Reptile & Amphibian Forums

wondering because ive got lots around... ps my chucks are doing great and im cuttently working on the cage.
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re-edited
1.1 Western redback chuckwallas(philbert & unnamed)
5 green sunfish
Striped raphale catfish
Common Plecaustomouse
3 coyfish
0.1.1-sandiego gopher snakes
1.3-coturnix quail
0.1-cockatiel( R.I.P)ironic she was named casper...
1.1(fixed) cats-eddie/buzz
Where the heck would a cali. kingsnake run off to?!?!?!

My chucks & Desert Iguanas both ignore the Ca Poppies. I have 2 large clumps blooming and have never seen a bite. They use it for shade & a place to lay out but thats all I have seen. They love Desert Marigolds even though it messes up cattle. Palafoxia flowers are another favorite.

Heck-- here we go--

Gaillardia, Common Sunflowers ( mainly leaves), Dalea, Most all Legumes, Ragweed ( Ambrosia )--- a staple in habitat & my pen, Mine seldom look at creosote blooms & never leaves, Dandelions/ Yellow thistle types,

Common garden plants included-- Daylillies, Rose, Althea/ Globemallow/ Hibiscus & kin, Pansies, Sweet Alyssum, Cosmos, Wallflowers, Snapdragons, etc---

I grow lots of these plants in the pen & "Let Em Eat"

dvl

You can't go strictly by what a chuck will eat, though. I've heard of one chuck owner who thought just that. One of their chucks was a little too attracted to the oleander.

Oh, and I give my chucks nasturtium (sp) and they eat it down to the ground!

I do agree with not adopting the "Anything Goes" but I will say that I have chucks that devour plants that are on the toxic list with no ill effects. Mine love many of the Euphorbia's. Examples include E antisyphillitica ( I wonder about them at times ) also known as the Candellia from the Big Bend area. There are also several different prostrate ( no connection to the former plant at all in case Eve was curious!!!) Euphorbias that grow in flower beds, cracks of sidewalks etc. These plants are very low mat forming rossetes of reddish & green leaves. They also have upright varieties that are similar in leaf structure etc. ALL Of these favorites exude that milky sap when injured and is most likely an irritant to human skin & eyes.In Az & such there is a common prostrate type called Rattlesnake Weed that chucks munch on. I did not intentionally include these plants in my pen but some kept growing as volunteers & I noticed how well trimmed they were kept! I now, much to my wifes grumbling, allow patches of these weeds to grow in some flower beds. I tell her if she pulls em up I am gonna cut her off!!! Puts the scare to her !!! LOL.
With all those truths & lies said ( you guys can sort em out, not me!!) I do not advise offering known toxic plants to chucks. But I do assume by observation that they have a resistance to certain toxins that other animals do not. Example is Creosote Bush. It is considered toxic to certain animals. My chucks also ignore Loco Weed.
Maybe it has a lot to do with their reaction to native ( or near native & close kin ) vs exotic plants like Oleander that they have no history with.

Lastly let me say that I have never seen a chuck with a case of syphillis or one that has been bite by a rattlesnake ( there have been papers written about how there is no evidence that ratt'lers prowl on chucks). If anyone finds a Euphorbia antifelineimus let me know.

David--- who supports the efforts in Wisconsin to shoot feral cats on sight!!

It would be great if there was an exhaustive list of edibles ;0)

I'm kind of leary about feeding my chucks any unknowns. There are a lot of wild flowers here on the central coast of Ca where I live in bloom that look like they might be tasty. But, since most of these don't overlap with chucks, I haven't wanted to chance it.

I recently read an article on garter snakes and newts. Apparently populations co-existing with newts of the genus Taricha have an adaptation that prevents the toxins excreted by the newts from affecting them. Garter snakes from other regions although of the same species may die if they try to eat a newt. When I consider experimenting, I wonder if a similar situation could exist with chucks and toxic plants, with certain populations adapted to deal with certain toxins and not with others.

If anyone wants to chime in with some tried and true wildflowers that might occur in my area, I'd appreciate it. I'm glad I heard about the oleander, since it proves that you can't trust the chucks to know what's good for them.

-Alice

I believe I saw Mentizelia on a list.
Lotus are on the list ( not water lily lotus).Also--
Lesquerella, Coreopsis, Catalba/ Desert Willow/ Tecoma group, Verbena, Miribilis ( Four O'Clocks),Mallows in general,

more to come if I can find some of the articles & mags I lost!!!!

dvl

What about Layia spp. and Nemophila spp.? There are a lot of these in bloom by me right now.

-Alice

I have not seen these on a list. If they grow naturally in chuck territory I would think they ( chucks) might make know goo dfrom bad ( just a thought) . Nemophelia--- reminds me of my second ex wife-- she was one of them!!

Nemophelia--- close kin to Phaecelia !!Same "Waterleaf Family" -- I would be willing to give it a try ! I had some Nana hispidum that got wiped out last year-- also close kin.

David

Will look up the real Latin name later--starts with a "L" !!! Ours is the Lespisisisium virginica ( SP?????????????)

dvl

Some people find it terribly stinky but some chucks ( not all) munch on it here in the pen. Kind of weedy but usefull in a pot of beans---so they say!

So I have experimented with all the species of flower that I find around me since I live a mile from good chuck habitat. read: Chucks are still there as of now......Godzilla was not too picky an eater, but favored dandelions (greens and flowers) to everything else. Also eaten were rose petals, Toad flax, Bok choy flowers and leaves, cilantro, tomatillo flowers, fruits and leaves.

so here's the rough list I've compiled

PS my Chucks always left the poppies alone, but I had a Desert Igg that ate them from time to time.

1)Five-needle Fetid Marigold-Dyssodia pentachaeta
small yellow flower, favored by herbivorous lizards
2)Chichweed- Pectis papposa
another yellow flower, not as popular as marigold
3)Desert Marigold- Baileya multiradiata
Large Yellow flower, grows right on the hills near basking sights
4)Desert Dandelion- Malachothrix glabrata
resembles a large dandelion (mixed success with these; some liked them some didn't)
5)Snakehead- Malachothrix coulteri
basically the same as desert dandelion, with similar results
6)Mojave Desert Star -Monoptilon bellioides
white daisy looking flower. favored by all.
7)Desert Chicory- Rafinesquia neomexicana
variable color most are white though (individuals prefference, the Iggs really liked them though)
8)Esteve's Pincushion- Chaenactis stevioides
White flower not really a pincushion in the spiny sense.
9)Coulter's Lupine- Lupinus sparsiflorus
Purplish "Bluebonnet" Tortoises liked this more than the Chucks, although they were eaten from time to time
10)Desert Bell- Phacelia campanularia
Blue flower also growing right on the hillsides. watched wild chucks take this flower
11)Scalloped Phacelia- Phacelia integrifolia
lavender flower, loved by all Chucks i've kept
12)Mojave Aster- Machaeranthera tortifolia
light purple to blue, watched wild chucks take these as well.
13)Indian Blanket- Gallardia pulchella
reddish flower with yellow trim. Eaten sparsely, the collared Lizards I had liked them more.
14)Globe mallow- Sphaeralcea ssp
orange flowers, loved by all herbivorous lizards I've kept
15)Desert Willow- Chilopsis linearis
lavender to dark purple blossoms. a staple flower in my Chucks diet.

There are many other flowers that I've tried, but i don't know what their names are. My identification book is the Audobon Society Deserts field guide. It was printed in its 7th edition in 1992. With all the splitting that goes on expect some of these species to be changed. Go with the genus when searching these flowers out. Anyway, I hope that helps.

good luck,
-Phil

From my garden, I often picked the white flowers from green bean plants, and also the yellow flowers from the tomatoes. They liked them both. We also have a milk weed that grows wild on some fenclines that produces a trumpet-like white flower. The chucks like those really well too. The savor the dandelion flowers and greens more than anything else.

John E.