Best substrate and is hibiscus good?

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smarch

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My male Russian tortoise Franklin (aprox. 6 years) has a habit of pacing through his water (not a problem on its own since he uses his water) but it puts a lot of water into his substrate, I use reptibark and keep it 4-5 inches deep for burrowing. I try as often as I notice to mix up the bark to bring the soggy stuff to the top to dry. After a while small fruit flys start to take up residence in his enclosure. I'm not sure if it has to do with the water or perhaps they come in with the food I pick from outside.

My questions on that are, could they come in on the food? Would rising the food help? What would be the best substrate to not raise humidity when Franklin splashes? Are these flies harmful to him or just annoying? And is there any way to clean his mulch and dry it (without baking it.. My mom will not allow tortoise housing in the oven she makes food in).

Also my second topic is, I've heard mixed things, are hibiscus flowers a dietary addition or are they a treat? Since its blooming time here my girlfriend has been bringing over 1 or 2 flowers on days she comes over, he loves them and I feed them to him but do still feed him breakfast/dinner greens but is it ok to give him the flowers this often?

Also since I just notice last night that his beak seems to be getting a little long. What's the best way to trim it? I've read to file it like you would a fingernail, but how do you get them to keep their heads out and make it as least traumatizing as possible for him? And does his mouth need to be open, will it hurt if I'm filing against his lower jaw? It's not severely long I'd just like to file it before it gets too long and I can do anything.
 

wellington

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Hibiscus flower and leaf are a great food source. Any substrate will get those little bugs. They are not harmful, just a pain to us humans. Why not build him a nice outdoor enclosure for summer months and let him be on natural substrate, grass, weeds and dirt? You can freeze the substrate, but it only slows the process of the bugs coming back. Maybe have two large containers of substrate. While you are using one, you could have one in the freezer, then just switch them out more often.
 

smarch

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He has an outdoor enclosure crafted from our old sandbox with some mulch and grass (and a little bit of sand, yes I know the risks but I know he was WC and sand makes he extra happy, the food and water there is not in the sand though) it's only temporary right now, it has no cover yet so I have to be out watching him when he's in it. And I also have a harden fence we move around so when we go swimming in our lake he can be out but he still needs the supervision. His enclosure inside is more of a when I'm at work thing and nighttime thing.
 

Tom

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Your substrate sounds fine.

Those are Phorid flies, not fruit flies and they are harmless detrivores. Short of pesticides, nothing will keep them away long term.

Hibiscus flowers are okay, but I don't think I'd feed them to a small tortoise every day. Maybe two or three flowers a week if he's eating all sorts of other good stuff too. Hibiscus leaves are an excellent part of a varied diet.

Don't take Internet advice on how to trim the beak. Too much can be misunderstood or missed. Get someone who is experienced with it to walk you through it in person for at least the first time. Pay a vet if need be. Just don't let them give your tortoise any "vitamin" injections. (They always seem to want to do this...)
 

Brewster320

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Usually I don't mind when I find little creepy crawlies in my enclosures unless they are ants, spiders, or centipedes. They just act as clean up crew, the decomposers. I actually have compost worms that I introduced from my worm colony into my russian's enclosure and they breed and live in the soil. They don't multiply as quickly dude to there not being as much food as I would introduce to my actual colony but theres enough that when there tortoise waste and left over food I just mix it down into the soil and it usually gone within 2 weeks depending on a few factors. Pill bugs, springtails and millipedes also work good for this and I have then flourishing in my Mantella Frog's live vivarium and some people keep hermit crabs with their tortoises to do the same thing.

The one critter that bugs me though in large numbers are the fungus gnats but this is because they fly around. I haven't had a huge problem with them in my set ups though (mostly my potted house plants -_-). Though they do breed in my Mantella's setup at low numbers but in there they become part of the food chain so they don't go out of control lol.
 

mainey34

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My experience with reptibark and cypress mulch have been..before i started freezing it. If you leave vegitation and foods in long enough, it will creat bugs. The bedding already has bugs in it. Keeping it moist is cause for breeding. I have learned when i purchase a bag or 2 when they are on sale i put them in the freezer for a week or so. I dont have that problem anymore. I cant see baking it. It seems to dangerous and too messy. If mine gets to damp i will take it outside on a nice warm day lay some newspaper out and put the substrate on it to dry. This helps prolong it. Unless your tort poops in it a lot. The bugs really are a a pain. The hibiscus is a good treat, but in moderation..they can also eat the leaves...
 

smarch

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I thought I remembered hearing bakin it worked but now thinking it does sound pretty dangerous, my luck it'd burst I to flames... But next time I notice bugs I'll get a new bag and freeze it ahead if time and try that. He doesn't poop in his mulch much at all, he's quite good at going when he jumps in his water dish, and when he doesn't I take out the poops and some mulch around. But with food sometimes he throws it everywhere and it doesn't all get scooped up all the time so that could probably be it. But I never thought of how they could have come in with the mulch.

And he never got the hibiscus everyday, 3-4 times a week at most, but I think I'll cut him down to 2. Even as a snack I know that more greens are better than the flowers, and he loves his greens as well so he'll be fine.
 
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