Hey! We recently purchased a hatchling leopard tortoise and are having issues with substrate. She is probably about 10 weeks old. I have a lot of experience with reptiles; we have 3 water turtles and chameleons. The pet store we got her from reccomended alfalfa pellets for bedding but she has a small water dish that she enjoys bathing in and the alfalfa molds every 6 hours due to the temperatures and moisture. I am obviously not comfortable with the air quality due to the mold and also read that alfalfa can be bad for hatchlings feets aside from their lungs and shells. So! I researched and found that a 50/50 or 70/30 sand & loam mixture is best, I happen to use the same for the chameleons laying area. That being said...I filled her tank with it today and she wants nothing more than to eat it!!! I fed her plenty, she's had dandelion greens and pellets, but mannn does she want to eat sand and dirt.
Will this hurt her? What substrate do you all reccomend? I am worried about impaction.
I covered the 1/3 of the tank that has her water dish with timothy hay (she wants to eat the sand there most), then a put a very thin layer of alfalfa around the dish her food goes on and where her little house is, another 1/3 of the tank, and the final 1/3 is the loam mixture.
She is very young, could this be a reason why she cannot handle the mixture? Or is something better for hatchlings?
Thanks for your help! This is my first tortoise and I intend on her living longer than me!
Will this hurt her? What substrate do you all reccomend? I am worried about impaction.
I covered the 1/3 of the tank that has her water dish with timothy hay (she wants to eat the sand there most), then a put a very thin layer of alfalfa around the dish her food goes on and where her little house is, another 1/3 of the tank, and the final 1/3 is the loam mixture.
She is very young, could this be a reason why she cannot handle the mixture? Or is something better for hatchlings?
Thanks for your help! This is my first tortoise and I intend on her living longer than me!