Eco earth as a russian substrate??

[Sheldon the russian tortoise]

I want to switch my Russians substrate but i don't know if only eco earth is a good substrate thanks

 

[Tom]

Yes it is. That is what I'm using for all my russian babies right now.

 

[Sheldon the russian tortoise]

Thanks

 

[angiemoth]

What is eco earth?

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[kanalomele]

Eco earth is the brand name (also Bed a Beast) for what we generally refer to as coco coir. I use it myself but mix it at 50:50 ratio with a plain topsoil. Works great for Russian hatchlings.

 

[angiemoth]

Ok thanks- i haven't been able to find any of this locally yet so may have to order it online.

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[kanalomele]

Where are you? A plain topsoil with no added fertilizer, perlite or vermiculite is also a good choice. Mix that with plain, clean dirt from your yard and you will have a perfectly acceptable substrate.

 

[cemmons12]

I also use eco-earth coco coir on my Russian and my Sulcata. Good stuff.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Ecco earth & play sand is a good mix. I add a little finished compost to it, too.

 

[cemmons12]

I don't recommend using play sand as it can cause impaction if ingested. Just my thoughts on it.

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[Tom]

Ecco earth & play sand is a good mix. I add a little finished compost to it, too.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I agree with Cemmons here. Sand is a potential impaction risk and skin and eye irritant. I won;t use it all all with any species. Seen too many sand impaction X-rays at too many vet offices.

Also, I don't think adding all that composted organic material is a good idea for an indoor enclosure either.

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Ok thanks- i haven't been able to find any of this locally yet so may have to order it online.

You can buy it in bulk from some garden stores in big blocks for a fraction of the pet store price. I just paid $12 and it was enough to do two 100 gallon tanks and a 135.

 

[cemmons12]

Hey Tom, is the stuff your buying in bulk fine like the coco coir bricks? I did buy a bag of stuff from big lots this spring and it was big chunks like mulch, which neither Cooper nor Ophelia like to walk in at all. So I had to throw it all out and went to the pet store and got 6 new bricks. Thanks Tom!

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[biochemnerd808]

I get the big huge block of compressed coconut coir at the garden center. Aside from the small downside that it hatched a bunch of tiny flies, it was awesome, and enough to fill 2 large tortoise tables.
The smaller bricks at Petco or Petsmart work fine, too... you just end up spending a little more.

When the time comes to throw out the substrate, I just throw it in the compost, or even directly onto my flower beds. It makes great mulch!

I've tried adding the sand (when people say to make a 50:50 mix, they mean by dry weight, btw, so that ends up being about 1 cup of sand for 2 bricks of coco coir). I didn't find it to improve texture or moisture enough to warrant the danger of impaction.

I have tried many different brands of top soil (and have encountered flies, smells, and other horrid things), and finally have decided that I like the ACE Hardware brand top soil best. It has no yucky stuff added, and it's cheap. I have it in 2 of my tortoise enclosures (for my redfoot, and in part of my baby Marginated's enclosure). For the Russian torts' tables I use coconut coir (hoping for a few more weeks of outdoor time for them).