Need Help on bedding or substrate

[Cinderella Boi :)]

hello everyone, I need help on choosing a bedding that will absorb the odor of my tortoise. i always use paper towel and new paper as a bedding but i notice that my tortoise start urinating and pooping a lot that they start having odor. I clean the cage everyday but i dont want smelling the odor when i go inside the room. do you guys know any thing that can solve the odor problem. please help me thanks.

 

[Stazz]

Hello Cinderella Boi

What kind of tortoise have you got? Most tortoises need some kind of humidity. SO there are a few kinds which hold humidity for you, and that you will only need to clean once every couple of months. I use organic soil, and moisten it with water, so that it keeps humid for my tortoise Tallula. Others use 70/30 mix of coconut coir, playsand. Some others will help you as well, but these are just my suggestion. The organic soil that I use also has no odour, so no urine or poop smells, and its also great for your tort to burrow in if he/she likes that

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I think that something is wrong if you are smelling tortoises. I have numerous tortoises in my house and they don't smell at all. I use cypress mulch for their substrate. If you clean their waste daily nothing should smell. Also if they are fed correctly they shouldn't smell. Tortoises fed grasses and weeds only don't smell. There is no smell to their poop at all...

 

[Stazz]

Actually silly me, I never even thought of that Maggie, you are so right !!!!! You shouldn't be smelling them at all !!!

 

[Cinderella Boi :)]

my tortoise are sulcatas and leopard tortoise they are only 1 and haft year old. i just feed them dark leaffy veggy since their body is not ready for weeds and grass yet. my room don't smell too because i clean it every day but sometimes when i go out and i come home i smell the odor which means i need to change the paper towels. i just want to remove the odor in my room when they urinate and poop. also if you guys know where i can get weed and grass to feed my tortoise maybe i should start changing their diets.

 

[K9KidsLove]

Hi...What are you going to do when they get bigger and can't stay inside? Do you not have a yard that you can let him graze on while being supervised? If not, maybe you should reconsider having such a big species!!
In the meantime...you can buy seeds to grow grass & weeds in kitty litter boxes or other containers. Check out www.Carolinapetsuppy.com.
Good luck
Patsy

 

[Cinderella Boi :)]

Hi...What are you going to do when they get bigger and can't stay inside? Do you not have a yard that you can let him graze on while being supervised? If not, maybe you should reconsider having such a big species!!
In the meantime...you can buy seeds to grow grass & weeds in kitty litter boxes or other containers. Check out www.Carolinapetsuppy.com.
Good luck
Patsy

The houses over here just drop so we got a really big house with big big back yard i can even keep 10 adult sulcatas . I'm from Cali so i dont need to worry about the weather here. the only thing is i'm afraid that they might get stolen since they are still cute babies and the hawk might snatch them. I'm already well informed about the size of this sp. In fact i always dream of having a giant tortoises roaming around my yard and giving me rides XD. I might even get a full grown aldabra in the future after i graduate because they cost a lot lol. Also i tried letting them eat our grass in our back yard but they seem to care more about looking for shelter to hide from the sun. I tried to offer them some grass but they did not like it and they eat my dark leafy vege mix instead i'm afraid that when i'm going to start leaving them on our back yard they might lose a lot of weight since they got used of vege. also i was thinking of changing my substrate into the alfa alfa pellets that most petshop use as their substrate, is that a good idea ? i dont want any sand because i'm afraid they might get impaction its better safe than sorry.

 

[Stazz]

Alfalfa pellets are also not good....they are not good for growing babies as it very hard to walk on, and not at all comfy to burrow into. Ive heard that alfalfa pellets also get mouldy from dampness etc, so stay away from the alfalfa pellets. Try use aspen or organic soil or coconut coir.

 

[harris]

It is what it is....Poop smells, no matter what you use for a bedding. I think you answered your own question when you said they don't smell until they relieve themselves. The aspen would be a much better absorber than your paper towels, but you're still going to have to spot clean it.

 

[Stazz]

Not quite Harris, its not like a dog poop.I have never ever ever smelled Tallula's poop. If your tort is eating properly and healthily, you will not smell their poop. The fact that you are smelling it means there is something wrong, could be a sick tummy with parasites or could just be what you are feeding and how much of it you are feeding to your tort. If you dont like spot cleaning, I suggest you get the organic soil, like I use. I only change it once every few months. If I do see a poop, once in a blue moon, I'll just take it out and throw it away. Soil is soil

 

[harris]

Not quite Harris, its not like a dog poop.I have never ever ever smelled Tallula's poop. If your tort is eating properly and healthily, you will not smell their poop. The fact that you are smelling it means there is something wrong, could be a sick tummy with parasites or could just be what you are feeding and how much of it you are feeding to your tort. If you dont like spot cleaning, I suggest you get the organic soil, like I use. I only change it once every few months. If I do see a poop, once in a blue moon, I'll just take it out and throw it away. Soil is soil

Well shucks. My tortoises have been sick for 15+ years! When they drop one in the morning after I leave for work and walk through it all day and smear it around their enclosures, it stinks.

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Not quite Harris, its not like a dog poop.I have never ever ever smelled Tallula's poop. If your tort is eating properly and healthily, you will not smell their poop. The fact that you are smelling it means there is something wrong, could be a sick tummy with parasites or could just be what you are feeding and how much of it you are feeding to your tort. If you dont like spot cleaning, I suggest you get the organic soil, like I use. I only change it once every few months. If I do see a poop, once in a blue moon, I'll just take it out and throw it away. Soil is soil

Well shucks. My tortoises have been sick for 15+ years! When they drop one in the morning after I leave for work and walk through it all day and smear it around their enclosures, it stinks.

PS......I only mentioned aspen as the questioner stated they had a Leopard tortoise. I personally use peatmoss with a top layer of cypress as my tortoises require a high humidity level. And I as well do a complete clean out every couple of months.

 

[K9KidsLove]

Hi...glad to hear you know how big your beauties are going to be. So many people abandon them when they get bigger than expected. I had thought that since you asked where to get grass for them that you didn't have any grazing area. That is what 'thought' did for me!!

For my little tortoises, I built a box with 4 pieces of 1" x 12" x 4' lumber, then stapled screen with 1/2" holes on one side. I then put the open end on the ground & slipped the babies under it. I put a piece of tile on one end for shade, and of course checked on them to make sure they had shade and to be sure they didn't flip over. I also put a small water container for them on one end. After less than a week they started eating the grass, and now I have to keep moving their corral cause they eat it down to the ground. It takes 'tough love' for a few days, but if you keep feeding only the greens, they won't change.
Good luck
Patsy