Hello! We’ve had our Russian for about 6 months and in that time, we have figured out that our 6 year old son may be allergic to the substrate (maybe the dust or odor of it? Is it possible he’s allergic to the tortoise poop/pee ... even if we remove/clean quite often?) He is allergic to everything ... cats, dogs, birds, etc ... but we were hoping he wouldn’t be allergic to a tortoise. HA. He has respiratory problems and they’ve increased and been steady since we got our tortoise. I don’t want to have to give him Claritin year-round. Our Russian’s table is in our living room ... so it’s not in my son’s sleeping space but definitely in our general living space and I’m not sure where else we could move it. We want to try other easy-to-clean options for our table other than orchid bark/zoo med to see if that helps. I knew you guys would have the best ideas. I’d love to see photos of other setups. Thanks for your help!
Alternatives to zoo med/orchid bark ... I think my child is allergic?
- Thread starter jgeigley
- Start date
Coco coir?
Or you could consider building some kind of top on the enclosure.. making it like a closed chamber just to keep the allergens inside.
Just throwing out ideas. I hope you can get it worked out so everyone lives together peacefully
Or you could consider building some kind of top on the enclosure.. making it like a closed chamber just to keep the allergens inside.
Just throwing out ideas. I hope you can get it worked out so everyone lives together peacefully
daniellenc
Well-Known Member
Plain top soil, coco coir, orchid bark, or different mosses. Poop and pee would not be the culprit and even substrate allergies are suspect. My son has asthma linked to allergies that have improved with age and exposure. It’s fall here which is a trigger season for him. Is fall historically a rough season?
If not is your son touching the substrate or is it an open top enclosure?
If not is your son touching the substrate or is it an open top enclosure?
I use cypress mulch.
What if you rinsed the substrate first, to remove any dust, then set it up in a closed system?
It would seem that that would reduce prevalence as mobility of possible allergens ....
Sorry for your troubles, anything that has an impact on our children's health is scary, trying, and stressful.
Jamie
What if you rinsed the substrate first, to remove any dust, then set it up in a closed system?
It would seem that that would reduce prevalence as mobility of possible allergens ....
Sorry for your troubles, anything that has an impact on our children's health is scary, trying, and stressful.
Jamie
I know it's the wrong time of year weather wise, but this tortoise needs to live outside. For your immediate problem, try using dirt from outside.
So yeah, we live in an area where fall is long gone and it has been snowing. I feel like we are well past any outdoor seasonal allergies and there's no way this tortoise can live outside in our climate. (Except for a few months in the summer during the day.) I was thinking dirt was not great for Russians, but maybe we could try it. We haven't tried coco coir yet ... maybe it's worth a shot. And maybe there's still a different reason for the allergies ... my son's allergist just suggested it could be the tortoise. But maybe that's not it. Re-homing at this point is not an option so we will keep trying things – my son has autism and both of my kids have become quite attached. A different lid situation may help! Has anyone tried the Zoo Med reptile carpet? Or is that a no-go? Thanks for the suggestions!
daniellenc
Well-Known Member
Reptile carpet should be banned from the marketplace. It sounds like such an awesome idea until you use. It catches their nails and causes injury but more importantly must be replaced daily because pee/poo.....it's nasty stuff!
Glad I didn't bother trying it! Thanks!
I can see how it'd be useless with torts, but it's great for my Marine toad, Beulah ... I got two in the package, and she almost always poops in her pool, so I don't need to clean or change the reptile carpet in her enclosure often at all.
Jamie
Your tortoise will be happiest in plain dirt; that’s what he was born into. If you can get clean dirt, use it.
If you have “suspect” dirt, I believe you can bake *some* nastiness out of it but will let more experienced owners speak to that.
If you have “suspect” dirt, I believe you can bake *some* nastiness out of it but will let more experienced owners speak to that.
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