cactus?

[jeffjeff]

i found a couple these on sale for 30p due to a little damage. i'm think they are small prickly pear but not 100%. i figured for that price they where worth grabbing. unfortunately i have no idea what to do with them. do i just feed them as they are? or do i need to do any thing with them? can i get seeds or cuttings from them to grow more? thanks

 

[ditzyangeluk]

I am no expert so don't quote me but yes, certainly looks like prickly pear to me and I would have grabbed them too (I never find such bargains!!) I was researching these the other day and apparently, to grow more, you literally jjust lay them on the dirt and they seed from the prickly bumpy bits and grow from there! Amazing eh.

 

[THBfriend]

Could be opuntia / pricky pear, but I'm not sure either. Looks like it has glochids, tiny prickles. I only fed opuntia to my tortoises a few times, and always removed the glochids before. I know that some tortoises, especially larger ones, appear to have no problem eating them as they are, but I'd be worried they hurt themselves anyway.
As far as I know, you can propagate the cactus simply by removing one of the pads and sticking it in substrate, which should be relatively dry at first.

Edit: related topic.

 

[wellington]

Scrape or burn off the thorny parts. If you tort is little, chop it up fine. To replant, cut off the bottom part, where you can tell the root is and place in dirt or cactus substrate. Water about once a week just a little for about a month and keep it in the sun and you will grow more. When you buy just the pads, place them in a dark dry place and they will last quite a while for feeding.

 

[jeffjeff]

thanks for replying i'll try and grow some from them and see what happens. i've nothing to loose. i'm going to try feeding some of it today. it will be the first time he's had it hopefully he'll eat it. thanks again