Milk thistle or thistle ok for beardie???

[SamTX]

Hi, y'all!
I'm curious that if thistle or milk thistle is ok for BD?
general info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_thistle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thistle

I know that dandelion can be a stable diet but can milk thistle? stable or occasional?
any one with experience feeding these to BD?

B/c there are plenty of it here in the summer (backyard weed!), a bit less dandelion thou.
thanks!
???

 

[renich]

Hmm..I have never heard of it. Doing a quick google of it, it seems to be ok for beardies.

Please be careful of anything you find in the yard to feed your dragon. Pesticides may be on the thistle, which could harm your beardie. Pesticides remain present on the foliage for a number of years after they have been sprayed. When folks feed dandelions to their dragons, they are getting them from specialty stores or have grown their own.

 

[SamTX]

Hmm..I have never heard of it. Doing a quick google of it, it seems to be ok for beardies.

not much mention of it but this site mention it on top of page 4 of the pdf.
www.passionforpets.com.au/PFPCareSheetBeardedDragon.pdf
I can assume it is ok or safe.

Please be careful of anything you find in the yard to feed your dragon. Pesticides may be on the thistle, which could harm your beardie. Pesticides remain present on the foliage for a number of years after they have been sprayed. When folks feed dandelions to their dragons, they are getting them from specialty stores or have grown their own.

Well, isn't washing it well should suffice. I mean the veggies and fruits from groceries store been sprayed with pesticides too (from farmers, less with organic); all they need is a good washing and good to go, human and/or pets.
Then what's the difference with backyard weed ??? ( i understand the point with insect thou)

 

[renich]

Well, the reasons wild bugs are bad for domesticated bearded dragons is due to the bug coming into contact with pesticides, insecticides, or weedkiller. I understand what you are saying and I'm not a farmer. I would think the farmer uses 'safe' pesticides on their crops.

 

[SamTX]

Well, the reasons wild bugs are bad for domesticated bearded dragons is due to the bug coming into contact with pesticides, insecticides, or weedkiller. I understand what you are saying and I'm not a farmer. I would think the farmer uses 'safe' pesticides on their crops.

By "safe" you meant for human and bad for pest?
Well, if my small biology background serve me right, in brief, pesticide accumulate up the food chain and therefore the eagle (birds and others) that eat fish having high DDT (banned pesticide) will have egg shell thinning; leading to reduced reproductive success, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT#Effects_on_wildlife_and_eggshell_thinning

By "safe" you meant will have different effect on some size/species and not others? say worse on smaller size or lizards (beardie) instead of mammals (human).
Sound reasonable.
Therefore, NO wild caught insects.

So, if i understand correctly, in general, pesticide does not retain in plants (or not very well absorbed), therefore a good washing should be sufficient to remove it and safe for consumption; like veggies and fruits from groc stores we have now.

However, the case of herbicides (kill plants, week killer), they are designed to be absorbed and retained (?) by plant/weed to disrupt some sort of biological process therefore killing weed but not grass, etc.
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4927056_weed-killers-work.html

So, the question remains that if plant/weed retained herbicide, that did not kill the weed, and we feed it to our master, does it do harm? if herbicide/pesticide does NOT retain/accumulate in plants/weed, so a good washing before feeding should be fine.
Are we being unnecessarily protective and waste of hard-earned cash?
(analogy of herbicide to penicillin: penicillin kills bacteria that make us sick but not us)

Anyway, just want to put it out there and see if someone can help me figure this out.
???

 

[zebraflavencs]

This is what I found when I looked at it as a healing herb:
http://www.anniesremedy.com/herb_detail280.php
You will note only the seeds are used for herbal use.
You will also see under Constituents, these all note chemicals dealing with the liver.
I'd stay on the safe side and NOT use these as part of the diet.
Hope this helps out.