Thank you Tom your always a great help [emoji4]Great tortoise food is what that is!
Like Orv said, its a variety of spineless opuntia. There are many varieties.
I feed whole pads to all ages of all species. I use small pads for smaller tortoises, but I leave them whole and let the babies bite their own chunks off of them. For tiny hatchlings I will sometimes break or cut them in half so the babies have an easier time biting chunks from the softer insides.
Thank you so much Orv[emoji4]What you have there is one of the Optima cactuses. It appears to be of the spinless variety. It makes a fine addition to the Sulcata tortoise's diet. How it is best fed depends upon the age and size of your Sulcata. For yearlings I'd puree and peel it and add it to the rest of the food. As your tort becomes a juvinle, I'd take bite-sized pieces and slice them open, exposing the inner meat and feed along with other appropriate foods. As your tortoise reaches maturity, the pieces can become larger and you probably will no longer need to slice the them. The very limited spines on the Optima don't seem to have any negative effects on the growing tortoise. When this cactus produces fruit, it may be given as a limited treat. Mummm . . . Optima, good.
Hehe thanks again Tom[emoji16]Plain dry dirt. Hopefully something sandy that drains well. Don't water it for a month after planting. They sell cactus planting soil if you'd rather buy it.
I fertilize mine with tortoise pooI wouldn’t think you want to use “normal” fertilizer on a cactus, but is there a way (or type of fertilizer) to promote more growth that is tortoise safe? Tortoises eat a lot, so I want the cactus patch I have to get bigger.
I have never fertilized any cactus or succulent. I don't think it is necessary. I have about 40 stands of different opunita and I grow more pads that I can feed to my 27 large adult tortoises and dozens of their babies. I cut about eight 5 gallon buckets of pads every week all summer long and I still end up giving more than 100 pounds to my buddy with the galapagos herd.I wouldn’t think you want to use “normal” fertilizer on a cactus, but is there a way (or type of fertilizer) to promote more growth that is tortoise safe? Tortoises eat a lot, so I want the cactus patch I have to get bigger.
I have never fertilized any cactus or succulent. I don't think it is necessary. I have about 40 stands of different opunita and I grow more pads that I can feed to my 27 large adult tortoises and dozens of their babies. I cut about eight 5 gallon buckets of pads every week all summer long and I still end up giving more than 100 pounds to my buddy with the galapagos herd.
The size of mine varies a lot, and some of them produce literally 10 time more than others. Some are 12 feet tall and others are four feet tall. The second and third year mature pads, which I think are best for planting, weigh a lot. I'd be happy to ship you some in fall when I massacre them and prune them WAYYYYYYYY down, but the shipping weight will cost a pretty penny.How big is one of your stands? I have so few “stands.” I have two or three little plants. I will need to buff up how many plants I have before I can produce that much. 40 stands is quite a few. Feel free to mail me some of your extra pads and I will get 40 stands started
Ok sure[emoji4][emoji108]Well, I would certainly be interested in looking into mailing a few of the pads. I didn’t realize they would be so heavy and cost a bunch to ship. Let’s talk next spring- if either of us can remember. Maybe a flat rate usps box would do the trick.