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ok i know that pickely pear fruit is good for torts I was just wondering if they can have the skin to of just the fruit? also is it ok for sulcatas to have thr fruit
prickly pear fruit
- Thread starter wildponey21
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RE: pickely pear fruit
The skin is fine to eat. They eat the whole thing in the wild.
The skin is fine to eat. They eat the whole thing in the wild.
RE: pickely pear fruit
Prickly Pear fruits are a great source of vitamin C and other nutrients. They are, however, high in sugars which is not typically a good thing for tortoises, particularly grazers. Think of it this way... The fruits are born high on the plant during a relatively short period once each year. They are eaten by every critter that can get to them. The lowly tort would only have access to those that happened to grow within reach and those that had already been partly devoured, somehow escaped being eaten altogether or were not yet ripe and fell to the ground. Although most tortoises relish these fruits and consume them with gusto, the truth is they encounter them very infrequently.
With that in mind, consider using the fruit as a treat once a week or less. Be sure to limit the amounts offered so that the high sugar content does not adversely affect their intestinal flora - much as you would candy for a child...
Prickly Pear fruits are a great source of vitamin C and other nutrients. They are, however, high in sugars which is not typically a good thing for tortoises, particularly grazers. Think of it this way... The fruits are born high on the plant during a relatively short period once each year. They are eaten by every critter that can get to them. The lowly tort would only have access to those that happened to grow within reach and those that had already been partly devoured, somehow escaped being eaten altogether or were not yet ripe and fell to the ground. Although most tortoises relish these fruits and consume them with gusto, the truth is they encounter them very infrequently.
With that in mind, consider using the fruit as a treat once a week or less. Be sure to limit the amounts offered so that the high sugar content does not adversely affect their intestinal flora - much as you would candy for a child...
RE: pickely pear fruit
Exactly, other than I'd suggest that once a month is plenty often enough, for all the reasons you state.
Around here, my mini-pig, Hamlet, gets most of the tunas that grown on my cactus plants.
HLogic said:
Exactly, other than I'd suggest that once a month is plenty often enough, for all the reasons you state.
Around here, my mini-pig, Hamlet, gets most of the tunas that grown on my cactus plants.
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RE: pickely pear fruit
well i have red foots and they love them my sulcacta get as a treat they are 1 years old
well i have red foots and they love them my sulcacta get as a treat they are 1 years old
RE: pickely pear fruit
Redfoots eat a lot more fruit naturally than many other tortoise species, so I'd think they'd be fine w/ a few tuna feedings a week. Babysitted a large redfoot for about a month, couple summers ago, and recall seeing her put away a lot of cantaloupe, apples and pears...her temporary pen was set up at the base of my best Bartlett tree and she was happy to be there!
wildponey21 said:
Redfoots eat a lot more fruit naturally than many other tortoise species, so I'd think they'd be fine w/ a few tuna feedings a week. Babysitted a large redfoot for about a month, couple summers ago, and recall seeing her put away a lot of cantaloupe, apples and pears...her temporary pen was set up at the base of my best Bartlett tree and she was happy to be there!
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