Hi everyone!
I'm new here and new to torts. My fiance surprised me with a lovely golden greek on mother's day. As a side note, it wasn't a total impulse buy as i had always talked about how I wanted to one day own a tort and about all the research i've done on them and turtles.
Well now, years later, i can't remember everything and I'm running into issues. I've built a tort table which i have sitting on my living room floor. I live in Twentynine Palms, CA, USA and I really want to put the enclosure outside but i'm scared of the vicious fire ants we have everywhere outside. I'm not too concerned with the feral cats or the coyotes because I can easily build a top to the table for safety from those but i dont know how to protect against those ants. Until now, i'm resorting to doing the indoor thing until we move in a couple of months.
The problem i'm having now is substrate. i've done the topsoil/playsand mix. The only topsoil i found at home depot was by Ecoearth and i'm finding out that it has a strong manure smell to it. It also came with ants, which are now walking around my carpet!
Does topsoil need to be used or can i also use organic gardening soil? is there a difference? For those that keep your tort inside, how do you deal with the ants in the soil?
Thanks in advance!!
Here's a quick snapshot of the set up. I hadn't attached the UV lamp yet in the shot.
I'm new here and new to torts. My fiance surprised me with a lovely golden greek on mother's day. As a side note, it wasn't a total impulse buy as i had always talked about how I wanted to one day own a tort and about all the research i've done on them and turtles.
Well now, years later, i can't remember everything and I'm running into issues. I've built a tort table which i have sitting on my living room floor. I live in Twentynine Palms, CA, USA and I really want to put the enclosure outside but i'm scared of the vicious fire ants we have everywhere outside. I'm not too concerned with the feral cats or the coyotes because I can easily build a top to the table for safety from those but i dont know how to protect against those ants. Until now, i'm resorting to doing the indoor thing until we move in a couple of months.
The problem i'm having now is substrate. i've done the topsoil/playsand mix. The only topsoil i found at home depot was by Ecoearth and i'm finding out that it has a strong manure smell to it. It also came with ants, which are now walking around my carpet!
Does topsoil need to be used or can i also use organic gardening soil? is there a difference? For those that keep your tort inside, how do you deal with the ants in the soil?
Thanks in advance!!
Here's a quick snapshot of the set up. I hadn't attached the UV lamp yet in the shot.