feeding my tort cactus

[Mickykayla]

Hey, I heard tortoise can eat cactus and that it is quite a good addition to their diet. Is this true? Are there better kinds of cactus than others? Are there any I should avoid? And obviously I will get rid of the spikes first
I quite like cactus and would like to grow some for him to eat.

Thanks for your help

 

[nicoleandrocky]

My tortoise loves prickly pear cactus

 

[wellington]

Prickly pear is what everyone feeds. I am not sure of others. You can order the spineless ones and they will grow will easy also. I can grow them and I live in Chicago.

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

It's great for them! I'd stick with prickly pear.

 

[nicoleandrocky]

It's great for them! I'd stick with prickly pear.

i agree

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

My tortoise loves prickly pear cactus

Ours also!

 

[JoeImhof]

My tortoise loves prickly pear cactus

Ours also!

Anyone have a RUSSIAN Tort who will eat Prickly Pear? I bought a box of a few pounds via mail, all 3 of my Torts ignore it always. They wont even think of taking a bite.........(bummer)

 

[Tyrtle]

My tortoise loves prickly pear cactus

Ours also!

Anyone have a RUSSIAN Tort who will eat Prickly Pear? I bought a box of a few pounds via mail, all 3 of my Torts ignore it always. They wont even think of taking a bite.........(bummer)

Our two eat the prickly pair pads. I dice them and toss them in along with some greens. They have eaten every piece.

 

[Tom]

Joe, you might need to chop it up really fine and mix in a small amount with their favorite greens. Eventually they will get used to the taste and texture and its really good for them.

MickyKayla, prickly pear is also referred to as "spineless opuntia". You can also find it in some ethnic supermarkets. We have a lot of Mexican grocery stores here in CA and they label it as "nopales". Its very easy to grow yourself in pots or in the ground outside. The fruits are good for them too on occasion. I also occasionally feed organ pipe cactus with the spines cut off. I have a big ancient stand of it at my place, so I chop away at it every so often.