Hi all,
I've kept redfoots (4) in the northeastern US for about 9 years. I see a lot of recommendations for cypress and hardwood mulch and coconut coir for our tortoises. I've used both and I have to say I'm concerned with the level of dust present in each. Occasionally I turn-over my mulch substrate for aeration and notice it's unbelievably dusty! I do add water for humidification but mulch is not exceptionally absorbent and the water isn't great at dust reduction in the long-run. I'm unable to obtain cypress mulch currently but have access to hardwood mulch. It's loaded with fungal knats, which is another strike against it!
I see a lot of statements turning folks away from sand and soil. I agree that playground sand is not a good substrate if used exclusively. It's likely difficult for a tortoise to walk on, dusty, and could lead to impactions if the animal(s) consume it. However, I'm curious about topsoils and soil mixes, especially in the context of a bioactive substrate. Specifically, I'm curious about the following:
Has/is anyone using anything different than mulch and coconut coir? Are you using a mixture/bioactive substrate?
How's the dust if you were to move things around?
What size enclosure are you using it for and how many tortoises?
Thanks for your thoughts.
@cdmay @allegraf @Madkins007 @Tom @Yvonne G @CharlieM - these are folks I'm familiar with, please everyone and anyone contribute to the thread.
I've kept redfoots (4) in the northeastern US for about 9 years. I see a lot of recommendations for cypress and hardwood mulch and coconut coir for our tortoises. I've used both and I have to say I'm concerned with the level of dust present in each. Occasionally I turn-over my mulch substrate for aeration and notice it's unbelievably dusty! I do add water for humidification but mulch is not exceptionally absorbent and the water isn't great at dust reduction in the long-run. I'm unable to obtain cypress mulch currently but have access to hardwood mulch. It's loaded with fungal knats, which is another strike against it!
I see a lot of statements turning folks away from sand and soil. I agree that playground sand is not a good substrate if used exclusively. It's likely difficult for a tortoise to walk on, dusty, and could lead to impactions if the animal(s) consume it. However, I'm curious about topsoils and soil mixes, especially in the context of a bioactive substrate. Specifically, I'm curious about the following:
Has/is anyone using anything different than mulch and coconut coir? Are you using a mixture/bioactive substrate?
How's the dust if you were to move things around?
What size enclosure are you using it for and how many tortoises?
Thanks for your thoughts.
@cdmay @allegraf @Madkins007 @Tom @Yvonne G @CharlieM - these are folks I'm familiar with, please everyone and anyone contribute to the thread.