Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The cactus I have growing in the yard for my torts has been flowering. My questions, do these fall off and die? Is this the fruit of the cactus that I hear people talk about? It looks like new sprouts of cactus, but instead of being flat they grow round with a flower on the end. I know the flower dies and falls off, but do the little round cactus parts fall off? If they do, I want to tear them off and feed them to the torts before the fall off. If they don't, I want to leave them on to grow. Thanks for your help.

SK

Without knowing what variety cacti you have I can not say for sure. However, if it is an Opuntia (beaver tail type) the flowers last just a couple days, then the fruit will develop over several months. Tortoises will eat it at most phases, I try to feed when the fruit is just starting to turn color from green to reddish purple. The fruit is high in fiber, real low in protien, and should be part of a varied diet, not a staple. Feed the young leaves when they are produced in Spring. The fruit does not drop until overripe, in the Fall and Winter on my plants in Nor-Cal.