# Star fruit?



## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Is star fruit safe to give to dogs? I can't find anything regarding toxicity, if any.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

No idea. Do subscribe to WDJ? You might want to email their editorial staff and ask them. They might know. They seem to know everything about this sort of stuff. 

Starfruit. I had to google it. 








Hey, weren't you doing prey model?


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Ok. Wait. I'm doing some deductive googling over here. 

Wikipedia (ok not a great scientific resource but still) says: Individuals with kidney trouble should avoid consuming the fruit, because of the presence of oxalic acid. Juice made from carambola can be even more dangerous owing to its concentration of the acid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carambola

Then I googled oxalic acid.

And found this: 

I'm a vet nurse and if your dog ingested the oxalic acid you would know by now and you would have a very sick dog on your hands. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080518012733AAEtwew

Now the question above was about industrial oxalic acid. But oxalic acid is oxalic acid, yes? 

Oh wait, I found this too. 

Antifreeze is a major danger to a dog exploring a garage. It's an odorless fluid with a sweet taste that dogs in particular have a fondness for. Poisoning is swift; around a tablespoon is deadly to an average-sized dog, and the mortality rate is about 88 percent. The dog's liver actually turns against itself. *The liver breaks down the antifreeze and changes it into oxalic acid. A dog cannot metabolize this substance, and this is what leads to the health problems and often death. *
http://www.petco.com/Content/Article.asp...1&articleID=308


Ok, none of these sources are super-duper veterinary sources, but I'm posting as I google.









So it appears to me that at best starfruit is likely a bad idea. At worst, it's toxic.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Nice sleuthing there! It definitely would not have been a regular treat as this is the first time we have the fruit in years, but I suppose it is best to err on the side of caution. 

I don't sub to WDJ even though I probably should. As for diet, I am mostly doing prey model but Renji will also get fruits and veggies too, usually fresh and as-is, mostly for treats because he likes them. He gets a little bit of everything.


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## KCandMace (Apr 8, 2008)

Phew! Glad to know about the starfruit. 
I guess the more the merrier for me!


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## Qyn (Jan 28, 2005)

Yuck to starfruit anyway - why would any "normal" dog concede to eat it?? It adds to appearance but not to taste - yeah ..... yuk yuk yuk!!


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Is it icky? It's very pretty, and when I saw the photos, I thought, gosh, why haven't I ever eaten that?

But if it's yucky and will almost certainly be expensive (jet fuel prices being what they are), I'll stick with local cherries, berries and uh, mustard greens.









Truly, we learn from each other.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

I think it tastes "good funky." It's a very odd flavor, kinda weird, but actually pretty good. I'm sure it'd be better mixed in a fruit salad that contains pineapple, but it's not bad.


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## Maedchen (May 3, 2003)

I think Wikipedia is a bit over the top with their warning about oxalic acid.







You'd probably have to eat a WHOLE LOT of it and repeatedly to cause any potential problems (like kidney stones). Spinach, kale and other also have oxalic acid, but their nutritional benefit far outweight the oxalate hype IMO. 

I haven't tried star fruit myself, but wouldn't worry giving it to the dog on occasion if he likes it. 
Bon appetit!


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

MMMMMMMmmmm. Starfruit was on my German wedding cake!







Quite a few foods that we do give our dogs has oxalic acid to some degree. Here's a link.. might be helpful, might not?

http://growingtaste.com/oxalicacid.shtml


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## Qyn (Jan 28, 2005)

It is a very interesting and attractive looking fruit and I thought it might be interesting to try but the taste (to me) was kind of "nothing" to "unpleasant" and the unpleasant is what I retained - maybe it was not ripe or over-ripe







. I know tastes vary so I did not mean to discourage anyone from trying it. I am not sorry I tried it, I was just disappointed.


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

This was a local fruit (along with mango) when I lived on St. Croix. 

Its not really a fruit you eat by itself. Most locals would mix it in with salads and make drinks out of it to. (I dunno how excatly, I just tried some)

Depending on when you get it depends on its taste. Its more of a bittersweet type of fruit, but can be good mixed in the right combo of other foods.

Baily would get a hair up her butt for one sometimes and pick one that had fallen on the ground. Along with mangos and cocnuts...although she never figured out how to get into those so she just played with them...lol.

She got them sparingly and never had a problem.


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## Qyn (Jan 28, 2005)

Thanks for that information.


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## kallie (Sep 3, 2001)

What the heck is a star fruit anyway? Gosh I'm in the South, maybe we don't have star fruit here...


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## Qyn (Jan 28, 2005)

Starfruit picture


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