# Soil / Sand mix



## brian4342 (Sep 23, 2011)

Hi all, I'm currently using a sand soil mix for my russian torts however I have found it is not very good for digging or making tunnels. The mix gets too dry/power-y even though i spray it with water ever so often. So when they dig under stuff it all collapses. 
Should I have a underneath of just soil then the mix on top?


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## ascott (Sep 24, 2011)

Hi....I personally do not like sand as a substrate...even partially. My main reason is the added exposure it brings for impaction. As well as, yes it does not perform well as a support for the diggers.... Soil has always worked for me....regular ole dirt then maybe some organic soil mixed in for fun  IMO


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## tyler0912 (Sep 24, 2011)

i used sand and changed it the same day!


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## Jacqui (Sep 24, 2011)

I am the opposite of the above poster, I love (as do my tortoises seem to) the coir with some sand. All substrates could potentially cause an impaction, scratch an eye, or irritate a tortoise. A healthy, well hydrated tortoise however should not have a problem. Of course with sand, it's best to leep the percentage of it down. After all, most soils naturally contain some sand particles in them. 

What percent sand do you have to the soil?

I haven't started on the Russians yet, but am slowly moving more and more of my enclosures into the bio substrate. I take my already coir/sand plus most of my enclosures also have patches of mulch and/or leaves, so just mix them in. Only thing so far I haven't added is the soil. Just can't find any I like. 

Would you clarify what kind of tunnels you are thinking they should be making? When you moisten it, are you just spraying the top or actually adding water and/or mixing the substrate up?


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## Kristina (Sep 24, 2011)

I used sand for some time, but I ended up ditching it for pure soil. I use an organic humus that comes from Home Depot. It is thicker, blacker and richer than top soil, and seems to "pack" a little bit better. I then cover the soil with sphagnum moss (for babies) or leaf litter (for adults.) I really like how leaf litter holds more moisture than mulch, plus... it is free for me  I live next to a wooded area that has no chemicals used on it. 

Please understand that in an indoor enclosure, they are not going to be able tunnel like they can outside. The earth outside is very compacted, plus there are all kinds of roots and rocks and other structures within the soil that allows a burrow to maintain its shape. You could probably replicate it indoors, but it would require heavily tamping the earth layer by layer and planting a lot of grass and foliage and allowing it to grow for some time undisturbed. 

Your best bet would be to build a burrow. You could even spin off of Yvonne's humid hide idea, and build a half tunnel out of hardware cloth, and "sew" moss onto it. The floor of the burrow could be dirt. It just needs to be a tunnel with an area at the end big enough to stretch out and turn around. (I love when I have an epiphany like this - now my Russians are going to get a couple, lol.)


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## brian4342 (Sep 24, 2011)

Hi all, well I'm currently using 50/50 soil and sand mix. The tunnel idea I have is to have the log hide burried under the substrate so they can climb on it to bask closer to the heat, but when they get to the end of the hide (underneith) and try and dig (as one side is open and the other buried) it all collapses in and makes a hole to the surface. 

But the ideas of just soil do seem like sound ideas, however how would it end up under the basking area because so far it all turns out to be very dry and powery, to dampen it, all i do is spray it with water in the mornings.


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## Maggie Cummings (Sep 24, 2011)

brian4342 said:


> Hi all, well I'm currently using 50/50 soil and sand mix. The tunnel idea I have is to have the log hide burried under the substrate so they can climb on it to bask closer to the heat, but when they get to the end of the hide (underneith) and try and dig (as one side is open and the other buried) it all collapses in and makes a hole to the surface.
> 
> But the ideas of just soil do seem like sound ideas, however how would it end up under the basking area because so far it all turns out to be very dry and powery, to dampen it, all i do is spray it with water in the mornings.



Pour water over it, that would work better than spraying. I pour water over the top then mix it up with my hand...


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## fbsmith3 (Sep 24, 2011)

I used a 40% top soil (without any fertilizer), 30% peat, 20% play sand, 10% sphagnum moss. This is 6" deep and then another 6" of moist sphagnum moss on top of 3/4 of the house. Thing is heavy, but the soil substrate is for the earth worms and non-toxic plants and the Sphagnum moss is for her to burrow and search for earthworms.

I always want another terrestrial turtle/ Tortoise, but my wife does not want me to make another turtle house.


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