Reptile & Amphibian Forums

To remove the spines from prickly pear (Opuntia) pads: wearing heavy leather work gloves, scrunch up a couple of paper towels and rub the wad against the grain of the spines. Nearly all of the spines can be removed quickly and easily.

I tried various methods of refrigerating and freezing the pads for storage, but the best outcome was obtained by keeping them at room temp in a sunny spot, with ventilation on all sides. So far I've kept them for two weeks, and I suspect three weeks wouldn't be difficult.

If it's not already been done, someone ought to figure out how to freeze dry and market these things. I get them for $.39/lb near L.A., and quantity purchases could undoubtedly drive the base price way down.

I'm from AZ so I can just plant them and have them growing year round. I assume it makes it easy when raising arid/grassland species like Desert, Leopard or Sulcatta; I don't have one yet but hope to be a getting a Leopard soon...

I don't know how quickly these things can grow, but I hardly think
they can keep up with the appetite of a tortoise. Mine ate my
cactus as fast as I'd give it to him, I tried to spare it and
wait for it to grow, but there was no way that was happening.
He could finish off everything in your yard within days. So as
a treat they're nice, but as a staple, I don't think you could
keep pace. I'm now trying to grow some aloe vera plants and
he likes those a lot also, but again, it's just going to be a
treat. For a medium size tortoise (50-60 pounds), eating
6-10 large cactus pads a day (in addition to other foods) is nothing,
now long are those plants going to last at that rate? I wish
I could find a free replenishing source of these things!

I'm able to keep the spineless pads fresh for months at a time. I keep them in our wine cellar. It's dark, the temp varies from 55-60 degrees, and the humidity stays around 60-70%. I still have half a dozen I bought from English Angora back in September.

Interesting. I got passable results (2-3 wks) under refrigeration, but only if the pads weren't touching each other. If they touched, they rotted. I don't know what the humidity was, but I wonder if that was the difference....?

The pads will keep for some time in a dark, cool place. I only have a small Hermann's tortoise, so he doesn't go through the pads very quickly, but mine stay fresh for a couple months at least. I just cut a strip off as I need one, and the pad heals back up in about a day. Don't try to put them in water, though--they get slimy!
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Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.2 Hermann's Tortoises
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko

Over ten years ago I attempted to kill off a large Opuntia because of a chronic major mealybug infestation. It took two years to kill off the stump, and even in 2003 I was still finding "volunteers" here and there. I guess maybe I should just buy a year's worth of pads and throw them out over the back fence into the dry wash, and pick them up as needed.

Tnx for the comments--I'll keep trying.