Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If a tortoise eats it, it is safe for them to eat. Nothing more to know. If they don't eat it it does not matter if it is toxic or edible. They wont eat it so it does not matter!

The animals know what is good and what is bad. Perhaps by smell or small sample. I hear so much "is this safe...?" or "is this toxic...?" stuff. The internet is clogged with lists of "approved plants". I simply don't understand. Does everyone believe in the habitats of tortoises worldwide that there are no toxic plants? Of course there are.

I had a visitor to my tortoise yard some years ago. She was appalled and I was rapidly and forcefully informed all my tortoises would soon perish. She found a small morning glory (a human-toxic plant) growing amongst a weed bed on the edge of my yard. Her perspective was if it was merely in the yard this plant would somehow kill them.

So, of course because the yard had morning glory this woman absolutely knew all my tortoises were going to die!

Heck, while morning glory is toxic to humans it may very well be safe for tortoises. Rock Iguanas in the Caribbean eat toxic plants to control internal parasites. Cyclura cornuta and C. carinata are known to feed extensively upon the fruits and leaves of the manchineel (Hippomane mancinella) and the fruit of the poisonwood tree (Metopium toxiferum), both of which contain powerful alkaloid toxins (Wiewandt, 1977 and Iverson, 1979).

In fact, my observation "if it is not safe they won't eat it" is the reason I had a weed bed. All the plants in that patch were/are not eaten by the tortoises, including the morning glory. Thus, I had a patch of weeds.

Fifteen years later (todays observation) the very same tortoises are still roaming my yard, eating growing, and laying eggs. Tortoises do not eat toxic plants and they do not die simply because a toxic plant is in the pen with them.

The direct answer to your specific question is. if this is your plant, then yes those flowers are safe. I hope this is useful.

[url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Vo-B_g5Sm7oC&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=cyclura toxic plants&source=web&ots=BG3GULBIRn&sig=3zlOO6m9k3sd_NO29bzQ83mFug8&hl=en]Here is a link to more data on toxic plants in Rock Iguanas[/url}