Too old? Too dirty? (substrate)

[jockma]

A few weeks ago I came back to the US from overseas. A family friend took care of Bean for us. I brought his temp enclosure to their home and filled it with 1 month old coco coir from his regular enclosure. Was gone for about 2 months, so the substrate is about 3 months old.

I didn't want to waste it because I had seen people using the same coco coir for a year, so I brought it back in a garbage bag. The person hired to clean the house after we left opened the top of his enclosure and left it like that so...spiders and cobwebs. I threw everything out and filled it with fresh, clean coco.

Then I dumped the old coco in there.

And it smells.

I didn't consider that his temp enclosure is significantly smaller and he has a habit of peeing/pooping in his enclosure so the substrate may be...a bit more saturated. They spot cleaned efficiently but nothing can be done about the pee.

It doesn't exactly stink, it smells like dirt instead of coco. It's been weighing on my mind recently and I don't know if it needs to be changed.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Mine KINDA smell also, im assuming its from the pee aswell. I was thinning about putting worms in there? Someone else on the forum (i cant remember her name, she has redfoots.. maybe it was Pearly) has worms & pill bugs & all in her tortoises enclosure to help "clean" it. Im not sure if that helps with smells though.

 

[Pearly]

Mine KINDA smell also, im assuming its from the pee aswell. I was thinning about putting worms in there? Someone else on the forum (i cant remember her name, she has redfoots.. maybe it was Pearly) has worms & pill bugs & all in her tortoises enclosure to help "clean" it. Im not sure if that helps with smells though.

Yes it does! And I think what helps the most in my case is getting the outside and bathing. Daily one or the other, or both if we can. Our babies ALWAYS pee and poo outside and always poo in their bath, perhaps pee as well. It is seldom that I find poo inside the viv. I'm also trying to grow plants in there which may help with that as well.

 

[jockma]

Oh nooo...I was gonna get rolys to help cut down on springtails back when I was using cypress. Switching to coco got rid of the springtails and I breathed a huge sigh of relief because NO NEED FOR BUGS IN THE ENCLOSURE!

I feel like the universe is trying to tell me...get over it...get yourself some rolys...

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Rolys are so lovely though!! Im going to have an open top enclosure soon so my boyfriend said no rolys

 

[Pearly]

Oh nooo...I was gonna get rolys to help cut down on springtails back when I was using cypress. Switching to coco got rid of the springtails and I breathed a huge sigh of relief because NO NEED FOR BUGS IN THE ENCLOSURE!

I feel like the universe is trying to tell me...get over it...get yourself some rolys...

Yeah Jockma! "Get some rollies!" I love mine

 

[Pearly]

Rolys are so lovely though!! Im going to have an open top enclosure soon so my boyfriend said no rolys

Mine stay in the substrate which is the rolly-heaven (plenty of food, water, warm, humid...) I never see them try to climb up

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Mine stay in the substrate which is the rolly-heaven (plenty of food, water, warm, humid...) I never see them try to climb up

I think ill sneak some in , and if they climb out... Well it wasnt me !

 

[jockma]

Since they repopulate I won't need too many, but I can't WAIT for Bean to just eat all of them. *rolls eyes*

Aw, I was SO close to escaping the creepy crawlies. I vowed I'd never search for them again. Looked under rocks in public parks wearing rubber gloves for them. Picked at the dirt in shady areas looking for them.

People saw. People stared. People judged.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Since they repopulate I won't need too many, but I can't WAIT for Bean to just eat all of them. *rolls eyes*

Aw, I was SO close to escaping the creepy crawlies. I vowed I'd never search for them again. Looked under rocks in public parks wearing rubber gloves for them. Picked at the dirt in shady areas looking for them.

People saw. People stared. People judged.

Hahaha ! I could only imagine ! People just dont understand the struggles of wanting whats best for our tortoises .
Did you find any?

 

[Yelloweyed]

When I walk my kids to school, I carry a cup and my kids catch the pill bugs. It looks like I'm an indulgent parent supporting my bug-catching kids but I'm really making them work for the torts!

 

[jockma]

Hahaha ! I could only imagine ! People just dont understand the struggles of wanting whats best for our tortoises .
Did you find any?

That's the worst part. No. Found a bunch of other gross-looking bugs but no rollies.

@Yelloweyed I called my mom back then and asked her how to go about it without having people stare with confusion and whisper "what the hell is that girl doing?" and she said "Get one of my grandkids to do it for you. Oh wait! I don't have any." Way to kick me while I'm down, ma.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

That's the worst part. No. Found a bunch of other gross-looking bugs but no rollies.

@Yelloweyed I called my mom back then and asked her how to go about it without having people stare with confusion and whisper "what the hell is that girl doing?" and she said "Get one of my grandkids to do it for you. Oh wait! I don't have any." Way to kick me while I'm down, ma.

My mom's the total opposite
"DONT HAVE KIDS! ITS A TRAP! DONT GET MARRIED! YOU'LL BE SLAVING AWAY FOR THEM FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!"

 

[Pearly]

Since they repopulate I won't need too many, but I can't WAIT for Bean to just eat all of them. *rolls eyes*

Aw, I was SO close to escaping the creepy crawlies. I vowed I'd never search for them again. Looked under rocks in public parks wearing rubber gloves for them. Picked at the dirt in shady areas looking for them.

People saw. People stared. People judged.

Yeah? Get this! No gloves here! My kids pick them up with bare hands. They (Rollies) used to gross me out, but my kids have put me to shame, and somehow ever since the babies are with us, I have somehow gotten over my "bug phobia". Plus they are not insects after all
My babies don't seem to be interested in eating them either. They only hunt for live snails. Oh and they will eat moving mealworms but definitely prefer waxworms. Those are hard to come buy. The pet stores don't stock them often. They seem to always have abundance of mealworms and nightcrawlers

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Rolys are so lovely though!! Im going to have an open top enclosure soon so my boyfriend said no rolys

Point out that they can't climb the walls…well wood walls, yes, but they are after all, ground critters.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Point out that they can't climb the walls…well wood walls, yes, but they are after all, ground critters.

All above and thank you for clarifying the content with "(substrate)" cleared all up for me. At first I figured it was a thread about me.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Point out that they can't climb the walls…well wood walls, yes, but they are after all, ground critters.

Im going to stay hush. Lol

 

[jockma]

@Cowboy_Ken was it you that offered to send a bunch of em back when I had springtails? A while after that I had a dream that I opened a package and........

I'm throwing out my welcome mat anyway so I'm gonna try and grow some rollies by leaving it outside and waiting. The gloves are not optional! I will never trust them! They are horrifying!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

@Cowboy_Ken was it you that offered to send a bunch of em back when I had springtails?!

Not me. I'm not even certain what a springtail is other than an insect of some sort. My response was towards the title and my concern that I was OLD AND DIRTY…

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Not me. I'm not even certain what a springtail is other than an insect of some sort. My response was towards the title and my concern that I was OLD AND DIRTY…

I wanted to know what be sides me is too old and dirty ?