what kinds of cacti are edible?

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BekahBear

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i have been trying to research the answer to my question but havent had much luck. when it comes to all of the different types of cactus, which ones are edible for a sulcata tortoise? i live in the sonoran desert near Tucson AZ so we have tons of types of cactus here. i would burn or cut off the spines and cut up the cactus for my tortoises before giving it to them since they are still very little. i keep reading that everyone gives their torts the spineless prickly pear. i have been giving mine the wild prickly pear cactus pads that grow here and they love it. it has tons of thorns both big and small though, so i harvest it with BBQ tongs and use an open flame to take care of the thorns without a problem. what about all the other cacti? are all of the different types of prickly pear cactus edible? what about the different kinds of cholla, barel cactus, etc? any help is appreciated. if my sulcatas can have the different types of cactus i would love to offer it to them as part of a varied diet.

i posted another thread in the plant identification area asking about some weeds i found on my property but does someone know where i can find a list of the plants from my area specifically that are safe for my tortoises? if i know exactly what to look for when it comes to safe plants then i will ignore anything i dont recognize.
thanks :)
 

Redstrike

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I feed my redfoots two species from the genus Opuntia. There's lots of that out there, it has big flattened pads.

Other than that, I'm not sure but I'd guess most are once the spines are removed. We've got some real cacti enthusiasts on here, I'm sure they'll chime in shortly with more information.
 

conservation

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I feed and grow the "Spineless" varieties because it is safer for all involved. I grow a bunch of varities of it. I can send you some spineless pads to plant. they grow fast.
 
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