Omg im going insane

[laney]

Ok so in case you didn't read my post yesterday my Russian ate a small stone sooo. All of today I spent with a kitchen colander getting any little stones out, it took ages as her enclosure is quite big and deep, I then added cocoir to an area and some tortoise sand stuff I bought to another.
The new sand is specifically for torts (they probably saw me coming) it is a mix of sterilised sand, topsoil and limestone, anyhow it has tiny white chunks in it which I assume are the limestone but Harley's new game within 5seconds was how many white bits could she fish out and eat!!
So I hid the sand bit from her as I didn't think that would be good for her either, so my question is
Is limestone bad for torts to eat? She seemed very keen on it.
Also someone said she might be missing minerals, apart from calcium powder, nutrabol and a cuttlebone, what else should I get?
And finally is miner-all the same as nutrabol? Just a different brand, or is it something completely different
Thanks

 

[mainey34]

I'm not sure about the limestone. And I would not use any type of sand. It causes impaction. Any type of rock can cause impaction too. As far as miner-all goes I really do not know if it is the same as nutrabol. I have never heard of it. I'm sorry. I'm guessing that just using cocoir would be your best bet. Really sounds like your little one is looking for minerals. Rocks are made of minerals...make sense?

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OK, so I looked up the ingredients on nutrabol. Looks like a good product. Also looks like the same thing as miner-all. Are you using it every other day? Or how often are you using it? Because now you have an issue with lime. That's also a mineral...

 

[laney]

Hi, thanks for your response,

This is the mix I bought, not from this place but its the first link I came across
http://www.shelledwarriorsshop.co.uk/pro-rep-tortoise-life-substrate-10-litres-1731-p.asp
I had a look around and I'm getting the impression that limestone isn't a bad thing (please correct me if I have that wrong), the sand is mixed really well with the top soil, to look at you wouldn't know there was any in it. I just can't believe how carefully and accurately she was managing to pick the little white bits of limestone out.
If she wanted some roughage I don't understand why she doesn't eat her cuttlebone, maybe she is trying to push me over the edge!!

 

[cemmons12]

The only thing I use is coco coir, nothing else.

 

[karleyreed]

I use this substrate for my tort. Here in the uk it's sold as tortoise life substrate and the limestone pieces are for a source of calcium incase the tort eats it, so not to worry as it is actually doing your tort good and is also designed so that it does not cause impaction.

 

[mainey34]

That's exactly what it says on the packaging. I have no clue.

 

[laney]

I'm less worried now I found the link saying it wouldn't harm if eaten, I guess I'm just paranoid about stuff getting stuck
I put 3 diluted coco coir bricks in, spent the morning breaking them down and sifting through them, how big is your enclosure mainley? I don't know if I could fill it if I tried I have a topsoil area, cococoir area and I have a blocked off section with the mix which I think I will unhide a little tomorrow now I'm less freaked out.
Carley, I'm from uk too although more north than you brrrr. i have seen the tortoise life in some shops, u get this one at pets at home (if you are ever stuck)

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Oops sorry I meant Mainey and Karley doh

 

[stehowarth]

I used to use throne from pets at home it's called tortoise terrain it was 8 pound for a small bag now i just get a large bag of organic topsoil for 6 pound and mix it 50/50 with coco coir bricks and you get bout thirty times more substrate

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Ment to say the one from pets at home not throne stupid iPad auto correct

 

[karleyreed]

Yeahh I'm
From Newcastle, it's getting pretty cold here now! I'm continuing with my tort on the tortoise life as its what has always been used and he's doing well on it. You can get huge bags off amazon for very cheap. I also got a coco husk brick which I need to break down to put in my enclosure. Do you recommend mixing it with topsoil or will it be ok by itself?

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Also, where do you get the topsoil and bricks from which you guys are using, and have you found any shops / sites which sell mazuri or spineless cactus? I'm struggling! And what are you using as winter substitute for food? Seen as there's no fresh weeds etc growing now.

 

[Baoh]

I would not worry about a small piece of limestone now and again. If there were several larger-but-swallowable sized pieces in one spot that the animal could feast upon, that would be a concern for me. Fishing out tiny ones every so often is fine, though.

 

[laney]

Yeahh I'm
From Newcastle, it's getting pretty cold here now! I'm continuing with my tort on the tortoise life as its what has always been used and he's doing well on it. You can get huge bags off amazon for very cheap. I also got a coco husk brick which I need to break down to put in my enclosure. Do you recommend mixing it with topsoil or will it be ok by itself?

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Also, where do you get the topsoil and bricks from which you guys are using, and have you found any shops / sites which sell mazuri or spineless cactus? I'm struggling! And what are you using as winter substitute for food? Seen as there's no fresh weeds etc growing now.

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Ooh I will have a look on amazon
I got topsoil from b&q and the amount of crap I fished out was unbelievable, I salvaged about half the bag by putting it through a sieve but I won't buy it again. I mixed some coir and soil for Harley's bed area and she likes it, the coir seems to keep the soil a little damp and stops it getting dusty. I was buying coir from an exotics store miles away whenever I passed but recently I haven't been able to get down so have used ones from pets at home. Even though I boiled it I find midges coming from it *sigh*
I'm still unsure where you get mazuri over here but have you tried pre-alpin yet??? It's great! My torts didn't like it at first but now they love it and its all natural. Again not easy to get a hold of but I have a contact if u need
I haven't tried cactus yet, I wouldn't know what to do with it lol!

 

[karleyreed]

Hmmm. The UK doesn't seem to cater very well for torts haha. Nope what's pre-alpin?

 

[laney]

Tell me about it!!

This is the pre alpin, I have yet to hear a bad word about it
http://www.agrobs.de/en/products/Tortoises.htm
Again it is hard to get in the uk as its from Germany, but I found this website
http://www.tortoiselady.co.uk/page8.htm
I had to sneak it into their diet to start with but now they love it. I don't know if this is the same kind of thing as mazuri?? But I'd recommend it anyway

 

[stehowarth]

Ii get my top soil from the garden centre it is organic and peat free and has just gone on sail to 2.99 I tried homebase and b and q first but all there top soil was full of bits of glass I just had to shop around, bread is a Russian and likes digging so plain coco coir just collapses top soil gives it some stabillity

 

[Colin =D]

What about a mini garden terrain by using a sod of grass or two, looks nice, they'd enjoy walking on it and they can eat it =D

 

[laney]

What about a mini garden terrain by using a sod of grass or two, looks nice, they'd enjoy walking on it and they can eat it =D

Ooh that sounds cooool might try a patch! She isn't trying to eat the stone anymore, I think the novelty wore off lol but I fancy giving them a lawn too hehe

 

[Colin =D]

Ooh that sounds cooool might try a patch! She isn't trying to eat the stone anymore, I think the novelty wore off lol but I fancy giving them a lawn too hehe
[/quote]

Glad to hear stone fear is over and yay, I love sharing ideas. Also, can you post a Photo her enclosure ?

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

You are not going insane! You are becoming a tortoise lover!