Sherlock: Advice and Help! (Greek)

Hi everyone this little ninja turtle is called Sherlock and he is brilliant as far as having my first tortoise goes. It seems that where we brought him from gave us poor advice, with regards to what would be best for him. Yes I brought books and researched on line before buying him but there were so many contradictions out there it seems impossible to know what to do right. My first question is am I using the correct bedding for him. I ask as this was the bedding used at the 'reputable' place we brought him and also they supplied us with when I brought the Viv.

Hi and welcome! So lets get started, first things first, for sure you want to change the substrate to something more suitable for this lil one. One of the substrate i highly recommend is good ol' dirt =) The wood chip you are using holds no humidity and can cause molding if wet that can lead to other issues. You dont want that im sure =) I like to use dirt because it can hold humidity really well... another great substrate is coconut husk/coir. That holds humidity really well too!

Here is a great page to read by our good ol friend @HermanniChris
A little outdated (*Cough* Sorry chris lol) but i still follow this one minus the sand.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/greek-tortoise-testudo-graeca-care-sheet-overview.87146/

Joe I'm going to have to take your new tortoise I sent you back for that one!

What's outdated about that care sheet is the mentioning of aspen wood shavings. It's entirely unacceptable to use for young tortoises and really only temporarily ok for adults. The sand thing is optional and a personal preference. Sand is natural, it's what the tortoises spend the majority of their time on in nature depending on geographical origin. Most greeks spend A LOT of time on sand or a substrate that is part sand. They don't live on just dirt. We use sand mixed into our substrates, always have, always will. We've never, ever had an issue and find it is beneficial. However, like I always say, if you're scared of it, do not use it. It won't "make or break" anything for you and your tortoise. There's no "rule of thumb" to use or not to use it. It's what YOU do or don't want to do. Impaction can happen and many things can cause it, sand is one that usually gets blamed for this. But again, we go as natural as possible here because these animals are 100% wild no matter how "captive bred" they are and in more then 2 decades we've never seen a problem. So, to reiterate, it's personal preference. Use what you feel you're comfortable with but it needs to retain moisture thus the reason for aspen shavings being outdated.

Thank you @Jlant85 and @HermanniChris. I will search around and see where I can grab the correct substrate from. Not having much luck at my local pet store :-(

@HermanniChris Nicely said ^_^ I've always taken your advise and @Sherlock-Spur-Thighed listen to this guy! He knows what he's talkin bout... Im actually going to try the sand... start off at 75% dirt and 25% sand... ^_^

Please dont take my buttercup away! @HermanniChris

Interesting turn of events @HermanniChris, I went back to the pet store I actually bought Sherlock from and took with me all the information and advice I have been given from yourselves and when buying the correct topsoil etc - The owner advised me against it lol He told me Beech chips were best for vivarium tortoises and customers that use the top soil mix find their tortoises behave differently and always go back to beech chips!! Thought you might find that interesting ;-) xx

He presumably doesn't sell coco coir or repti-bark.
I am not surprised by this.

Spot on @Tidgy's Dad ;-) When he asked me where I got 'all this' information from and I explained he rolled his eyes. He seemed quite offended by me lol. At most he had cypress mulch but told me it was all out back and if I really wanted it he could go and get one. I'll be honest Portsmouth is a hard place to find the right stuff for the little guy.

Most pet shops will claim that what you really need is what they just happen to have to sell.
Even some large reptile shops seem to be clueless.

ZEROPILOT said:

Most pet shops will claim that what you really need is what they just happen to have to sell.
Even some large reptile shops seem to be clueless.

Click to expand...

That's one reason why the Internet is great: we can purchase things not locally available to us

Pet store giving bad info?????? Shocker
:sarcasm inserted here:

Sometimes garden stores are a good place to get what you need for tortoises.

HA! Dude is a moron... sorry for being so blunt about it but that guy just refused to listen and learn because he rather sell his stuff than really care for the animals. Sad but this happens a lot more often than you think...

He seems to have taken to it brilliantly. He is up and about more Have also changed food 'bucket' to a plate for the time being. Now on the hunt for an open table top for the little greek. I do have a video of him being in the soil for the first time. Will figure out how to upload it so everyone can see it

Thanks.
That would be good to see.