are mango and papaya leaves safe?

[Yeti]

I saw dried mango leaves & dried mango leaves at the pet store. Are these safe to use in a hamster cage? Thanks.

 

[Maz]

Mango and Papaya are safe fruits for hamsters - unless it’s a dwarf hamster or Chinese hamster then fruits are best avoided. Whether the leaves are ok I am really not sure as I’ve not come across that before.

Personally I would avoid them just because there isn’t much known about it and some fruits can be safe but the leaves unsafe.

Mango leaves up to a certain amount were found to have no toxic effects in rats however - but that doesn’t necessarily mean they would be safe for hamsters.

Evaluating the toxicity of mango leaf extract at high doses

Research conducted in rats showed no observed adverse effect of mango leaf extract at the highest dosage tested.

www.hindawi.com

Likewise no real toxicity occurred in rats with papaya leaves up to a certain amount given. But again that doesn’t mean it would be the same for hamsters.

Safety Evaluation of Oral Toxicity of Carica papaya Linn. Leaves: A Subchronic Toxicity Study in Sprague Dawley Rats

The subchronic toxicity effect of the leaf extract of Carica papaya Linn. in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats was investigated in this study. The extract was prepared by dissolving the freeze dried extract of the leaves in distilled water and was administered ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Daisy]

They both seem to be edible and sometimes eaten by people so I would think they are safe but I haven't actually heard of anyone feeding them before.

 

[Yeti]

Yeah the intention isn't for the hamsters to actually eat them, I was just going to use them as leaf litter, so ingestion is possible but not really the point.