Opuntia Indica

[hoshi]

So Hoshi loves Opuntia. I pick out the thorns wash it up and cut it up for him.

My question is .. in the wild, no one's going to remove the thorns for them. So, how is this a staple food? How do they eat it in the wild and avoid the thorns, which are all over the pad?

 

[Yvonne G]

No one has to remove the "thorns" (glochids) for them in captivity either, Batman!

 

[tortoises101]

Agreed.

 

[HLogic]

There are some varieties of Opuntia that should have the spines burned, broken or otherwise 'disabled'; although in the wild they will eat them as is and sometimes suffer punctures through the tongue and cheek which doesn't seem to bother them - but it does me!

...and some that are spineless but have glochids that you can remove or not. I find that soaking them for a while softens most of the glochids to a point where they can be sprayed off with the hose.

There are some varieties that are both spineless and glochid-free. I ain't that lucky.

BTW, if you ever get glochids stuck in your skin, try rubbing the affected part in your hair (before trying to remove them otherwise). Warning, do not attempt this removal method for 'gluteal glochidosis' - it's not worth having to suffer the jokes...

 

[Mao Senpai]

The ones I ordered from edible cactus... doesn't really have any spines or spikes in them. They are smooth and pretty clean. http://www.rivenrock.com/ediblecactus.htm
In the picture it looks like it has something coming out but it's just soft green things which they will eat so it works out.

 

[HLogic]

The new pads, while they still have the green covers over the glochids pose no problems for you or the torts. Older pads of both the spined and spineless varieties like the ones most people grow, drop the little green glochid covers and expose an array of short hair-like detachable spinelets. Although tortoises that eat them don't seem to be bothered by them, their owners may react differently to several dozen or hundred irritating, barbed intrusions on their hands or worse.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

The last pic is the kind that we get and are growing. No needles

 

[hoshi]

HLogic

We get the first pic here .. lots of thorns that sting! I'm very careful and I make sure I remove them, wash the pad throughly before feeding. Would be cool to find the 2nd variety. Unfortunately online shops don't ship international to India.