Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'll be getting two bay stars, 6 months old. Cactus pads are available at my supermarket. How does one prepare these pads? Should they be peeled and cut up real small or mashed? Anyone with experiene feeding babies cactus would be appreciated. Bill

In short, take the spins off, slice into thin strips around 1-2mm thick. Small chunks also work. For larger torts I cut into french fry size pieces.

Useful tools for preparing cactus:
1. A pine-apple knife works good for removing spins - http://mgrsti5481a.seamlesstech.biz/Templates/frmTemplateS.asp?CatalogID=173&Zoom=Yes&SubFolderId=32

2. Some people use a small blow-torch to remove spins

3. I often put on rubber gloves to avoid the spins

4. They sell knifes for preparing cactus. They work pretty good and can be found at: http://www.mexgrocer.com/10064.html

5. A regular knife with a cutting board gets the job done.

6. Fine tipped tweezers to pull spins out of your fingers

7. A razor to cut off the top of imbedded spins that you can not get with the tweezers so it doesn't hurt as much

The smile your tortoise gives you for your effort - priceless!

And before feeding them the cactus strips - coat them in calcium powder (w/D3 if they're indoors).

Ernie