Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A friend of mine has sulcatas and recently moved to an area that has a ton of bamboo leaves. He asked me if this was ok to feed to his tortoises. I did not know the answer, but I knew somone here would. Thanks in advance.

P.S. He has not fed them the leaves. He was waiting for an answer before feeding.
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Tony Bocanegra
Next Generation Reptiles
www.NGReptiles.com

i would assume so, bamboo after all is just another form of grass, and i haven't heard anyone say anything avoiding certain grasses. I'm not sure about the shoots or the poles though.
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1.1.3 Common Mud Turtles
0.0.2 R.E.S.
0.0.1 Y.B.S.
1.3.1 Russian Tortoises
0.1 Hamsters
3.0 Dogs
2.3 Family

sorry for the double post but you can't edit posts on these forums. i assume you can feed them bamboo leaves.
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1.1.3 Common Mud Turtles
0.0.2 R.E.S.
0.0.1 Y.B.S.
1.3.1 Russian Tortoises
0.1 Hamsters
3.0 Dogs
2.3 Family

I saw a show about pandas recently and it said that
the leaves of bamboo contain cyanide. I'm not
sure if all bamboo is poisonous. I just googled
"bamboo poisonous?" and it confirmed that bamboo
leaves are poisonous.

all bamboo can't be poisonous, i have heard of people eating the shoots of the "Moso" Bamboo, but it is also best to air on the side of caution. so with spuds comments i would try to avoid the grass. some ways of keeping bamboo at bay are: constant mowing, and a moat. bamboo can't live in standing watter.
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1.1.3 Common Mud Turtles
0.0.2 R.E.S.
0.0.1 Y.B.S.
1.3.1 Russian Tortoises
0.1 Hamsters
3.0 Dogs
2.3 Family

Well I just googled bamboo & found : PETS AND LUCKY BAMBOO
Some varieties of dracaena--the family of plants that include lucky bamboo--are poisonous to pets. So, if you're bringing a lucky bamboo plant into your home, be sure to display it where your pets won't be tempted to munch on the leaves.

Well it's talking about "lucky bamboo" which this article says is a dracaena. Dracaenas are NOT true bamboo!!!

If this is what you based your opinion on, then you did not read closely enough> google can get you in trouble sometimes

There are many varieties of true bamboo grown for food & timber. I would ***guess*** most true bamboo would be eadible to a tortoise as a small part of a varied diet.

Your right, people should do more research (did you?).
Other wise we might not look as smart as we think we
are.
Google this: bamboo cyanide?

Don't want this to turn into a tennis match. Lets
just stick to helpin other tort lovers.

peace

if it means that much to both of you, someone write to REPTILES and see if it shows up in the Q&A Section.
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1.1.3 Common Mud Turtles
0.0.2 R.E.S.
0.0.1 Y.B.S.
1.3.1 Russian Tortoises
0.1 Hamsters
3.0 Dogs
2.3 Family

I was at the San Antonio Zoo once 3-4 years ago & watched them feed the Aldabra bamboo leaves.
I'd look at a plant guide to make sure whatever type of bamboo they're eating is a safe type. I eat bits of bamboo at the local Chinese restaurant.
I know some snapdragons are poisonous.. but it depends on the type. Some snapdragons are sold as edible flowers for human consumption.. others in the garden might not be safe.
When I find something for my tortoise I am in doubt about I check the plant guides online.
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PHRatz

No tennis match necessary.

Yes I did the search you mentioned.
Most of the sites do not post any references, they all repeat the same information, obviously copying from the other. One site did say there was actually very little research done on this subject but...
Yes the info that did pop up was eye opening.

However I will stick with my original post: "There are many varieties of true bamboo grown for food & timber. I would ***guess*** most true bamboo would be eadible (edible) to a tortoise as a small part of a varied diet."

The secret to any tort diet (or human diet for that matter) is small quantities of many different items. Wild tortoise eat many plants that are potentially poisonous, but in small quantities. Some even eat - gasp - animal protein which many people expressly forbid for tortoises.

Another factor is that most studies deal with mammal or specifically human metabolism. Reptile metabolism is much different. Many reptiles can eat plants that are dangerous to humans with no obvious affect to the reptile. I too would avaoid anything that is obviously dangerous to torts.

All things in moderation.

I totally agree. Everything in moderation works best.

I read that potatoe leaves are poisonous after the
fact. We had a vine growing wild and our sulcata
used to feast on it every chance they got. Now that
we know better we don't let them have as much and
not as often. Not so for our leopards. The leaves
make them sick. Thats just the 2 we have. I'm sure
other people may have different experiences

If anyone has some real world experience with adding
bamboo to their torts diet please pass on the info.
We got miles of bamboo forests growin here and I'd
love to add more variety to their diet.

happy herpin!