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.

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