a new day, a new question- substrate

[moswen]

so, last night i went out to buy play sand and top soil because i've found that most people seem to have the least amount of debate and/or problems with this mixed 50/50 as being a good substrate, and i did manage to find play sand, but home depot only had one kind of organic soil; it was miracle grow, and it included manure.

i don't know about anyone else but i am hesitant to buy anything miracle grow, even if it is organic, because miracle grow just really makes me think of an ugly dead brown earth.... and i didn't want to put my torts on manure, seeing as to how they are famous for eating their own poop and dog poop anyways.

so, does anyone have a specific brand of topsoil that they prefer to use? also, my parents live on 5 acres and don't spray their yard with anything at all, could i go out and dig up some of their dirt and use that? i will be housing my torts outside in the summer time, so they'll be on oklahoma dirt eventually. thanks everyone!

 

[GBtortoises]

I use Miracle Gro. LOL

Seriously, I do use Miracle Gro Organic Potting Soil (not top soil). Have for years, never had a problem.

I don't use sand. I used to and found that it was stuck to the tortoise's eyes, mouth and anything else that had moisture, like their food.

I use a mixture of about 65% Organic Potting Soil, 20% Eco Earth (coconut coir) and the rest ground up sphagnum and leaf litter. This mixture retains moisture well but still allows a solid surface for them to walk on.

I don't know a thing about Oklahoma dirt but here in the hills where I live most of the native soil packs hard as a rock! In an indoor enclosure after the tortoises walking on it for a week or so it would be like concrete and would not retain much moisture unless mixed to the consistency of potting soil, which brings me back to the potting soil above!

Just a note-tortoises don't eat feces, their own or other animals, because they're trying to be nasty, they consume it for a reason. Usually because they are lacking something in their diet or more often lacking something in their digestive tract.

 

[terryo]

I just use the cheapest bag of soil. In fact right now my grocery store has it for $1.69 for a big bag. I mix it with peat moss, to keep it loose, and on top I throw some Cypress mulch. In his hide I just put long fiber moss ...lots of it...wet it with hot water, and fluff it up. I keep a lot of plants in his enclosure for humidity. Eventually as he walks on the substrate it flattens out, and I put some frog moss around the water dish to keep it clean. It's like a carpet to wipe his feet on before he goes into the water. I have a Cherry Head, so I guess this set up is for a forest type of tortoise.

 

[ChiKat]

I have my Russian hatchling on coco coir with a very small amount of sand mixed in (the sand was irritating his eyes) but I think I'm going to add some organic potting soil to it. GBtortoises, does your soil contain manure?
The coco coir is great but I want a somewhat more solid surface.

 

[moswen]

haha that is pretty funny... the previous owners of this house i'm in right now used miracle grow in their garden and the soil was SHOT. i had to bring in 4 wheelbarrows full of horse manure with a little bit of hay from my parent's house before i could even think about planting in it!

that's the exact problem that i have with this large grained calci-sand i bought from petco. it keeps getting in my little guy's eyes and in their necks, the play sand i bought is really fine so i thought it would be better. so you have not had problems with your sulcatas eating miracle gro's organic garden soil? i guess i will try that then. i'll try not to cringe when i pour it in their enclosures either lol!

also, i'm using coconut coir right now mixed with calci sand, and there are really long fibers in it, sometimes i see the torts walking around with a string hanging out of their mouths. once i tried to pull it out and the string that she had eaten was as long as she was! it made me nervous, i feel like that could bind up their intestines?

 

[GBtortoises]

I have my Russian hatchling on coco coir with a very small amount of sand mixed in (the sand was irritating his eyes) but I think I'm going to add some organic potting soil to it. GBtortoises, does your soil contain manure?
The coco coir is great but I want a somewhat more solid surface.

Miracle Gro Organic Potting Soil, like most (maybe all) potting soils does contain a small amount of fertilizer. According to the Scott company, makers of Miracle Gro Potting Soil, their fertilizer is "poultry litter", in other words, chicken poop. The percentage is very small and you absolutely do not see it or smell it. It's ground in with the rest of the material which like most potting soils consists of bark & peat moss. It does not contain perlite.
My wife is a out of control gardener and we actually make our own potting soil from rotting trees in the woods and other materials but I don't like to use it for the tortoises because you never know what kind of bugs and weeds may crawl out of it sometimes! Most potting soil isn't soil at all, it's ground up decay.
Most bagged potting soil contains some form of fertilizer. It's not enough to be a concern. I just don't like the stuff with perlite in it because it's a type of stone (lava stone I believe) which helps hold in moisture. But it is also small, solid and abrasive and I wouldn't want tortoises swallowing it.
The coconut coir is mixed with the potting soil, not as a stand alone substrate. The combination provide excellent footing, more so than sand. Sand you litterally have so soak to get it to hold it's form.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I use cypress mulch. I really like it. You can keep it moist and it doesn't mold or get in the eyes of our animals. I used to like fine grade orchid bark but I can't find it here in Oregon. In Sept or Oct I will take some tortoises to my sister and will buy a ****load of substrate to last me until my next visit to her. She was really great about sending me a big bag in the mail but that must have cost a fortune to send a 20 pound bag. I really liked the product, it smells good and holds moisture and it doesn't break down...