Bedding Questions

[Seth Tyler]

Hey guys,

So I am switching my bedding of my sulcata here soon to orchid bark. He is about 9 months old. How long is this a viable bedding and when should I change to another type of bedding? I see all over the site to do this for hatchlings and newborns, but I don't know what my little guy is categorized as or if he needs another more mature, bedding. Let me know and what age he can use this bedding until!

Thanks!
Seth

 

[Speedy-1]

No reason it cant be used until he is ready to move outside . Have you read Toms posts ? http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
They will probably answer most , if not all of your questions !

 

[Seth Tyler]

Hey speedy,

That is helpful but he lives with me in upstate New York, which is known for a lot of snow and cold winters, so I can only have him outside in this season when weather praises. So I really do need bedding for an indoor enclosure as well!

 

[Speedy-1]

Hey speedy,

That is helpful but he lives with me in upstate New York, which is known for a lot of snow and cold winters, so I can only have him outside in this season when weather praises. So I really do need bedding for an indoor enclosure as well!

Sounds like your biggest problem will be devoting a large enough area inside to give him the space he needs. Orchid bark should be fine. According to what I read , your tort is a "hatchling" up to 1 year ! See more here ; http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/basic-tortoise-age-terms.48214/

 

[Tom]

Orchid bark is good for any age or size sulcata. It will work just fine for a large adult indoors over winter too.

 

[Seth Tyler]

Hey tom, a little confusion when I was at the store. Is orchid bark and fir bark the same thing? If not is fir also acceptable bedding? They didn't have orchid bark and when I googled for it, a lot of fir bark options came up!

 

[Tom]

Hey tom, a little confusion when I was at the store. Is orchid bark and fir bark the same thing? If not is fir also acceptable bedding? They didn't have orchid bark and when I googled for it, a lot of fir bark options came up!

Yes. Orchid bark = fir bark. I like to buy it in bulk at the garden centers. Its much cheaper than at the pet stores that way. Get the "fine" grade.

 

[Seth Tyler]

I bought from the pet store this time but next time I'll go to a local garden shop. I didn't get a huge bag! The stuff I got is from zoomed I can assume it's good but it doesn't say the grade of the bark on whether it's fine or not. Although it says it's been triple clean to remove larger pieces etc. should be alright correct?

 

[Tom]

I bought from the pet store this time but next time I'll go to a local garden shop. I didn't get a huge bag! The stuff I got is from zoomed I can assume it's good but it doesn't say the grade of the bark on whether it's fine or not. Although it says it's been triple clean to remove larger pieces etc. should be alright correct?

The ZooMed stuff is safe and works well, its just expensive for a small quantity.