Russian Enclosure Substrate

[MamaPickles11]

I've had my Russian for a year now and have always used the loose coconut fiber substrate. However, with moving her into a new enclosure, one bag of substrate doesn't cover it well enough and it's not exactly cheap. Would it be okay to put some play sand down and then the coconut substrate on top of it? I am only hesitant of this because I know she eats the coconut substrate but is it ok if she eats the sand? Thanks everyone!

 

[Blakem]

Sand can cause impaction to the stomach and can irritant the eyes if your Russian tries to get it out. I don't know where you're from but I go to my local hardware store and buy coco coir in a large block that requires 7 gallons of water.

 

[wellington]

Russian like to burrow. Using plain dirt that is fertilizer and pesticide free would work good and let him/her burrow nicely.

 

[Jacqui]

You could add the play sand to the coir, but only if you keep the sand to less the 20% and mix it in well. That amount of sand should not cause a healthy Russian any kind of impaction problems. It is what I use on all my smaller tortoises.

You could also add the soil, if like was said it is chemical free. You might also want to consider having part of the enclosure with some mulch or even orchid bark.