Soil suggestions

[Mikeyand Melina]

Hello everyone. I have a question about soil that I would like to use as substrate. Sometimes it is hard to find topsoil so I was wondering if this is safe to use. It does list some weird ingredients among nitrates.

 

[JoesMum]

I found details of this product online[/online]

ecoscraps natural + organic potting mix is engineered to produce successful results with any container planting system. great for fruit, vegetables, flowers and houseplants. includes ecoscraps compost, compost made from plant materials and food waste. contains no added poop or synthetic chemicals. use when filling pots and containers for planting indoor and outside.

It contains Perlite (see below) and that is a big no-no for substrate. Perlite gets mistaken for calcium by torts and is not something we want them to eat.


So the answer is don't use this. Plain fine grade orchid bark or plain coco coir are safe.

 

[Mikeyand Melina]

Thank you so much for the quick response. I guess I see organic and assume it is good just because of that.

 

[Bee62]

The best soil is often the soil from a not with chemicals treated garden.

 

[lisa127]

I use peat moss myself.

 

[Tom]

I wouldn't use bought-in-a-bag soil at all. There is no way to know what composted material it is made of, and it turns to mud when wet.

The best substrate for baby russians is coco coir. Make a thick layer and hand pack it down. After a couple of weeks it will settle in.

I prefer fine grade orchid bark for adults.

 

[Mikeyand Melina]

I like mixing coco coir and repti-bark (my husband doesn't like the bark). We saw that people like topsoil and I couldn't find any so I was wondering about that organic soil. I finally found earthgro topsoil and bought that.

 

[Chizbad]

Potting mix usually has perlite in it. That’s bad

 

[Oogway the russian tort]

i use cypress mulch mixed with organic topsoil which would normally be the cheapest topsoil but make sure you read what's in it before buying

 

[Ernie Johnson]

Cheapest and best substrate for these guys is a 50/50 mix of topsoil and play sand. Friable enough they can dig in it, but firm enough for good locomotion. These guys are 6 inch live backhoes in the wild (they live in 6-10 foot deep burrows), so this type of substrate lets them dig and bury themselves which makes them feel safe.

 

[Mikeyand Melina]

I was told sand scratched up their shells?

 

[Ernie Johnson]

Play sand is perfectly safe when mixed with 50% topsoil and you feed them on a hard slate. It's the substrate I've used for my group for 17+ years in their indoor pens and works like a charm.

 

[Mikeyand Melina]

Play sand is perfectly safe when mixed with 50% topsoil and you feed them on a hard slate. It's the substrate I've used for my group for 17+ years in their indoor pens and works like a charm.

Thank you that is very good to know.

 

[Ernie Johnson]

Glad I can help. After 17+ years with these guys you learn a few things.

 

[Cheryl Hills]

Sand is not good at all. If it gets on there food, and it will, they can eat it and can cause all kind of problems specially an impaction. This can cause death.

 

[Tom]

Glad I can help. After 17+ years with these guys you learn a few things.

Talk to the vets that treat sand impacted tortoises and you'll learn a few more things.

Sand should never be used with tortoises. This is a thing of the past and people who have been keeping tortoises a long time frequently recommend it. I used to recommend it too until the vets I work with kept pointing out case after case of skin and eye irritation and sand impaction. Go watch, listen, smell just one impaction surgery and you will stop recommending this. I realize you might not have seen a problem in all your years of using sand/soil mixes. Lots of people can say that. The thing that you and those other people don't realize is all the people, and their tortoises, that have had a problem with it.

There are better and safer substrates to recommend.

 

[Ernie Johnson]

Sand is not good at all. If it gets on there food, and it will, they can eat it and can cause all kind of problems specially an impaction. This can cause death.

Been using a 50/50 mix of topsoil and play sand for 35+ years with Greek's and Russian's in their indoor pens and never had any issues of any kind, so no need to change.

 

[Chizbad]

Sand impaction problems are real. You may never have them and then again you may. Why risk it?

 

[Ernie Johnson]

I don't doubt that it is, I'm just saying having used this combo for over 30 years without any issues the risks as I use it have been non-existent.