How do I serve cactus pads to my torts?

[thatrebecca]

On my lunch hour today I was walking through Grand Central Market in downtown LA and saw a Mexican grocer peeling the spines off a giant pile of nopales cacti. Naturally, a little tortoise-shaped lightbulb went off over my head.

Anyway, I bought 3 large pads from him for $1. Now I'll be bringing them home to my two recently acquired juvenile desert torts, Gomez and Morticia, who, as far as I know, have never had cactus before. (They eat grasses, dandelions, greens, flowers, squashes and sprouts).

How much should I give them? Should I shred it? Mince it? How long do the pads last in the fridge?

Thanks in advance for replies. You guys are a huge resource.

 

[theelectraco]

I usually buy the thin nopales pads from the grocery store (because that's all they have) and it lasts for 2 weeks in the fridge. I have a 4 inch tortoise, and when feeding cactus I slice it into thin pieces and mix with other foods. Mine isn't the biggest fan of eating cactus by itself.

 

[wellington]

You can serve it in the manner you suggested or you can just chop it. Don't put the cactus that you don't feed in the frig. Must cut off the amount you want to use and put the rest in a warm dry place. It will last a long time. If you want, you can even plant the root looking end into soil and it will grow for you. I would only give them a little at first. If they don't eat it then plant the rest and try again in a few weeks or months.

 

[Laura]

dice it up and it will keep for a while..
and plant it.. I did and have a HUGE plant growing and blooming now!

 

[kathyth]

OMG! Those names are great. I think you need one more, Eddie!
Very funny!

 

[thatrebecca]

Hah! Glad you like the names. Wish I could take credit, but they came from a family that already had a Pugsley and a Wednesday.

Thanks for the advice on the cactus. I've shredded some up to put in with their usual breakfast. We'll see how they like it.

 

[thatrebecca]

Well the first cactus breakfast at our house went over like gangbusters! Gomez and Morticia's little beaks had no trouble breaking into the nopales pad, and they devoured it. I had shredded some up in a cheese grater in case it was tough for them, but that turned out to be unnecessary --in fact it was messy and attracted bugs to their dish, so I wouldn't do that again. Cactus is what they'd be eating in the wild and they're perfectly equipped to do so without my help. Here's a pic of Morticia demonstrating.

 

[N2TORTS]

You should always select a nice "Cabernet Sauvignon"…as it tends to blend well with the cacti’…

JD~

 

[thatrebecca]

Hahahahaha! Duly noted.

 

[sibi]

You see, eventually you'll figure it out. When I read your thread, I was gonna answer, "one at a time." And I meant it. My torts love the stuff and I simply feed it to them. I never cut it up, or diced it or shredded it. They know how to really chomp down on it all by themselves.:-D