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Note: Although this data was
originally gathered for those who keep reptiles, it also pertains
to mammals. There is a mistaken belief that all
animals know what is and is not
good to eat. This is a mistake—a potentially lethal
mistake—when
you are talking about an animal who has been removed from its
native habitat. An animal in its native environment does know
what
it can and cannot eat. If it makes a mistake, and becomes
merely
ill, it will not eat that plant again. If it eats a plant that
kills it, well,
it clearly won’t be eating that again! The fact that the
leading
causes of death in the wild is not from eating toxic foods
indicates
that animals either learn their lessons well by observing
older
conspecifics, or through a sort of genetic field guide to edible
plants. Once you remove an animal from its
environment, however, that field
guide becomes useless. Instead, the animal will pretty much try
to
eat anything that resembles what it is programmed (learned or
instinctual behavior) to eat. Hence, toxic plants such as
poinsettias,
with their wide deep green leaves and attractive red flowers* look
like
a terrific snack for a hungry or curious iguana. A broad green
leaf and
palm frond on a tree frog t-shirt looks good enough to eat, as
they
say. * Leaves, actually, the flowers of a
poinsettia are the small yellow
structures in the middle of the red leaves. If you are thinking about furnishing
a tank with plants or are
considering letting your animals free-roam in your house or in
an
outdoor enclosure, you need to be sure that the plants in
those
areas are not toxic. The toxic chemicals of plants are
passed to an animal in one of two
ways - by ingestion of plant material, or by dermal contact with
a
plant. If anyone has ever had poison oak or ivy, you are quite
familiar
with this latter method of transmission. Some plants are
completely
toxic; others have only certain parts that are toxic, such as
the
leaves, or flowers. Keep this list somewhere handy so that you
may
refer to it as needed when considering plants for your
animals. If you are in doubt as to whether a
plant, or part of a plant, is toxic,
do not use the plant. Or, discuss it with other herpetoculturists
and
horticulturists to see if they have ever had experience with that
plant. |
| A | | ACOCANTHERA | fruit and
flowers | ACONITE
(Monkshood) | roots, flowers and
leaves | AMARYLLIS (A.
belladonna) | bulbs contain
alkaloids | AMSINCKIA
(Tarweed) | foliage, seeds | ANENOME
(Wildflower) | whole plant | ANGEL TRUMPET TREE
(Datura arborra) | flowers and
leaves | APPLE | seeds | APRICOT PITS | inner seed
dangerous | ATROPA
BELLADONNA | all parts,
especially
black berries | AUTUMN CROCUS | bulbs | AVOCADO | foliage | AZALEAS | all parts are
fatal! | | B | | BALSAM PEAR | seeds, outer rind of
fruit | BANEBERRY (Doll’s
Eyes) | red or white berries,
roots,
and foliage | BEACH PEA | all | BETEL NUT PALM | all | BELLADONNA | all | BIRD OF PARADISE | seeds | BITTERSWEET | berries | BLACK LOCUST | bark, sprouts and
foliage | BLEEDING HEART | foliage and
roots | BLUEBONNETS | all | BLUE FLAG (Iris) | bulbs | BLUE-GREEN ALGAE | some forms are
toxic | BLOODROOT | all | BOTTLEBRUSH | flowers | BOXWOOD | all | BUCKEYE HORSE
CHESTNUT | sprouts and nuts | BUCKTHORN | fruit, bard | BUTTERCUP | all | | C | | CALADIUM | all | CALLA LILY | all | CARDINAL FLOWER | all | CAROLINA
JESSAMINE | foliage, flowers and
sap | CASSAVA | roots | CASTOR BEAN (castor
oil) | uncooked beans | CHALICE VINE (Trumpet
vine) | all | CHERRY | bark, twig, leaves
&
seed pit | CHERRY LAUREL | foliage and
flowers | CHINA BERRY TREE | berries | CHRISTMAS BERRY | berries | CHRISTMAS CACTUS
(_Euphorbia_) | entire plant | CHRISTMAS CANDLE | sap | CHRISTMAS ROSE | foliage and
flowers | COLUMBINE | foliage, flowers and
seeds | COMMON PRIVET | foliage and
berries | CORAL PLANT | all parts | CROCUS | bulbs | CROTON | foliage, shoots | CYCLAMEN | foliage, stems and
flowers | | D | | DAFFODIL | bulbs, foliage,
flowers
and pods | DAPHNE | berries | DATURA (Jimson
weed) | leaves, seeds | DEADLY AMANITA | all | DEADLY
NIGHTSHADE | foliage, unripe fruit,
sprouts | DEATH CAMAS | all | DEATH CAP
MUSHROOM | all | DELPHINIUM | all | DEIFFENBACHIA
(Dumbcane) | all | DESTROYING ANGEL (Death
cap) | all | DOGWOOD | fruit mildly
toxic | DUMBCANE | all | DUTCHMAN’S
BREECHES | foliage and
roots | | E | | EGGPLANT | all but the
fruit | ELDERBERRY | foliage | ELEPHANT EARS
(Taro) | leaves, stem | ENGLISH IVY | leaves, berries | EQUISETUM | all | EUPHORBIA
(spurge(s)) | foliage, flowers
sap | | F | | FALSE HELLEBORE | all parts | FALSE HENBANE | all | FIDDLENECK
(_Senecio_) | all | FLY AGARIC (amanita,
death cap) | all | FOUR O’CLOCK | all | FOXGLOVE | leaves, seeds | | G | | GELSEMIUM | all | GHOSTWEED | all | GOLDEN CHAIN
(Laburnum) | all | | H | | HEMLOCK ROOTS (poison
& water) | all | HENBANE | seeds | HOLLY, English and
American | berries | HORSE CHESTNUT | nuts, twigs | HORSETAIL REED
(_Equisetum_) | all | HYACINTH | bulbs | HYDRANGEA | flower | | I | | INDIAN TURNIP
(Jack-in-the-pulpit) | all | IMPATIENS
(Touch-me-not) | all | IRIS (Blue flag) | bulbs | IVY (all forms) | foliage, fruit | | J | | JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT | all | JASMINE | foliage, flowers,
sap | JASMINE, STAR | foliage, flowers | JATROPHA | seeds, sap | JAVA BEAN | uncooked bean | JERUSALEM CHERRY | berries | JESSAMINE | berries | JIMSON WEED (Thorn
apple) | foliage flowers, seed
pods | JOHNSON GRASS | all | JUNIPER | needles, stems,
berries | | L | | LABURNUM | all | LAMBKILL (Sheep
laurel) | all | LANTANA CAMARA | foliate, flowers, esp.
berries | LARKSPUR | all parts | LAUREL | all parts | LILY OF THE
VALLEY | all parts, including
water | LIMA BEAN (java
bean) | uncooked bean | LOBELIA | all parts | LOCOWEED | all | LOCUST(S) | all | LORDS AND LADIES
(cuckoopint) | all | LUPINE | esp. seeds, pods
foliage | | M | | MACHINEEL | all | MARIJUANA | leaves | MAY APPLE | all except fruit | MESCAL (BEAN) | seed; all parts may be
toxic | MILKWEED | foliage | MISTLETOE | berries | MOCCASIN FLOWER | foliage, flowers | MOCK ORANGE | fruit | MONKSHOOD | leaves, roots | MOODSEED | berries | MORNING GLORY | all | MOUNTAIN LAUREL | young leaves,
shoots | MUSHROOMS (some wild
forms) | caps, stems | | N | | NARCISSUS
(Paper-white) | bulbs | NATAL CHERRY | berries, foliage | NECTARINE SEED | inner pit only | NICOTINE (tree, bush,
flowering) | foliage flowers | NIGHTSHADES | berries, leaves | | O | | OAK TREES | acorn, foliage | OLEANDER | leaves, branches,
sap | | P | | PEACH PIT | inner seed | PEAR | seeds | PENNYROYAL | foliage, flowers | PEONY | foliage, flowers | PERIWINKLE | all | PHILODENDRON (some
species) | leaves, stem | PINKS | all | PLUMS | foliage, inner
seed | POINSETTIA | leaves, flowers | POISON HEMLOCK | foliage, seeds | POISON IVY | foliage, fruit,
sap | POISON OAK | foliage, fruit,
sap | POISON SUMAC | foliage, fruit,
sap | POKEWOOD /
POKECHERRY | roots, fruits | POPPY (except
California) | all | POTATO | eyes, shoots | PRIVET | all | | R | | REDWOOD | resinoids,
leached
wet wood | RHODODENDRON | all parts are
fatal! | RHUBARB | foliage, uncooked s
tems | ROSARY PEAS | foliage, flowers,
pods | ROSEMARY | foliage in some
species | RUSSIAN THISTLE | foliage, flowers | | S | | SAGE | foliage in some
species | SALMONBERRY | foliage, fruit | SCARLET
PIMPERNEL | foliage, flowers,
fruit | SCOTCH BROOM | seeds | SENECIO (“fiddle
neck”) | all | SKUNK CABBAGE | all | SNAPDRAGON | foliage, flowers | SNOWDROP | all | SNOW-ON-THE-MOUNTAIN
(Ghostweed) | all | SPANISH BAYONET | foliage, flowers | STAR JASMINE | foliage, flowers | SQUIRREL CORN | foliage, flowers,
seeds | SUDAN GRASS | all | STAR OF
BETHLEHEM | foliage, flowers | SUNDEW | foliage | SWEET PEA | seeds and fruit | | T | | TANSY | foliage, flowers | TARO (Elephant
ears) | foliage | TARWEED | foliage, seeds | THORN APPLE | flowers, foliage,
pods | TIGER LILY | foliage, flowers,
seed
pods | TOAD FLAX | foliage | TOBACCO | leaves | TOMATO PLANT | foliage, vines | TOUCH-ME-NOT | all | TOYON BERRY | berries | TRILLIUM | foliage | TRUMPET VINE | all | TULIP | all | | V | | VENUS FLYTRAP | all | VERBENA | foliage, flowers | VIRGINIA CREEPER | sap | | W | | WATER HEMLOCK | roots, foliage | WILDFLOWER | leaves, flowers | WILD PARSNIP | underground
roots,
foliage | WISTERIA | all | | Y | | YAM BEAN | roots, immature
pods | YELLOW STAR
THISTLE | foliage, flowers | YEW (all
varieties) | needles, seeds |
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| All Creatures Animal Hospital |
1894 Ohio Pike
Amelia, OH 45102
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| Phone: 513-797-PETS |
| Fax: 513-797-7388 |
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