DARKFIRE007
Active Member
First I own a largely adult male Russian tortoise named Boris
I am not only new here, but still a fairly new first time reptile owner at only 5 months in. I have muddled my way through fairly well despite conflicting opinions on everything from diet to substrate. I use a dome ceramic fixture UVB basking lamp, a cuttle bone, a nice hide away from the basking area, and I feed leafy greens such as turnips, collards, kale, very rare strawberries and so on. I have good soaking practices and found a sly way to get water in him simply by wetting his greens. Mine refuses to drink from a dish....ever.
My issue is substrate, when I bought him he came with a bag of forest floor...basically a billion possible splinters. I knew no better and while using it I saw an absolutely horrific story about a very large Sulcata who got a piece in his neck and nearly died. I once again made a mistake, I swapped over to something very inexpensive that lasts a very long time which is red cedar bedding. I have yet to replace it, and after discovering it can be toxic I am scrambling to get another kind. Thankfully he has flourished and made it through hibernation this year after burrowing down despite this stuff.
Nearly EVERY substrate I see is moisture retention based. I have a desert breed so I don't want to assault him with humidity, lord knows my state is humid enough already. I also have YET to find a substrate people will not bash in some form such as too humid, gut impaction, irritate the eyes, fatal if ingested, and on and on.
I am in need of a substrate that allows burrowing for hibernation and can sustain eggs since I later plan on getting a female. Although I may use an incubator, the option would be nice. It is just a monster challenge to find a dry type of substrate for a desert breed that isn't dangerous in some way.
I am seriously about ready to make a few pounds of rubber pellets a tad larger than his mouth and cover it with Timothy hay. Would have the benefit of being reusable, Warmth loss wouldn't be an issue either since he is indoors.
I am eyeing Aspen as a sole substrate also, but have not decided. any advice from a fellow Russian owner would be helpful. Hopefully I provided enough info.
Thank's all..
I am not only new here, but still a fairly new first time reptile owner at only 5 months in. I have muddled my way through fairly well despite conflicting opinions on everything from diet to substrate. I use a dome ceramic fixture UVB basking lamp, a cuttle bone, a nice hide away from the basking area, and I feed leafy greens such as turnips, collards, kale, very rare strawberries and so on. I have good soaking practices and found a sly way to get water in him simply by wetting his greens. Mine refuses to drink from a dish....ever.
My issue is substrate, when I bought him he came with a bag of forest floor...basically a billion possible splinters. I knew no better and while using it I saw an absolutely horrific story about a very large Sulcata who got a piece in his neck and nearly died. I once again made a mistake, I swapped over to something very inexpensive that lasts a very long time which is red cedar bedding. I have yet to replace it, and after discovering it can be toxic I am scrambling to get another kind. Thankfully he has flourished and made it through hibernation this year after burrowing down despite this stuff.
Nearly EVERY substrate I see is moisture retention based. I have a desert breed so I don't want to assault him with humidity, lord knows my state is humid enough already. I also have YET to find a substrate people will not bash in some form such as too humid, gut impaction, irritate the eyes, fatal if ingested, and on and on.
I am in need of a substrate that allows burrowing for hibernation and can sustain eggs since I later plan on getting a female. Although I may use an incubator, the option would be nice. It is just a monster challenge to find a dry type of substrate for a desert breed that isn't dangerous in some way.
I am seriously about ready to make a few pounds of rubber pellets a tad larger than his mouth and cover it with Timothy hay. Would have the benefit of being reusable, Warmth loss wouldn't be an issue either since he is indoors.
I am eyeing Aspen as a sole substrate also, but have not decided. any advice from a fellow Russian owner would be helpful. Hopefully I provided enough info.
Thank's all..