It makes it so much easier to have a tortoise that actually loves hay. Jess could eat it all day. 
Eating hay
- Thread starter jojay327
- Start date
My big tortoises live most of the summer and fall on a diet of grass hay and cactus pads. I find the wet slimy cactus pads offset the dry grass very well. They occasionally get mulberry leaves and relatively small amounts of other stuff, but hay and opuntia make up the bulk.
I don't know what I'd do if they didn't eat hay.
I don't know what I'd do if they didn't eat hay.
Do you grow your own cactus or buy in bulk? I need to start growing but currently buy in bulk off eBay
I grow my own. I have about 40 stands of mature cactus of about 10 different types that I've collected over the years. I make so much that I give it away by the box load to friends and neighbors. My buddy with the Galapagos herd loves it when I bring over a box of cactus pads!
I got to figure out how to do that. Thanks Tom
My sulcatas also eat hay very well! But only after the green grass is gone haha
I've been collecting varieties that do well around me for years. When I see a stand of one that I don't have, I just ask the homeowner if I can take a few pads. I always offer to pay, but no one has ever accepted any money. They all seem to like the idea that I'm enthusiastic about their cactus. Other types have been given to me by friends, and I bought one type on sale at the hardware store.
If you don't find any near you, I would ask @Turtulas-Len . His climate is reasonably similar to yours and he might have some tips for starter pads for you of varieties that will do well in your area.
Here is how I plant them:
- Cut a pad off of a mature stand. I prefer second or third year pads that are tougher and more mature.
- Let the cut end scar over for a week or two. Leave the pad sitting outside in the shade in an area with good ventilation during this time. Cactus pads do not like to be in bags or boxes or any area with restricted air flow, and they do not need refrigeration.
- Stick the scarred over end into dry dirt so that 1/2 to 1/3 of the pad is buried and sticking up vertically. An area in full hot sun is best.
- DON'T water for one month. Watering it early can cause the pad to rot. If it rains there, as it so frequently does, then it rains, nothing you can do about it. Just try to use sandy soil that drains well if you can.
- After a month, I have to water mine once or twice a week in our scorching hot, super dry summers. I don't water at all over winter here. I'm guessing that in your climate with your humidity and abundant rain, you won't have to "water" at all.
~ Big fan of hay!
I wish my leopard would eat hay
I have tried presenting it all ways - chopped, soaked, sprayed -but it's totally ignored!
In fact he won't even graze on grass!
He gets Readigrass - ground up and sprinkled on his wet leaves but it would be fantastic if I could just throw in a pile of hay!
I have tried presenting it all ways - chopped, soaked, sprayed -but it's totally ignored!
In fact he won't even graze on grass!
He gets Readigrass - ground up and sprinkled on his wet leaves but it would be fantastic if I could just throw in a pile of hay!
