substrate

I am building a new enclosure and want to have ideal substrate depth. If I remember correctly it is 12"? I have read some places that the length of the tortoise is sufficient for substrate depth. I have kept them in small to medium sized fir bark because where I live I cannot find smaller...

Hey so im just looking online for the best substrate to grow weeds for my russian hatchlings! What are russians usual fave weed too? I know mine love dandelions but want them to have a variety!! Please can someone point me to the best stuff

Hi all please have you got some advice on substrate I have a fine dry earth substrate under heat lamp with a rock to bask but at cooler end I have coco coir mixed with hay that he like to burrow in and sleep at night time , I’ve had conflicting advice as some say don’t spray and others say it...

Hello I have a 5 week old sulcata tortoise Who’s named yoda! Who is doing great! Only question or concern I have is in recent days I’ve noticed tiny tiny little bug crawling in his substrate and also these gnat looking flys. Is there anything I can do to get rid of them? Are they dangerous to...

Hi everyone, me again! So, sad to say my substrate has become swarmed with gnats, RIP. My substrate is a mix of mostly coco coir with a little cyrprus mulch on top. I keep it pretty moist so that the top layer is somewhat dry to the touch but once it gets ruffled there is a layer of moist coco...

Hi everyone, I just discovered ants in my outdoor tortoise table... ahhhhggggg. I hate ants and they were all in the soil/food. what if a different substrate I can use that won’t attract ants like soil/eco earth will? I was thinking something like chips...or cypress mulch? Thanks! Rosty

Hello, I have had an Eastern Hermanns Hatchling for about a week now, he is only a little over a month old. I am keeping his enclosure damp for humidity and it never drops below 65% the temp is usually 80-90 during the day and around 73F at night. I noticed pieces of the substrate are turning...

Hello, I posted a thread yesterday on my enclosure and I am planning on DIY making a 4x6 table. So I have a few questions about specifics. Recommendations (preferably with links) for the best (and cheapest) substrate for russians Also recommendations for the best lighting/heating options. (I...

Hey everyone, I added a new substrate in addition to the cypress mulch. I wanted to get opinions and making sure I'm doing it right. It looks good and tuttle seems to enjoy it. But I notice that it keeps getting in his eyes and causes him to rub them. I've made sure to keep it very damp.

Ok so I found this stuff at menards it looks exactly like coconut coir to me. My plan was to put about 4 inches of this down and then cypress multch on top for a dry layer has anyone else used this stuff before does it work is it safe? Or am I better off just buy eco earth or something like that...

Hi all, I've had a beautiful Greek Tortoise for 7 years now, and I've been using eco earth coco fiber since I got him. It's great stuff - smells good, looks good, easy for him to burrow into, doesn't irritate him, relatively cheap, etc - but I find that it dries out insanely fast. Early on, I...

Hello, I have a Herman’s tortoise and recentlybought loose coconut Fiber but it keeps getting into his eyes and such so I added reptile bark, is that okay that I mixed substrates? Thank youuuuu

I picked up Nature's Care Organic Garden Soil from Home Depot thinking it was their organic potting soil brand that seemed good. The ingredients are not exactly the same, so I hesitate to use the garden soil with my russian tortoise, even though it will be mixed with sphagnum peat moss and...

Hey everyone! I am brand new to these forums and fairly new to the tortoise life. I have had my fair share of experiences with aquatic turtles, especially babies, but as I have learned, tortoises are very different. About a two months ago I really decided I was ready to commit to getting a...

Hello and thanks for reading my post! I decided to get a stinkpot musk turtle; I don’t have him just yet. I’m in the “researching phase”. I was thinking of a bare bottom tank with a few river rocks for climbing scattered around. Someone said they’d get enrichment from sand. Is bare bottom and...

I am going to be getting a hatchling baby hermann's or russian but I hear it's pretty similar either way. my question is, what will i need for it? what substrate? what should i do for the lighting and heating? and so on.

I’ve adopted a male Russian, with an 18 x 36 glass enclosure. (Two weeks ago). Initially he had nothing but a few wood shavings that he kept pushed in the far right corner. Now he has a big pile of chopped Timothy hay and wood shavings in that corner and he loves to bury himself in that pile...

So I am currently doing an internship at a rehab center in ohio and I have to do a project with one of the permanent education animals. My idea was to give the one small box turtle substrate that would make her have to use his back legs more often but at the same time wont be to hard for her to...

Hi all. New to the forum/first post here! Had a question about what kind of coconut substrate to use. Two of them are the same brand, but one is fine grade and the other is coarse grade. Not sure which grade would be better for my tortoise comfort-wise (burrowing, marching around, etc.) or what...

I'm getting a russian tortoise in the near future and was wondering what the best type of substrate for them is. I've done a lot of research but there seems to be a lot of contrasting opinions. Anyone have any suggestions?