Christmas Cactus

[Cherbear]

I just want to double check before I put this in my little leopards tank. I bought a small christmas cactus at Lowe's and was wondering if I put it in there that it is safe? If the flowers were to fall off and he ate them, I wouldn't want him to be hurt.

 

[ChiKat]

I believe Christmas Cactus is edible (though I would wait for someone else to confirm/deny this) HOWEVER you should never give your tortoise a plant that you just purchased from Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.
They are full of pesticides/chemicals and can make your tort ill.
You should plant it in new soil, water the heck out of it, and wait several months before it can be fed.

 

[Candy]

Yes it's o.k. It's on the list for our Cherryheads to eat, but I don't know if Lowe's has sprayed it with anything so you might want to be careful.

 

[dmmj]

If I remember correctly the store themselves do not spray with anything but water, it is the growers who do so. I asked the garden person at both my local home depot and lowes and they said they use nothing but water. you should still do what was mentioned above but if the plant has been there for like 6 months or more it should be safe.

 

[DeanS]

The basic rule of thumb is one month after you buy it, you can feed it...give the chemicals/pesticides a chance to degrade. And yes, Christmas cactus is edible.

 

[Cherbear]

Thanks so much! I'll repot it and wait a while then. Can the soil have fertilizer(sp?) in it or does it need to be plain soil with nothing added. I definitly don't want to do anything to make him sick since he is doing so well, and growing nicely.

 

[DeanS]

Plain soil! Let it sit in the new soil for 10 days before watering and then water once a month...unless you get rain then you don't need to do a thing!

 

[Cherbear]

I'll do that then, thanks!