Bedding... help...

[Turboman]

Hi everyone! I'm sorry, I know it's a regular topic, but I need specific help. I wrote to a tortoise forum before, and the response I've got from an ignorant ;*s;$^ˇ was that if I don't use yard or forest soil as a bedding, I'm irresponsible, and shouldn't keep greek tortoises at all! That's an awful thing to say or even suggest. While I KNOW, that pretty much anything you can buy in the pet store as a bedding is bad for tortoises, at least I haven't found one thing that tortoise keepers recommended, I unfortunately cannot go into a forest and dig up and filter two huge bags of soil for the terrarium, I have no shovel, no car, I cannot fry it out (to avoid ants and other insects in the house) since it's not optional where I live. I tried it once, but it was days of messy misery running around from one place to another, and I didn't even get half the amount they needed.

I came up with the idea to use bio soil. I still use it, it appears to be great, it's cheap, I can order 12 bags for a year and the two greeks I have love it. BUT... according to the person above, soil like this is fertilized, so it's not recommended. Of course it's not. Nothing is, except the one thing I can't buy for money and can't possibly get home myself. PLEASE... I trust your experiences... I live in Hungary, so international shipping might be difficult, but even that I'm willing to take if you can just recommend me SOMETHING, that is definitely safe for my pets and possible to order, to buy somewhere. I really do want good for them, but I do not believe, that from dozens of possible beddings, the ONLY thing a tortoise keeper should use is that.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. What does it say on the bag? It should say if there is fertilizers or not? Does it say if it's organic? Can you purchase any that says it's organic?
A couple good substrates is coconut coir, orchid bark, peat moss.

 

[Turboman]

Hello and Welcome. What does it say on the bag? It should say if there is fertilizers or not? Does it say if it's organic? Can you purchase any that says it's organic?
A couple good substrates is coconut coir, orchid bark, peat moss.

Thanks. I'm not completely sure, it says it's about 50% organic material and that "it will take weeks before you have to use fertilizer after the use of this". I guess it has some in it. What I've heard about coir is that it irritates the eyes and might irritate breathing as well, bark and moss - they say gets blighted soon. I don't know how much is true about these. I might've overreacted a bit with the person, who I mentioned, I don't want to antagonize her. She's usually helpful, just... well I guess not very nice all the time. Anyways: I think I've got a tip where to buy regular soil, from a breeder in the city, I might just try my luck with him, but I'm open to suggestions as well. As I've said: I have no personal experience with what you wrote, they might be great, just people write stuff online.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

Don't worry, you'll get the help you need.

 

[wellington]

Coconut coir is one of the best substrates. It holds humidity really good, won't mood and does not cause impactions. I have no experience with it causing eye irritation. If you set it and pack it down tight it's less likely to get tracked into food and water dishes. With regular spot cleaning it can last at least a year before changing even longer depending on how well you can spot clean. I change it only if it starts to smell bad.

 

[Tom]

The best substrate for baby Testudo species is coco coir. Its clean, it resists mold and fungus growth, it can be kept damp, and they can burrow into it. I've been using it with 100% success for multiple species for many years.

For adult Testudo, I prefer to use fine grade orchid bark. It does all of the above, but with larger particles for larger tortoises.

Everybody is going to have an opinion. You are going to have to figure out who to listen to and why. What experience over how many years is the advice you are getting based on?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Turboman, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
Yard dirt or forest soil are acceptable substrates if one is certain they are completely pesticide/ herbicide/ chemical free, but other substrates are perfectly good, too such as orchid bark, cypress mulch and coco coir.
I find that coco coir is great for my Greek tortoise, i too have never had any eye problems, though it gets a bit messy sometimes. many other Greek owners use it problem free, too, though i have heard of occasional eye irritation, I think if it's kept damp enough and packed down, it should be fine.
As has been said, coir doesn't 'blight' or mold, and keeps in humidity better than regular soil, it doesn't need anything more than spot cleaning.

 

[Yvonne G]

Sorry you seem to have gotten the run-around from that other forum. Substrate is really your choice. There is no "one-size-fits-all" when it comes to tortoise-keeping. You find out what the tortoise needs then you provide that as best you can. Here's an excerpt from a care sheet written by someone very knowledgeable in the field:

"The best possible substrates for housing Greek tortoises indoors are a 50/50 mix of top soil and play sand, cypress mulch and aspen wood shavings. When using aspen it is very important to make sure the tortoises stay hydrated because it tends to be very dry. Rabbit pellets will suffice but do not hold humidity well and mold will grow quickly in soiled areas. Cedar and pine bedding are an absolute NO, as they are toxic to tortoises."

To read the complete care sheet go here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/greek-tortoise-testudo-graeca-care-sheet-overview.87146/

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Personally, I would never use any percentage of sand due to the impaction risk and I have heard, here and there, that aspen is too difficult to keep moist, it dries out very easily.
But everyone has a different opinion.

 

[BrianWI]

Fine coco coir covered with coarse coco coir is my go to set up.

 

[Turboman]

Thanks everyone! You are being very helpful! In the forum I used, people occasionally leaned towards yard dirt / forest soil and said that coir is absolutely forbidden / a bad choice, so I naturally avoided it. But if many people use it for many years and it really is rare to cause irritations, I might give it a shot. About orchid bark or cypress mulch: these torts are 1 and 2 years olds, it may be a little early for that, but they don't really sell these specific barks and mulches around here, so later on I might experiment by ordering it from outside the country, I'll see.

 

[Kaliman1962]

I just got a baby Ibera Greek. I had 100% coconut coir, the breeder saw it & said I should not use it, I should just use organic top soil, i've only had the little guy 2 days, he isn't much bigger than a quarter. He buried in the top soil, confused.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I just got a baby Ibera Greek. I had 100% coconut coir, the breeder saw it & said I should not use it, I should just use organic top soil, i've only had the little guy 2 days, he isn't much bigger than a quarter. He buried in the top soil, confused.

My baby Greek has never had issues with Coco Coir and many members here use it for their babies, mostly without problems.
I much prefer it to top soil.
Coir is a recommended substrate for Testudo species babies.

 

[lisa127]

Organic peat moss works well and is cheap.