best substrate for radiated?

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cueboy007

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I'm new to this forum, and proud owner of radiated tortoises.

I'm curious what substrate other owners use for their tortoises. I live in Ontario, so the humidity is very low, 20-30%. I know that I need to keep the humidity in 50%-70% range, so I'm considering using cypress mulch, is cypress good for radiated tortoises? Other recommendations?

I'm here to learn, so feel free to correct me if I'm doing anything wrong.

Thanks,
 

coastal

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Cypress or Eucalyptus which ever you have access to. Be sure you have a humid hide with a heat pad, use sphagnum moss in the hide and be sure to keep it moist at all times. You will obtain perfect smooth growth this way. You should post a photo of your animal(s).
 

cueboy007

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I'll post pictures as soon as I finish the enclosure setup.

I use a ceramic heater, and underneath I put 2 dishes of water, with paper towel in it, so the water will evaporate faster. One end is warmer, and the other is a bit cooler, I will post pictures soon.

Is a humid hide a must? I try to keep the whole enclosure at 50-70% humid.

Thanks,
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Cueboy007:

Welcome to the forum!!

(May we know your name?)
 

cueboy007

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Sorry, forgot to mention my name, Yang.
Bad news, I can't find any Cypress/Eucalyptus mulch, all they have is red/cedar...
Any other good substitute? Sphagnum peat moss?
 

gummybearpoop

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Yang

Check out my link
http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Hatchling-yearling-enclosures

Here is a recent link to my setups. I live in arizona and the humidity here ranges from 5-20% most of the year. This setup has worked for radiateds, burmese stars, sri lankan stars, russians....

I use newspaper and sphagnum moss. I used to use cypress mulch but it seemed kinda rough on the delicate skin of baby radiata. One of my tortoises had an injury and I wasn't sure if it was the cypress mulch or timothy grass....so now I don't take a chance.

I spray the babies a few times a week.....the larger animals like once or twice a week. Been pretty busy, but as long as you keep the sphagnum moss moist then results are still nice



Norman
 

cueboy007

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Thanks Norman,
I happen to have some sphagnum moss at home, I'll give it a try.
Cypress mulch is only available here in canada as ZooMed Forest Floor, which gets pricy in large quantities.
Beautiful babies you have there.
 
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