best substrate for sulcatas?

[Yvonne G]

If you use coconut coir, after you hydrate the brick, you get rid of the water and squeeze the excess out. Then you mix it with that same amount of either top soil or play sand (50/50). When you put this substrate into the habitat and smooth it out, the lights and heater (if you use one) quickly dry out the top layer of substrate, but if you dig down it will still be moist underneath. So in actuality, the tortoise is walking around on a dry floor. Every so often you can dig down and see if its still moist and if not, add some water and stir it around with your fingers. This is the time to pick out any poop you can find.

It sounds like your tortoise was in a habitat that was kept too wet, even the top layer was wet. Mixing with either play sand or top soil helps to dry out the top layer.

Now that the tortoise is on a hay substrate be sure to soak him a little more often. I used to keep my young animals on oat hay pellets and the little leopard baby that I kept is now pretty pyramided at 3 years of age.

Yvonne

 

[Maggie Cummings]

maggie3fan, im defently switching to orchid bark that you speak of, do you mix it with anything and do you mist it or anything? where can you buy orchid bark?

You can get it at most big box stores in Calif. Make sure that what you get does NOT have pine in it. Pine is toxic to tortoises. I have a partly blind Sulcata now that was blinded by pine substrate, and another hatchling I had died from it.
The product I use is made by Wonderbark. In Calif I get it at Orchard Hardware Supply. I pour warm water over it every other day or so then mix it all around. I'm sure you could just spray it if that's how you do things. I really stand by that product. I have 9 tortoise hatchlings on it right now and my colony of box turtles lives on and in it. HTH

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If you use coconut coir, after you hydrate the brick, you get rid of the water and squeeze the excess out. Then you mix it with that same amount of either top soil or play sand (50/50). When you put this substrate into the habitat and smooth it out, the lights and heater (if you use one) quickly dry out the top layer of substrate, but if you dig down it will still be moist underneath. So in actuality, the tortoise is walking around on a dry floor. Every so often you can dig down and see if its still moist and if not, add some water and stir it around with your fingers. This is the time to pick out any poop you can find.

It sounds like your tortoise was in a habitat that was kept too wet, even the top layer was wet. Mixing with either play sand or top soil helps to dry out the top layer.

Now that the tortoise is on a hay substrate be sure to soak him a little more often. I used to keep my young animals on oat hay pellets and the little leopard baby that I kept is now pretty pyramided at 3 years of age.

Yvonne

Are you saying you think your leopard is pyramided because he was kept too dry?
That's why I stress to new keepers the 3 things needed to prevent pyramiding...correct food, correct humidity and lots of exercise. Yes, I know you are not a new keeper. But there are new keepers on this forum...

 

[Yvonne G]

Are you saying you think your leopard is pyramided because he was kept too dry?

Yes. The oat hay pellets were totally dry with no way to make them moist, as they disintegrate and clump when wet. And I was not good about keeping the poor little guy hydrated. He was fed right and had a nice big habitat so he got plenty of exercise, the only thing wrong was he was kept too dry.

Yvonne

 

[Coldliz]

I know how to use the Eco earth. I DID wring it out after soaking. I did mix it with sand. It was not "Wet". I'm sorry if I sound offensive but I was not asking for advice. I was only posting my opinion and my experience with the Eco Earth for the original question of the thread.

 

[Yvonne G]

I know how to use the Eco earth. I DID wring it out after soaking. I did mix it with sand. It was not "Wet". I'm sorry if I sound offensive but I was not asking for advice. I was only posting my opinion and my experience with the Eco Earth for the original question of the thread.

ok...point taken. Sorry if it sounded like I was accusing you. But I think about EVERYONE who reads the forum,and not just the person who asked the question. So I went into a bit more detail for those who may not know about how to mix the eco earth. Again...I apologize. I wasn't picking on you!!

Yvonne

 

[jobeanator]

well ive tried looking online for orchid bark and it seems to be something quite hard to find. the one product i did find was from the uk and it had pine in it which is nothing i want. im thinking im just going to buy some eco earth and mix it with some of my reptilite sand for there bedding. would this be alright? and would it be alright for my 2 baby leopard tortoises?

 

[dcoolguy68]

just mix it with soil, go to www.sulcatastation.org to find out what you should avoid as a substrate and what would be really good as well.... the eco earth is easy to find and makes it easier for them to burrow when they want to

 

[DAC8671]

Where can I get eco earth? I'm just using timothy hay right now inside his house. He feeds on cement and has grass/dirt to roam around in.

 

[dcoolguy68]

you can find it at local pet stores

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Where can I get eco earth? I'm just using timothy hay right now inside his house. He feeds on cement and has grass/dirt to roam around in.

Interesting...I know Sulcata are tough but to eat cement??? LOL

 

[aka2tal]

I use Bermuda Grass as a Substrate for our three Sulcatas. I change it out once a week. Anybody else use Bermuda Grass?

 

[dcoolguy68]

I can't grow Bermuda grass lol

 

[drgnfly2265]

Are wood shavings alright (other than pine)???

____________________________________________________

Jamie

1 Sulcata (Bowser)

www.myspace.com/bowsertortoise

 

[dcoolguy68]

visit www.sulcatastation.org on substrate information

 

[K9KidsLove]

Hi...When you mix Bed-A-Beast with sand, do not use the reptile sand. Even tho the bag says it is safe, torts & lizards have a history of getting impacted when licking it to get the calcium from it. Use play sand from Home Depot or Lowes.
Hay is not a good substrate. When hay gets damp it molds. It can cause RI infection. Hay straw is safe however. But not pine straw. It is sometimes difficult to find in the south. You also need to be careful with hay or straw with heat lights over it. It could cause a fire.
Good luck
Patsy

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Wood shavings are not a good substrate for Sulcata as you cannot wet it and create the humidity that is needed by Sulcata.

 

[savanna]

we have our sulcata tortoise on rabbit pellet substrate we soak her every day and we also give her a large water dish where she can drink as often as needed. She also has Burmuda grass where she can go and dig and sleep .Our table is 5'x3' so if any one can suggest an economical substrate for such a large area. Our tortoise is 3 years old and 10 lbs.

 

[Crazy1]

Plain old clean yard dirt. Sometimes you can get clean dirt from construstion sites.

 

[Yvonne G]

we have our sulcata tortoise on rabbit pellet substrate we soak her every day and we also give her a large water dish where she can drink as often as needed. She also has Burmuda grass where she can go and dig and sleep .Our table is 5'x3' so if any one can suggest an economical substrate for such a large area. Our tortoise is 3 years old and 10 lbs.

Well, I hate to say this out loud, because it is frowned upon, but...
I also use pellets in some of my outdoor habitats. All of my animals are outside with warm houses that they come and go on their own in and out of. For the larger tortoises I have found that using oat hay pellets (not rabbit pellets, which are alfalfa hay) absorbs the urine very nicely. Also, it is not harmful if they should eat it, however, they don't. And its dry so it doesn't stick to their food. Your tortoise is of a good size that pellets shouldn't be harmful to his legs. You don't want to use pellets with small tortoises because they don't provide good footing, sometimes leading to a condition called spraddle leg in birds. In tortoises this condition hasn't been named yet, but I like the term spraddle leg. It means that because the tortoise has been pushing against the moveable pellets and not getting traction, he has strained his leg muscles and it causes crippling. Also, you can't moisten the pellets so you are unable to provide a humid habitat. But you are overcoming that problem by soaking your tortoise daily. You can also hot-glue-gun a sponge to the ceiling of his hide and keep the sponge moist. One caveat for you: I raised my first leopard hatchling on oat hay pellet substrate and now, at 4 years of age, she is quite pyramided. She had the right diet and plenty of exercise, so the culprit is the dry substrate.

Yvonne

 

[bsr8129]

If you want eco earth cheap, go to petguys.com you can get 3 bricks of it for a little under 4 bucks. I was using Timothy/Burmuda hay at 8 bucks for half a bay it would have lasted me the whole year.