How deep should my substrate be?

[J Phillips]

Hi everyone,

I just finished an enclosure for my 2 month old sulcata. I am pretty new to this and have been wondering how much substrate is efficient for burrowing? Thanks!

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

For babies i go 3-4 inches. The deeper substrate helps keeping the humidity up.

 

[Tom]

Hi everyone,

I just finished an enclosure for my 2 month old sulcata. I am pretty new to this and have been wondering how much substrate is efficient for burrowing? Thanks!

What substrate?

Most of the care info offered for this species is wrong. Check this out:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[J Phillips]

What substrate?

Most of the care info offered for this species is wrong. Check this out:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Currently using cypress mulch

 

[Tom]

Currently using cypress mulch

Go for at least 3-4 inches. I like orchid bark better.

 

[Blackdog1714]

I use reptibark over cypress. Sorta like the cheese on the nachos. Looks great, works well and is cheapest way unless you are in CA and can get fine fir bark at garden centers

 

[J Phillips]

Go for at least 3-4 inches. I like orchid bark better.

I use reptibark over cypress. Sorta like the cheese on the nachos. Looks great, works well and is cheapest way unless you are in CA and can get fine fir bark at garden centers

My mother in law is currently using the repti bark and so far so good! Didn't realize there were so many options in substrates and more than half of them out there seem like bad options for these little guys
I'll give some orchard bark a try! Thanks

 

[J Phillips]

Also, do you guys think it would be a bad idea to mix some orchard bark or repti bark with the cypress mulch?

 

[Blackdog1714]

Also, do you guys think it would be a bad idea to mix some orchard bark or repti bark with the cypress mulch?

I use a 3-4" layer of cypress mulch with a thin layer of Reptibark over top to fully cover the cypress. Works great and looks great. On the east coast it is the cheapest way to go since Fin Fir Bark bulk is west coast thing

 

[Tom]

Also, do you guys think it would be a bad idea to mix some orchard bark or repti bark with the cypress mulch?

I've never seen a need to mix substrates, but as Balckdog pointed out, it doesn't do any harm, and some people like it that way.

Some tortoise things NEED to be done one way or another for the well being of the tortoise. Other things, like mixing suitable substrates, boil down to personal preference. I don't mix different substrates, but its fine is people want to as long as all the stuff being mixed is safe.