# Timothy Hay bedding question



## Seiryu (Jul 16, 2009)

Well I decided since I had to go to petsmart anyways for a few things. I decided to get some of the packaged timothy hay.

This will be used mainly for bedding in his hut as suggested here. They did not have just plain timothy hay. They had this stuff called "Timothy Hay PLUS Marigold"

http://www.kaytee.com/learn-share/news/kaytee-introduces-timothy.htm

Leopards can eat Marigolds, so I figure it is OK. It says specifically if you don't want to go to the link...

"Timothy Hay PLUS is an all natural line of chemical free high fiber"

And it says "The new Timothy Hay products include Timothy Hay Marigold for antioxidant enrichment"

I havn't put it in yet as I got it late last night. Let me know if this is OK.


----------



## Flametorch (Jul 16, 2009)

It should be fine, because if its edible and chemical free, your tortoise probably would not be harmed by it. If it really bothers you, maybe visit the brand's website, or recheck the nutrition facts and work it out to your needs


----------



## Yvonne G (Jul 16, 2009)

It would be just fine for your tortoise. However, I have purchased hay from pet stores before and it has been on the shelf for such a long time that it is VERY hard and pokey. Maybe if you put it in water for a bit to soften it.

Yvonne


----------



## spring pace (Jul 16, 2009)

hay is such a dry product, causes irritation to eyes and nares, when it gets wet it molds, those are the 3 reasons i never used hay as a bedding or substrate, theres better stuff out there to use that is longer lasting and condusive to the humidity levels leos and sulcatas need. smiles, spring


----------



## Seiryu (Jul 16, 2009)

emysemys said:


> It would be just fine for your tortoise. However, I have purchased hay from pet stores before and it has been on the shelf for such a long time that it is VERY hard and pokey. Maybe if you put it in water for a bit to soften it.
> 
> Yvonne



Thanks guys. I ended up soaking it for ~15minutes and it wasn't nearly as dry. Put it in his hut and he started eating it. Which is good lol but hopefully he won't eat it all and have no bedding.

He hasn't actually gone into his hide that i've seen. Do some just not need to go in because maybe he isn't as skittish? Adding the fake plants today, so hopefully it will look good.


----------



## tortoisenerd (Jul 16, 2009)

My tort doesn't like actual hides--he likes the hay pile without anything over it, and fake plants. He only just started using his log. Every tort has different interests and needs, so I'd experiment to see what your tort likes. Sometimes torts are very interested in eating substrate at first to later lose interest, but hay is good for him. hehe It also takes time for them to get used to any new cage furnishings until they think it's safe to go inside.


----------



## Madortoise (Jul 16, 2009)

I used a bag of Timothy Hay from a pet shop once for substrate and it seemed too hard & bulky. It also seemed belaboring for my tort as she couldn not have a good footing so I decided to take them out and have been feeding my tort the softer pieces little by little sprinkled on spring mix. The herb scissors with multiple blades come in handy for this.


----------



## tortoisenerd (Jul 17, 2009)

I agree it wouldn't be great for a large area. Just a small pile works for some torts though. That's great your tort will eat the hay!


----------

