substrate

chell222

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2013
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
uk herts
Ok im now confused ...
I have a russain tortoise and was using substrate of sand /limerock brought from the pet shop.
Changed tortoise yesterday to 50/50 coco coir & top soil . last night he buried himself more wasn't able to do that with the sand much... hes eating well pooping and still lively . but a friend giving me advise ( she has 3 horsfields) has told me to get the tortoise off coco and use 50 sand 50 top soil

thanks Michelle
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,390
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
I have found that the type of substrate you use is a personal choice. You want to give the tortoise what he needs - something you can slightly moisten, something soft enough that he can dig into it, and something that you can clean easily. I prefer orchid bark, then cypress mulch. But many, many members use coco coir mixed with a little bit of sand/dirt. You can try what your friend has suggested and see if it does what you want it to do...this is strictly up to you.
 

chell222

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2013
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
uk herts
Yvonne G said:
I have found that the type of substrate you use is a personal choice. You want to give the tortoise what he needs - something you can slightly moisten, something soft enough that he can dig into it, and something that you can clean easily. I prefer orchid bark, then cypress mulch. But many, many members use coco coir mixed with a little bit of sand/dirt. You can try what your friend has suggested and see if it does what you want it to do...this is strictly up to you.

Thank you .... going to leave as it is right now as he seems quite happy
 

cemmons12

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
2,801
Location (City and/or State)
Greenfield, In.
I do not agree with using sand, just my opinion. If injested it can cause impaction. I use coco oir only and my torts seem to like it just fine. Good luck.
 

chell222

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2013
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
uk herts
cemmons12 said:
I do not agree with using sand, just my opinion. If injested it can cause impaction. I use coco oir only and my torts seem to like it just fine. Good luck.


He is totally happy with his coco/ top soil mix so im sticking with that... I agree I wasn't happy using sand either . Thanks
 

sirjojo

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2013
Messages
15
i switched from 100% fir bark to fir bark/top soil 50/50 and so far my little Greek is happy. I put the food and water on the top soil and the sleept/basking on the fir bark.
 

hunterk997

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
897
Location (City and/or State)
Wayland, NY
I also use a mix of coco coir, and topsoil. It is a good mix for russians, in my opinion. It allows for easy burrowing.
 

New Posts

Top