i need help im totally confused. my breeder (yrs of experience) told me to use Eucalyptus for bedding from Home Depot but it seems extremely dusty. i have my baby leopards, baby sulcatas, and russians in it (70/30 Eucalyptus/play sand). BTW they all have there own pen. But is Eucalyptus bad for them? sometimes they sneeze.

eucalyptus is usually an irritant...think of Vics Vaporub...I would think those oils would be concentrated in the substrate?

But there are quite a few substrates out there with it in it that have Tortoises listed on the animal list.

I cut a fresh branch off a eucalyptus tree for my aviary about once a week because the strong smell of the oils in the branch help repel mites and bugs. Just a note of observation: The birds chew up and demolish a mulberry branch in less than a day, but they don't chew eucalyptus AT ALL!! I think that says something about not using it as a substrate.

I never would have thought to use it as a substrate. I've never heard of that before. I guess there's always a first time, but I would NOT use it because of the strong, pungent smell. Seems like it would be harmful to the tortoise to be on it all the time with no way to get away from it.

Some folks here on the forum use 50/50 playsand/coconut coir...some use aspen bedding...some use plain (clean) dirt from outside...some use cypress mulch...some use orchid bark.

For baby leopards and sulcatas and probably even the russians, all of the above would be good. You have to be able to moisten it a bit so there is a little humidity in the habitat. I've never tried aspen, and don't know if you can moisten it, but all the others I mentioned can be moistened.

Yvonne

I have aspen and I find it gets dry and dusty easily, but not so much so that it aggravates my sulcata who is 7".

jasso2, I have tried 100% clean yard dirt, 50/50 play sand/coconut coir, 70-30 dirt, and play sand with a bit of coconut coir (bed a beast)added, Country Critter (a pelleted substrate) and aspen bedding. I have allergies. The dirt and anything that contains dirt and play sand is dusty. I just figured it was more natural than anything else. It is heavy, you can't see messes easily and if you have a large area it can really kick up your allergies. Country Critter is difficult for them to walk in if they are not large torts. So I have ended up using aspen. It is light easy to see messes, easy to clean and change out, inexpensive and I use a sponge in the hide to keep a humid area for them. I have gotten the aspen damp and it seems to dry easily without mold or mildew. My hatchlings love to hide in it and they seem to have no trouble walking on it.
I personally have not heard of using Eucalyptus for bedding for torts. I would tend to stay away from anything dusty (due to my allergies) or that has strong odors for my torts sake.

This is what I use for my rt's. The ideal is considered to be a 50/50 mix of sand and garden loam. Since garden loam is hard to find here, I substitute Bed-A-Beast or other brand of coconut coir. For me this works well. Others have used peat moss....but it tends to be too dusty. I keep it moist by putting water on it as necessary.I mix substrate everyday and add water when needed

Keep in mind that the substrate shouldn't be bone dry. In the wild they live in very arid conditions. But their burrows have up to 70% humidity!
Heres some info for you on your baby leopards, baby sulcatas, http://africantortoise.com/
Hope this helps

This post was last modified: 04-30-2008 05:00 PM by Jenn1.

I personally use aspen in my indoor enclosures, except for my box turtles. For the aspen torts I provide them with a hide that has a sponge that I spray twice a day and place under the heat lamp, that is where my babies stay/sleep. I prefer a 70/30 mix of soil/sand then I add moss to the enclosures. Outside I use organic mulch/dirt/sand mix - not as much sand as the mulch does a good job at holding the moisture in.