Re: pothos for russian?

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Posted by LauraO on June 27, 2001 at 13:31:14:

In Reply to: Re: pothos for russian? posted by Eric T. on June 27, 2001 at 12:18:26:

: Eric is right. In my research for the future CCA website, I've learned quite a bit about pothos. For one thing, it has an extremely high oxalic acid content; to the point where my own vet warned against me feeding it to my prehensile tailed skinks on the premise that it would burn their digestive tract. I have published papers where the author claims that he witnessed PTS eating a species of plant (I don't remember if it was a plant in the same genus as pothos or a species of Piper vine)with such a high oxalic acid content as to exude milky juices out of the stems, with noticeable crystals of these acids protruding. The author noted that most animals would not dare be able to consume such a substance and was suprised by his find.

I am looking deeper into the subject at this time. But considering the statments of these two professionals, and the fact that pothos is alleged to originate in the Solomon Islands rainforests where Russian torts do not come from, I would advise against using pothos as a food.

On top of all this, the fact that the Solomon Islands of pothos is only an established rumor, and that the true beginnings of pothos are not truly known, means you would be feeding out a plant about which little is known at all. The International Aroid Society lists pothos as a cultivar of the true main food of the Prehensile Tailed Skink; Epipremnum pinnatum cv aureum. Pothos also often goes by the name Scindapsus ( don't recall is that is a genus or species name) but it generally refers to the same plant in herper circles.

If you want to check into this further, I believe the website for the IAS is www.aroid.org. If this doesn't work, email me privately and I'll double check.

Laura
CCA

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Re: pothos for russian? Stoli 06/27/01 (1)
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: : Eric is right. In my research for the future CCA website, I've learned quite a bit about pothos. For one thing, it has an extremely high oxalic acid content; to the point where my own vet warned against me feeding it to my prehensile tailed skinks on the premise that it would burn their digestive tract. I have published papers where the author claims that he witnessed PTS eating a species of plant (I don't remember if it was a plant in the same genus as pothos or a species of Piper vine)with such a high oxalic acid content as to exude milky juices out of the stems, with noticeable crystals of these acids protruding. The author noted that most animals would not dare be able to consume such a substance and was suprised by his find. : I am looking deeper into the subject at this time. But considering the statments of these two professionals, and the fact that pothos is alleged to originate in the Solomon Islands rainforests where Russian torts do not come from, I would advise against using pothos as a food. : On top of all this, the fact that the Solomon Islands of pothos is only an established rumor, and that the true beginnings of pothos are not truly known, means you would be feeding out a plant about which little is known at all. The International Aroid Society lists pothos as a cultivar of the true main food of the Prehensile Tailed Skink; Epipremnum pinnatum cv aureum. Pothos also often goes by the name Scindapsus ( don't recall is that is a genus or species name) but it generally refers to the same plant in herper circles. : If you want to check into this further, I believe the website for the IAS is www.aroid.org. If this doesn't work, email me privately and I'll double check. : Laura : CCA

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