Ok to plant opuntia in enclosure

[mini_max]

I got a nice little opuntia cactus and I'm wondering if I could plant it directly in my enclosure. Those little spines are kind of nasty, but I know the pads of this cactus are edible. Will the spines harm my Russian? Will he be smart enough to avoid?

 

[Jacqui]

They seem to manage them fine, however are you sure you want to risk losing your cactus?

 

[Itort]

They seem to manage them fine, however are you sure you want to risk losing your cactus?

Jacqui is right. Cactus + tortoise= 0 cactus. I would suggest putting a tort proof barrier around cactus and let tort have pads that overhang .

 

[Tom]

Some species eat the pads with spines and all, and show no ill effect. I have never seen this attempted with russians. Might be fine, might not.

I can tell you that a cactus planted in a tortoise enclosures will usually not last long.

 

[wellington]

I haven on experience with cactus growing in with the torts. I just wouldn't do it unless it was spineless. I don't want to cause a vet bill form a spine doing some possible damage. Just my opinion. Also, like they said, the cactus won't last long.

 

[mini_max]

Ok, thanks. I will keep the plant and harvest myself rather than letting Max do it