Oxalic Acid, Cactus, others

[tortoisenerd]

I recently had a scare with my tort having a little bladder stone, and I cut out every source of oxalic acid that could have contributed, as there wasn't a clear-cut answer as to why he had it.

I'd like to add cactus back into his diet as he loves it, and it's apparently good for him. I am a little confused about to some claims that it has a high oxalic acid content, especially this article which says not to feed "mature pads", bigger than the palm of your hand:

http://www.tortoisegroup.org/new/infosheets/infosheet12.html

I can't find Opuntia near me easily, but the supermarket sells an edible de-spined cactus, and I fed ones smaller than my palm since I bought the smallest they had since it was sold by the lb and I have a hatchling....I need to check into exactly what type. I had been feeding him that as a little topping to his daily salad.

How can I find out the potential oxalic acid content of different cactus types? Is oxalic acid in cactus something I should be worried about, such as comparable to spinach, etc? Thanks in advance to anyone who can clear this up for me. I see some info that says to feed as much cactus to your tort as you can without making their poop overly runny, and some that say it can be a problem, but no numbers...and I'm a numbers person.

While it's easier to find nutritional stats on various greens, the misc weeds and cacti are tricky. I'd be interested in the stats on clover and chia too.

 

[Crazy1]

Kate, here are two sites that list the nutritional analysis of some foods. Keep in mind this is for human consumption mainly (so chia and clover did not register). Most cacti sold in stores are Nopales or Opuntia Cactus though they have been de-spined or are of the spineless variety.
Cactus in small a quantity is fine fed to small torts just remember they have small tummies and a small amount goes a long way. I only feed cactus to my hatchlings about once or twice a month (because it cause them runny stools). If you buy a pad plant it in some dirt it will more than likely grow then just cut a small snip out of the side when you need it. It will heal and continue to grow. Hope these help some.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrientprofile&dbid=82

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

Clover
http://www.fao.org/docrep/V2350E/v2350e0f.htm

Chia
http://www.eatchia.com/flax.htm

You can always try typing the plant you want to research then the words nutritional analysis into a search engine. Example: ‘dandelion nutritional analysis’
Hope this helps some.

 

[tortoisenerd]

I was feeding him a bite or two every day (literally I cut it up bite size and it took us a month to go through a small pad, with a lot of waste as I cut off rotting parts and the spines), and it wasn't causing runny stool. I was curious if that could still be too much. I still can't find the oxalic acid content of cactus, chia, or clover on those sites. I have no problem finding the nutritional content in general though. Sorry to be such a pain!

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Thank you so much for the research though.

 

[Tim/Robin]

Here is a 2005 study out of Germany that states some Opuntia has higher content when mature. http://expertos.conabio.gob.mx/adjuntos/OpuntiaStems.pdf It says lists the amount as 35g/100g fresh weight for some Opuntia, now it is anyone's guess if that is too much. The Nopalea cochenillifera, formerly known as Opuntia cochenillifera found oxalic acid was only present in trace amounts. If you PM us and we will help you get your hands on some of the Nopalea. It can be rather confusing.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Wow that was very informative--thanks! Sent you a PM.

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Upon further reading of that article it looks like the oxalic acid reading (note c, dry weight) is in mg/100g not g/100g, so that's only .035g/100g. When compared to spinach at 0.96g/100g for example, it looks like it shouldn't be much of a worry. Does this look right? Oh the lengths we got for the torts....

 

[Tim/Robin]

Good catch Kate, you are right on the amount being 35mg/100g. Also nice comparison with the Spinach.

 

[mlocke4548]

Seriously cactus is the BEST food for torts. It grows in their native habitats. It is true that is causes runny stool, but to no I'll affect to the tortoise. I have thirteen torts, three different species and they all eat cactus and love It. P.s. I to not despine the pads the spines are so small the tortoises don't even notice or care.