Soil for baby Sulcata enclosure

[AngusBurgehr]

I've been trying to find a way to grow grass in my little guy's enclosure. Unfortunately every other kind of soil I've found has had some sort of fertilizer in it. Dirt from outside isn't an option due to our landlord spraying. I found this stuff on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001I49Q98/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

• Ocean forest organic potting soil posses everything in one bag what your plants need
• Powerhouse blend of premium earthworm castings, bat guano and pacific northwest sea going fish and crab meal
• Composted forest humus, sandy loam and sphagnum peat moss
• Ideal for containerized plantings

Does this seem like a safe option?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Welcome...

Growing grass in your tort's enclosure is just hard given substrate, high heat, etc. Easier to have a 100% substrate of coco coir and orchid bark mix.... Then, grow some individual trays of grass and place inside OR just snip some outdoor grass and serve with each meal. You are in Florida....should be easy on both options.

Up north...it's a bit harder....

Welcome!

 

[Tom]

Does this seem like a safe option?

No. Not to me.

The big problem with bought in a bag soil is that you can't know what it is made of. Is it made form composted mulberry leaves and non-toxic plants, or is it made from the trimmings of oleander and azalea bushes, or grass trimmings form a lawn with weed killers and pesticides all over it?

The problem with trying to grow it inside the enclosure is that it will be eaten or trampled before it can even get started.

One way to do this is to grow various weeds and grasses in several matching trays. Then you can swap out trays as each one gets eaten and trampled down, allowing each tray to recover and re-grow. Remove the substrate where the tray sits, so the edge of the tray is level with the rest of the substrate in the enclosure. The trick is finding a non-toxic soil without too much "stuff" it that will encourage bacterial growth. All plants need some fertilizer, but no need to go over board with fish meal, guano, moss, etc… Make extra sure that the is no perlite, vermiculite or other water retention "stuff" in the soil you use. I prefer to use dirt from outside for this, but you'll have to look around for a safe source apparently.