Mulberry leaves for dragons??

[beth wallbank]

i have a HUGE mulberry tree, and was wondering, are the leaves safe and healthy for dragons to eat?

[Capital Dragons]

Hi Beth, I have no idea if mulberry leaves are safe for dragons but they might be listed here.link (http://envhort.ucdavis.edu/ce/king/PoisPlant/SAFE-COM.htm) But if you have a supply of mulberry leaves you might want to try raising silk worms. They are great food for dragons and you need mulberry leaves for them to eat. Just a thought....

[beth wallbank]

Thanks for the reply. I tried silk worms. couldnt stand the escapee moths. Well if anyone close by has silkmoths come and raid the tree. Trust me, theres lots to go around.

[Icefire]

escapee? lol you should let the moth die, they do after ~5 day of
mating. than you collect the eggs :)

[sexxie_cucumber]

Originally posted by Capital Dragons
Hi Beth, I have no idea if mulberry leaves are safe for dragons but they might be listed here.link (http://envhort.ucdavis.edu/ce/king/PoisPlant/SAFE-COM.htm) But if you have a supply of mulberry leaves you might want to try raising silk worms. They are great food for dragons and you need mulberry leaves for them to eat. Just a thought....

If it turns out to not be safe for dragons why feed them to your dragons food?

[Big Mike]

If it turns out to not be safe for dragons why feed them to your dragons food?

Mulberry leaves are what silk worms eat...we know that. Silkworms are safe (very nutritious) for beardies...we know that.

Even if they might not be safe to eat directly...the silk worms process the leaves so that they themselves are safe.

[DragnDrop]

Mulberry leaves are on the safe list for tortoises, chams and other vegetarian lizards, so I don't see why BDs can't eat them. I use them in my cricket gutload too.

The silkmoths don't live long, don't fly and don't eat, they're not likely to be pests. I let a lot of silkworms pupate just to get the moth treats for my leos, Rhacs and AFTs. One of my leos goes bonkers over them.
Are you sure the silk moths are escaping? I've had hundreds here and not one walked more than 2 feet from where it morphed.

[blazinreps]

hey iv been really wanting to raise silk worms and was wonderin iv any one knoiws iuf there is a difference between a mulberry tree and a mulberry bush cuz i wnet lookin for one at white rose and it said mulberry bush. if anyone knwos where i could egt a tree plz lemme know.

[Capital Dragons]

Originally posted by sexxie_cucumber
If it turns out to not be safe for dragons why feed them to your dragons food?

Well when I posted that link I was a little busy so I didn’t get a chance to check if Mulberry leaves were on the safe list. I just looked through it and they are not toxic so I guess dragons can eat them. They would probably like the verity.:D

[ReptiliansDOTca]

Originally posted by blazinreps
hey iv been really wanting to raise silk worms and was wonderin iv any one knoiws iuf there is a difference between a mulberry tree and a mulberry bush cuz i wnet lookin for one at white rose and it said mulberry bush. if anyone knwos where i could egt a tree plz lemme know.

Just as a forewarning, mulberry tries get quite large. You can likely find them at your local plant store, such as the department in Home Depot.

[DragnDrop]

Weeping Mulberry trees stay shorter than the normal type. I prefer the fruiting ones over the non-fruiting, so I can maybe get some berries if the birds and squirrels are kind enough to leave some. :)

[beth wallbank]

just to let you all know, mulberry leaves are a huge hit with the dragons. Cant wait to see if they like the berries that are starting to bud. And to those breeding mealies, they are a hit with them too.

[pythonmdk]

Mullberry leave are a great source of calcium, even more so then strawberry leaves, dandelions, and collard greens. I have been feeding mine beardies and iguana them ever since I found out that silk worms were a great source of calcium and have had no problem at all and can really see the benifit they have had on my animals. If you can get them use them, they add great nutrients and variety to your animals diet, I have also found they like grape and cherry tree leaves as well. Good luck
~John

[DragnDrop]

Originally posted by pythonmdk
I have also found they like grape and cherry tree leaves as well. Good luck
~John

I wouldn't feed cherry leaves to any animal. They contain prunasin, a cyanide precursor.

Check out The Iguana Den - Iguana Diet - toxic plants. (http://www.iguanaden.com/diet/toxic.htm) You'll find cherry tree on the list.

For more detailed info:

All species of cherry leaves are poisonous.

Animal Science at Cornell University (http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/db2www/plant_indiv.d2w/PHOTO?keynum=68)

Scientific Name: Prunus spp.

Common Name: Wild Cherries, Black Cherry, Bitter Cherry, Choke Cherry, Pin Cherry

Poisonous Parts:
seeds, leaves
Primary Poisons:
amygdalin, prunasin


Also more info: School of Veterinary Medicine Purdue Univ. (http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/plant46.htm)
This page has a description of what the toxins are in the leaves, pits and bark.
Though this page talks about wild black cherry, it's also the same with the cultivated ones we use as fruit though with cultivated ones, the fruit is safe to eat.

[pythonmdk]

Hey thanks for the info, I haven't had any problem befor but its better to be safe them sorry, so I guess no more cherry leaves for everyone.
Thanks