Feeding and Nutrition :: HERBS AND PLANTS? ARE THEY ALL OK?

Turtle diets and eating habits discussed here.

Post Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:00 am   HERBS AND PLANTS? ARE THEY ALL OK?

Hey everyone! I have a few questions regarding some of the foods i was looking to implement into my turtles diets. I jus recieved a very large 3' wide octagonal tank. My girlfriend and i are planning on making this a new home for our turtles and i wanted to put some live plants in the tank. One of the things i planned on putting in was some climbing ivy. I think the turtles will eat this but i want to make sure that it will not harm them at all. i also thought about planting some herbs as well. If anyone has any suggestions that would be great!
Thanks alot
Chris
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Post Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 1:29 pm   

Have you read through all the sections in here?- http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html
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Post Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 1:33 pm   

Water plants like anacharis work well inside tanks, because when they do get eaten they are healthy for the turtles.
I've never heard of using ivy. I didn't realize it could be submerged like that.
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Post Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 3:37 pm   

Ivy would be on the bad list as it's poisonous. here's a blurbette on english ivy;

"English ivy (Hedera helix) is an indoor and outdoor ornamental vine. This plant contains saponins, which have caused poisoning in cattle, dogs, sheep, and humans. Two chemicals in the sap can also cause severe contact dermatitis in sensitive humans. Cases of poisoning are found in older European literature; the plant grows naturally in Europe. Cattle that ingested large quantities of the vines were ill for a few days. Humans who ingested the berries have shown symptoms, including coma. Dermatitis is rare but can be severe. Weeping lesions and blisters respond slowly to treatment (Cooper and Johnson 1984, Massmanian et al. 1980). Family pets should not be allowed to eat English ivy leaves."

You have a couple of alternatives. one is to get a plastic ivy plant or two. There's one brand that's widely available at pet stores that several people on here use. I'll see if I can find a photo.

Alternatively, you can use any of a variety of aquatic plants. I think several are mentioned in the link emmanelson96 provided. The general rule is that any plant that's safe for fish will also be safe for turtles, but some plants are harder to grow. Also, since the turtle will probably rip it to pieces, you probably don't want anything expensive.

(edit0

here's a thread with photos of a very effective use of plastic plants. on page 10 of the thread (it's a long one) there's a photo of the package that the plastic ivy comes in;

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... sc&start=0

My turtle's very favorite green thing is fresh basil. He's loved it since day one. I grow it so there's always some around. I've read about other turtles on here that love it too. I would not feed a turtle herbs that are strong like rosemary or mint. Some of the others like sage and thyme would probably be good. I've read about turtles that are fond of cilantro. Parsley is on the bad list because of one of the substances found in it.
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