Need substrate advice/help

[rsmit02]

First of all thank you to everyone here for the welcome and fantastic advice so far. My little Russian tortoise is doing great he is eating well, very well, he likes his warm bath and is even after just 5 weeks home with us will will come over to us when we open the door of his enclosure (we have the zoo med tortoise house).

For substrate I did sand/topsoil mix 50/50 but the humidity reading did not go over 40% despite daily spraying. So I changes to the coconut husk the brick you mix with water and am somewhat dissapointed in the mess. In the sand/soil mix my little guy would dig dig dig but has not even attempted to dig on new substrate. The substrate is also still really quite wet like damp soil is this bad for them? The humidity is up to about 60-70% though. I also notice he is spending most his time on his basking rock not the substrate anymore. The suff is also so messy his bath/water bowl is instantly full as soon as he walks in it as is his daily salad.

Any advice or ideas, should I just put some cyprus mulch on top of it? I had a thin layer over the sand/soil mix. Also he has started trying to climb the walls of his enclosure constantly scratch scratching is that normal?

Ruth x

 

[Laurie]

Russians do not need high humidity. What you want to try to do, is have the top layer of substrate dry. Underneath should be moist. You want it moist enough that you can form a ball with it in your hands, but you should not be able to squeeze water from it. I like to use coco coir not husk. The coco coir is finer, it holds moisture well, and I like that under the lights it gets a nice crust on top while staying damp underneath. Your sand/topsoil mix was probably fine.


60-70% humidity is too high for a Russian. If you find your substrate too messy, you can pay it firm with your hands, it seems to help.

 

[tinkerbell1189]

The top should be fairly dry, and underneath moist. If they need humidity they will burrow themselves under, but russians don't need a lot of humidity. Maybe you could put a layer of cypress mulch on top as this stays dry but holds moisture well if you spray it.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I just use 100% coconut coir. It comes in a "brick" of dry coir, and it expands when you put it in a bucket full of water, which it absorbs. Then you just spread it out in your tortoise's enclosure. The surface dries out after about an hour or so, but the subsurface stays moist for several weeks. You can churn it with your hands to mix the layers, and every few weeks you can just pour some more water in to moisten it again. If you spot-clean food and waste, it will last for months, or even years.

I like coco coir because it doesn't harbor pests, like fungi or insects, and is mold-resistant. Like soil, it allows tortoises to burrow into it, and provides a humid microclimate. So, even if the ambient humidity is fairly low, the tortoise can still dig down and experience a higher level of humidity.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Ruth:

That's the very reason I quit using the coco coir. I hate the mess it makes. I like orchid bark. You can even use dirt from outside. Or buy a bag of top soil with no additives. However, soil also is quite messy. Is there a reason why your steppe tortoise isn't outside?

 

[Jeansie1988]

I use the coco coir! It is messy but as one member said, it has a nice dry top layer and then is moist underneath.
Mine stills digs in and seems to like it.