# Hay or straw



## bikerchicspain

hi guys, just a quick question, Ive gave my torts a revamp and they now have a wooden tortoise hut for them to sleep in, What can i use for bedding? At the moment im using ripped up newspaper, Can i use straw or hay that i can get from pet shops?


----------



## Isa

Hello 
You can use aspen shavings or a mix of soil and sand (70-30 or 60-40), I heard some people here who loves cypress mulch (I will try that soon for my Hermann). I do not like hay to much as a substrate alone, I think is it very dry, very dusty and very hard walk on, I tried to put some in my Hermann's hide but I had to remove it because he is allergic.


----------



## Crazy1

I assume you are only using it in the hide. You can also use damp-not wet sphargnum moss or just place a sponge on the top of the hide. and your regular substrate under the hide.


----------



## bikerchicspain

Its just for the hide, in the rest of the enclosure he has soil and sand.


----------



## Itort

I'd use the moss in the hide. Hay will mold when damp and straw is just too coarse to use except for adult torts sulcatta or larger tort.


----------



## Isa

bikerchicspain said:


> Its just for the hide, in the rest of the enclosure he has soil and sand.



Opps, sorry. I thought you were talking about the hide and the enclosure


----------



## Yvonne G

I bought a small bag of that hay from a pet shop one time and was completely disappointed with it. It was SO HARD and old. Much too stick-like to have any good use for a tortoise. If you wanted to put some hay inside a hiding place, my suggestion would be to go to a feed store and ask if they have orchard grass hay. If they do, ask them if you can pick up a bag of their leavings off the ground. A whole bale would be much too much for you. Orchard grass hay is soft and sweet-smelling, and edible, should the tortoise so desire.

Yvonne


----------



## Maggie Cummings

That's what I do and they let me fill two large bags with loose hay. I don't ask what kind it is, it's several different kinds, I just scoop it up. Bob loves it, he eats it and naps in it...


----------



## tortoisenerd

I use Timothy hay for a pile under Trevor's light. He likes to hide under it and climb on it, and even though it's pretty stick-like it doesn't bother him. I wouldn't use it for a hide though. I think you got some great ideas.  My little Trevor doesn't like typical hides. He prefers his hay pile and fake plants over his log or a box.


----------

