Delaware's First Cactus!

[Kayti]

t_mclellan sent me what looks like a life time supply of cactus! I served it up yesterday, and everyone went nuts for it! It's so awesome!
Thanks again Tom!

Delaware thanks you too!

 

[t_mclellan]

Like I said, I can fit a lot into those "If it fits, It ships" boxes!
With any luck the pieces you plant will keep Delaware busy for a long time!
& thanks for the clover.

Remember folks, You too can get some of these 100% TORTOISE FRIENDLY spineless Prickly Pear pads! (say that 3 time fast)
There cheep, CHeep. CHEEP! Heck we're givin'em away!
On a serious note, If ya want some PM me. We can do something.

 

[Candy]

You mean they don't have any spines at all on them? The ones I have across the alley from me do and they're big and kind of hard. Kayti, Delaware looks so happy does he have a hard time at all eating the skin of that Cactus? I almost always will cut some off for Dale because I figured it was too hard for him to eat?

 

[tortoisenerd]

No need to cut the skin off. Just slice the whole pad very small and thin unless your tortoise can manage to bite off chunks (for squash and cactus my tort can't bite off a chunk for example).

So are there naturally no spines on these, have they been removed, or are there only the easy to remove spines and thus they are called spineless?

Remember than although these cactus pads are a great part of the diet for desert torts (nutritious and found in the wild), they are very sweet (the only "fruit" I would feed my Russian) and can cause loose stools and such, so I personally believe these should be fed in smaller amounts, such as a bite or two daily on top of the food, or a larger amount once a week. I don't think they should be a huge percentage of the diet such as greens/weeds. You can plant a pad to harvest from. If you keep it dry in the fridge you may be able to get it to last awhile (wrap in paper towels and replace the towels to keep it dry).

 

[Kayti]

Remember folks, You too can get some of these 100% TORTOISE FRIENDLY spineless Prickly Pear pads! (say that 3 time fast)
There cheep, CHeep. CHEEP! Heck we're givin'em away!

lol!

I planted a few big old ones in my yard, and then a few smaller ones in pots in my house, and stuffed the rest in my fridge. Do you think I could freeze them? My fridge is kind of full with 4, soon to be 5 people's junk, but the freezer is almost empty.

I'm thinking these would make a good once a week or once every two week treat, is that a good amount?

Also, I think they make quite an attractive house plant!

 

[Shelly]

Those pads are also tasty chopped and fried with scrambled eggs (for humans.)

 

[franeich]

Dont freeze them. I chopped some up and froze them and when I tried to defrost a piece all the water came out of it and it was like a noodle.

 

[Jacqui]

Looks like he was really enjoying his new food item.

 

[t_mclellan]

Here is the plant your cuttings came from.
It belongs to my neighbor. The base is about 18" thick.

 

[ChiKat]

Oo I need to find some good cactus pads for Nelson. I found some at a nearby grocery store but they always look so floppy and not fresh
I might have to buy some from you Tom!

 

[dmmj]

That is a beatiful cactus plant I would estimate it's age at around 20 to 25 years based on the base measurement.

 

[Kayti]

Holy crap that's a huge cactus! I imagined it as many small ones with just the green part poking out of the sand.
I hope mine grows! Maybe someday I'll have a tree like that.

 

[Phill]

What kind of cactus is that?

 

[Kayti]

What kind of cactus is that?

Opuntia