Eating Substrate,

[mase01]

Hi, guys, noticed my hermann is nibbling his substrate, i use a substrate called aspen bedding, the site where i got it from says its been tested and suitable for hermanns,
https://www.thetortoiseshop.com/tortoise-bedding

i did email them and they said its not harmful to your tortoise but maybe your diet is lacking in something which is why the tortoise is nibbling the substrate? i feed him i feel a suitable diet, i mainly use florette classic crispy selection from my local store, and also have pellet foods that i water down so that they are not hard, i dont feed him that daily though, out of 7 days he gets fed 5 and out of them days he gets nutrobal sprinkled on his food twice a week and calci dust 3 times a week,

has anyone ever had this problem? and is it a problem? he seems healthy, eating, pooping and flying about as usual?

 

[Yvonne G]

Are you using a red light? Some tortoises look at that red light on the substrate and think it's food.

Also , the diet could stand a bit of tweaking. Try to find edible weeds, dark leafy greens, endive, escarole, etc.

 

[mase01]

Are you using a red light? Some tortoises look at that red light on the substrate and think it's food.

Also , the diet could stand a bit of tweaking. Try to find edible weeds, dark leafy greens, endive, escarole, etc.

no i use an all in one uva/uvb heat basking bulb, im going to have to look at adding more weeds and things i think

 

[Tom]

Aspen is not a good tortoise bedding. It is far too dry and if they eat enough of it, its an impaction risk. Fine grade orchid bark will work much better and can be kept a little damp will keep keep the dust down and Gove your tortoise some much needed moderate humidity.

Lettuce from the grocery store is not a suitable diet. It lacks fiber, lacks calcium and has a poor calcium to phosphorous ratio. Your tortoise should be eating mostly weeds, leaves and flowers of the right types. If you can't manage that, then favor endive and escarole from the store. Mix in some arugula ("rocket"), coriander, chicory and much more for variety.

You can also add in some blended grass hay to add fiber, but start slow with just a little bit at first. You species is not a grass eater, but adding the grass for fiber will help make the grocery store foods better for him. You can also add some herbal hay. Soaked ZooMed Grassland pellets are another way to add variety and fiber, but most tortoises take a little while to get used to it.

Your tortoise should be fed the correct food every day. They are grazers and need to nibble. Its not good to skip days.

There is a lot of bad tortoise care info out there. Sometimes from sources that seem credible. Its tough to figure out what to do. Keep asking us questions. We'll explain why we say the things we say.