As always the more a person reads on the internet the more confusing the advice found is!
What do people think about beetroot and tomato for a Leopard?
Ive found both on lists of food that they can have and on lists of food they must never have?
At the moment im sticking to things that Im more sure of but would like to know for future reference. I do wish people would say why these plants are on the bad food list so that readers could make an imformed decision. eg is beetroot just avoided as its high in natural sugars or is it outright poisonous? Is tomato just listed as bad because its a bit high in water content or if he ever escapes the outdoor enclosure, gets in the veg plot and chomps his way through a tomato plant will his toes curl up and drop off?
Hi Clare. Welcome to the nutty world of tortoise keeping lol. You will come across these lists all the time. I look at it is this way..your leo is in the wild where it comes from walking around looking for food. Do you think it will come across a tomato. Very very unlikely. Different tortoises eat different diets. I don't have a leo so i'm not sure what they can eat. I'm sure if it escaped and got into your veg plot and chomped his way through a tomato plant his toes wouldn't curl up and drop off lol.
he'd probably have bad shites though
(03-25-2010 08:09 AM)clare Wrote: [ -> ]As always the more a person reads on the internet the more confusing the advice found is!
What do people think about beetroot and tomato for a Leopard?
Ive found both on lists of food that they can have and on lists of food they must never have?
At the moment im sticking to things that Im more sure of but would like to know for future reference. I do wish people would say why these plants are on the bad food list so that readers could make an imformed decision. eg is beetroot just avoided as its high in natural sugars or is it outright poisonous? Is tomato just listed as bad because its a bit high in water content or if he ever escapes the outdoor enclosure, gets in the veg plot and chomps his way through a tomato plant will his toes curl up and drop off?
Hi Clare
As with all things confusing where torts are concerned, I advise people to always think of what they would have in the wild - they won't find beetroot or tomatoes. Leopards are more susceptible to Med species even when given any type of fruit or root vegetable. As I said in the other thread, leopards are grass grazers so this should be what they eat predominantly. Treats can be things like dandelions, sow thistle etc. If you do give tomatoes be prepared for a sick tortoise and one hell of a stink to boot. If he actually ate a tomoto plant I would expect him to die as tomato leaves are poisonous to most animals. I don't think it is about making a personal choice, I think it about sticking to well known and respected groups and not even bothering with those attached to commercial traders sites or pet store advice etc.
There is plenty of stuff out there to tell you why certain plants are poisonous but it should be a case of not giving if you are not sure and until someone has answered your query and if the respected groups say it is poisonous, then that is usually good enough for me
A few years back a lady stated that her torts loved to eat a certain rockery plant and browsed on it whenever it was in flower, she was advised this was not a good idea, but reckoned that as they had done this for some time it would be OK. A year or so later one of the tortoises died and another had stunted growth and was always sickly afterwards. It's just not worth the risk.
I'm the same to be honest about weeds and plants. I don't feed unless i am 100% sure that it is safe.
Stella loves carrot tops? :rolleye: