Outside Buffet Favorites

[Kbell31]

When you have your skinks outside, what greens/flowers etc. have you seen them eat?

I have had Indah out a lot lately and she shocked me yesturday when she was trucking along in the grass with her tongue flicking and stopped dead in her tracks to munch on the purple deadnettle in the yard.

She looked so funny grabbing it with her mouth and trying to yank it out of the ground! She has been near it before and never tried to eat it, must have appealed to her that day.

[Linnea]

I realize you let your skink eat it in the best of interests, but many plants we have in regular gardens are quite toxic to eat >.<

i let my skink eat berries i pick outdoors, and dried apple/pear tree leaves (theyre not dangerous in small amounts, and im not quick enough to prevent it). i pick some of his staple meal salads outdoors like groblad and dandelion leaves.

[Lea]

:lol: mine would have anything from saltbush to chicken poop, but for their own safety we try and limit this to some native favourites, like the saltbush, berries, pick-their-own strawberries, herbs, such as basil, mint leaves and a few other plants, like nasturtium, dandelion and some succulents. They are partial to aloe varieties in summer, probably due to its high water content and slightly sweet taste.

I also feed a little Salvation Jane in season, while its toxic to many animals, it is both nutritious and palatable to the blue tongue and on the dry salt plains of SA, it can be the only food source around for weeks on end in such harsh conditions.

The flowers and berries on the saltbush varieties are both eaten, as are the leaves, when food is scarce, but they are kind of woody in texture and not their first choice, unless things are desperate.

I love seeing them forage for food, even if they make boo boos occasionally and try to go for the chicken poop! It must small good and nutritious, because I can't think why else they would opt for that rather than fresh picked strawberries, lol!

[Kbell31]

LeaBilby- that interesting!
I thought it was quite cute seeing her ripping at the deadnettle. I know she likes dandelions too but they arent up much now, just in the spring. If I had nasturtium I wonder what she would think of it. The basil she has left alone so far. If I had a berry bush of any kind she would be very pleased. I did plant a mulberry tree this year so when that gets fruit we will see how she likes them!
She has never attempted to eat the limestone in our driveway but I will continue to watch her really close when she is around that.

Linnea- I am very aware of the possibility of dangerous plants. Deadnettle is not one of them and it is safe for human consumption as well. There arent too many choices for her to pick up in the area I allow her in anyways. Just common clover, deadnettle, dandelions and plantar leaves. None are toxic. Thanks for the concern and maybe I should have added that in my post but I assumed it was common sense. It may be helpful to some newbies who may read the post so its there now.

[Lea]

[color=#8000BF]I think scotts1au and el lobo have a fair bit of knowledge on native wild foods, such as berries and plants. I am mostly familiar with those in my own area, but they vary from here to Victoria, where Scott is and again over to the Blue Mountains, NSW, where el lobo lives. There is an array of good foods to be found out in the bush, with skinks and other animals making do with something less than agreeable in taste and texture, when times are hard. You can almost see the revolt of kangaroos when you catch them munching on woody plants, like saltbush. The leaves can be tiny in some varieties and provide little energy after you take away the energy used to chew! When the summers are long and dry it feels a miracle when anything survives! The heat can be stifling and even standing in full sun briefly can have any human sweating profusely and feeeling a little woozy. A tiny creature such as the skink has a hard slog every day to find food, covering large distances on tiny legs to only partly fill their little tummies. I will never cease to be in awe of their determination and stamina when Nature seems so dead set against their survival.

The shinglebacks love my basil! It's a sweet variety, not like the purple or Thai basil and smells as inviting as a whole roast dinner! The scent alone seems to have some kind of appetite stimulant, not proven by any means, but if I chop up a little and put it in with their meal, even the picky eaters seem to perk up and take an interest. I know studies in humans have cited that mint has similar effects as an appetite stimulant, so maybe their is a little truth in it. The way they polish off their food, is proof enough for me!

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