Change substrate how often?

[jebedyah]

I am the inadvertent foster parent to a baby sulcata (shell about 3" long). Another family dropped it off at our elementary school this week saying they couldn't care for it and the science teacher asked if we'd take it for the summer and figure out its species and how to care for it.

My conclusion, after some help from American Tortoise Rescue and reading sulcata-station.org and this forum, is that neither the school nor our family is prepared to care for the tortoise long-term. I need to talk to the teacher next week but I think our goal will be to care for it as best we can until we can find a more appropriate home.

In the meantime, we've doubled the size of its home from a small terrarium to an 19x29" plastic bin with a heat lamp over one end and a hiding spot at the other end. We're feeding it greens, we're soaking it daily, and we let it roam the sunny backyard for 30 min this afternoon.

Humidity seems like the next thing to tackle, and to deal with that it sounds like we need to change the substrate in the bin (currently newspaper) to something like coco coir or cypress mulch. If we do that, how often are we likely to have to change the material? What's the most economical option? I want to do the best we can for the little one but we also don't have a ton of time or money to spare.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Jebedyah:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

I use cypress mulch or orchid bark. Because my tortoises are only on substrate (indoors) for the winter, the substrate usually lasts the whole season. Then the tortoises go outside. If you spot clean daily, you shouldn't have to change it for quite a while.

 

[dmmj]

This is Off Topic but if you can't take care of it long term, your local CTTC (California Turtle and Tortoise Club) should be able to take it in and find it a new home. And welcome to the forum.

 

[jebedyah]

Thanks, Yvonne. I'll see what a local nursery carries tomorrow. I'm in the San Francisco Bay area.

dmmj--Yes, Susan at American Tortoise Rescue suggested that the Sacramento club would likely be helpful.

 

[ADVANceNA]

hey jebedyah ! welcome to the forum. way to be responsible with the little guy and giving him a good home right now. yvonne gave some excellent ideas. if your local nursery does not have those available or if there are any chemicals used as additives in the substrate, your local petsmart or petco should sell coco fiber bricks. easily found in the reptile section, the pack comes with three bricks of compressed coco fiber. its really simply, just take one brick and leave it in a bucket with X amount of water and in 20 minutes or so later you will have a bucket of coco fiber. it will also be damp, and retains moisture really well, which helps out with keeping humidity up.

also a warning. i think if you take care of him over the summer, you might want to keep him, they can be quite charming haha enjoi and welcome to the forum again !