a native food for them.

Are you going to pick these to bring to your tortoise? If so it would be easy enough to learn what the two plants above look like and simply not feed them. Are you planning to let your tortoise forage for them? If so, again you’ll need to decide your comfort level. You never have to feed anything you’re not comfortable with and it’s normal to lean conservative, especially when you‘re a new owner.

If you are very anxious not to feed anything that isn’t well known there are a couple of well respected vendors to buy seed from. This mix from Carolina Tortoise Supply is a good one: http://www.carolinapetsupply.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=41&products_id=761 and there are several mixes from Tortoise Supply as well: https://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes.

Your tortoise is going to live for many more decades; it’s okay not to have the food thing figured out right away; getting the right setup is far more important for starting your baby right than having a smorgasbord available first thing.