An ideal substrate would be a 50/50 mix of play sand and coco husk bedding. You could do 50/50 with play sand and cypress mulch as well. I really dont suggest using hay as a bedding because they are supposed to be eating hay and I dont like mixing bedding hay and eating hay since they could eat hay with poop on it.

What kind of play sand? Is that the actual brand name?

You can pick it up at any Home Depot, Lowes, etc etc. Any place like that. Just ask for play sand and they will know what your talking about. Its supposed to be the cleanest sand you can buy since its normally used in kids sand boxes and play areas.

Maybe this will help.
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Coco husk as in Bed a Beast? Would 50/50 mix of play sand and organic soil work just as well?

Agnieszka

Yes as in bed a beast- and 50/50 mix of play sand and organic soil would be fine.

I am a new owner so I will tack this on. I have read numerous websites and threads, but I still have diet questions.

Percival, my Sulcata, is only 7" long and he is in aspen bedding which he sometimes eats. I think he was eating it at first because I refused to give him fruit - I think he was spoiled on it by his previous owner and was not going to eat the turnip greens I put in his dish.

I take him out for an hour or two everyday to eat grass and clover and get some sunshine. He also roams around like crazy. I feed him about one leaf of turnip greens a day which is all he will eat - if I put more he lets it dry up and doesn't touch it. I also have a hibiscus plant - how many leaves and flowers should I be feeding him of that?

I guess I am just trying to make sure his diet is balanced. I haven't bought a cactus yet, but are those just supposed to be treats or what?

Between the mix of grass, clovers, aspen bedding, turnip greens and hibiscus about how much of these should he be eating a day? He is a stubborn booger, and I have a feeling he is holding out for fruit, but I am determined to get him on a good diet.

Also - do I need soak him - I know it is recommended for hatchings, but he is older than that right? I have a saucer big enough and easily accessible to him full of water which I put him in a few times a week, but he gives me an ugly looks and gets out of it almost immediately. I have never seen him drink...so should I soak him?

This post was last modified: 03-13-2008 10:35 AM by janiedough.

oh and I took him for a "walk" today - I brought him to the park to go graze

he ate bark off of some oak trees - is that ok?

I was the same way when I first got Bowser ( my sulcata ). For the floor of his pen I got this green liner that is like a felt material. I'm not sure what it is made out of but I got it from a pet store. When it gets dirty all I have to do is take it out and wash it with the water hose then let it dry. I love to use it because it's reusable, saving me money, and Bowser doesn't try to eat it. That's it. It's the best thing that I found so far.
When he is in the house I feed him all the hay and alfalfa he wants. I just make sure that there is a constant pile in there. And then he gets his handful of romaine lettuce that has carrots in it once a day. When he goes outside he eats grass, weeds, and flowers. He loves it sooo... much outside.

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1 Sulcata (Bowser)

http://www.myspace.com/bowsertortoise