Substrate

[dannel]

What is the best substrate for an Eastern Box Turtle kept indoors? Thanks!

 

[wellington]

Bump. Pesticide free dirt and maybe some leaf matter. See what others say.

 

[earthyman71]

living in the city in a racoon infested area, i unfortunately have to keep my boxies indoors.

i've used eco earth with great success - it holds moisture and humidity well and i use a good amount that allows the boxies to completely dig themselves under.

best deal online is either at www.petsolutions.com or www.petstore.com.

 

[dannel]

Anyone else?

 

[mchong9606]

I use eco earth as well. I'm collecting leaves now for the fall for the indoor and outdoor enclosure. They love hiding in the leaves and eventually it decomposes. It gives them a humid place to hide after a misting. In the future I might mix some organic soil with the eco earth.

 

[WallieTheTortoise]

I use eco earth as well. I'm collecting leaves now for the fall for the indoor and outdoor enclosure. They love hiding in the leaves and eventually it decomposes. It gives them a humid place to hide after a misting. In the future I might mix some organic soil with the eco earth.

This might be a silly question, but do you clean the leaves before you put it in their indoor enclosure?

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I like to mix Bed-a-Beast (coco coir) and peat moss for my boxies. Then I use a layer of cypress mulch over the top. Eventually they mix it all together. Sometimes I crunch up leaves for them to hide in. I may be a bad Turtle Mom, but I don't wash them. (They come from my yard so I know they are pesticide free.) Hope that was helpful.

 

[mchong9606]

I don't clean the leaves, but I would try to find leaves from areas that would not spray pesticides. There seems to be a slightly higher bug count after I put in new leaves. It doesn't bother me or the boxies either.