Japanese Painted Fern

• Common Name: Japanese Painted Fern
• Latin Name: Athyrium niponicum
• Family Name: Dryopteridaceae

Although not all ferns are toxic, and Galapagos tortoises have been observed eating ferns in the wild, some ferns contain carcinogens and many contain thiaminase, which depletes the body of the Vitamin B complex.  Because many ferns are difficult for the non-specialist to ID, and because ferns in general are not that palatable to tortoises, we recommend avoiding the feeding of ferns unless you know for certain that a specific species is safe to feed to your tortoise.