We don’t have Mexican markets close to us but I was near a popular one in “North County” and stopped in to buy some cheap spices and meat; Mexicans eat the whole cow so you can find some interesting things for not a lot of money. Beef neck bones anyone? They cook up like oxtail but with less fat. Or so I hear; it’s my first time cooking them. As always, my caveats are living in a very high cost of living area, what seems cheap to me may seem outrageous to you. I live in Southern California, so some of this food is locally sourced and more easily available. YMMV.
Naturally I looked at the produce section to see what might be useful for tortoises.
The first thing I noticed was this aloe. I have never seen aloe priced this low, not even close.
Just above them were turnip leaves, at a pretty good price.
Squash blossoms, another good price. That price is for two bundles, not two flowers!
There are several kinds of cactus here, cleaned and cut for salads. The price is fair but not as low as my farmers market.
Aha! Here’s the cheap stuff. It’s got the prickles still on it but I don’t take those off, just feed the whole thing to my Russian.
Winter squashes are a pretty good deal here and not too large for a household the size of mine (our small tortoise is only going to get a few bites.
Russians don’t eat mangos but other tortoises do and this is a very good price around here.
I forgot to take a picture of dried jamaica—hibiscus flowers—it’s made into a drink. You can find a small one or a very big one for a good price, fit the bag to the tortoise!
I wouldn’t buy them for a tortoise but had to take a picture of these weird seed pods to figure out what they were: guajes. They are peeled to get to the seeds, which can be cooked or dried for a snack. Seems like a lot of work for very small seeds so they must be delicious! On second thought, there is a lot of pod there relative to the seed so perhaps they are a better choice than some of the legumes I occasionally feed.
Naturally I looked at the produce section to see what might be useful for tortoises.
The first thing I noticed was this aloe. I have never seen aloe priced this low, not even close.
Just above them were turnip leaves, at a pretty good price.
Squash blossoms, another good price. That price is for two bundles, not two flowers!
There are several kinds of cactus here, cleaned and cut for salads. The price is fair but not as low as my farmers market.
Aha! Here’s the cheap stuff. It’s got the prickles still on it but I don’t take those off, just feed the whole thing to my Russian.
Winter squashes are a pretty good deal here and not too large for a household the size of mine (our small tortoise is only going to get a few bites.
Russians don’t eat mangos but other tortoises do and this is a very good price around here.
I forgot to take a picture of dried jamaica—hibiscus flowers—it’s made into a drink. You can find a small one or a very big one for a good price, fit the bag to the tortoise!
I wouldn’t buy them for a tortoise but had to take a picture of these weird seed pods to figure out what they were: guajes. They are peeled to get to the seeds, which can be cooked or dried for a snack. Seems like a lot of work for very small seeds so they must be delicious! On second thought, there is a lot of pod there relative to the seed so perhaps they are a better choice than some of the legumes I occasionally feed.