Good substrate?

[KoopaDaTroopa]

thoughts on the new substrate?

 

[Tim Carlisle]

New substrate?

 

[KoopaDaTroopa]

thoughts on the new substrate?

 

[KoopaDaTroopa]

New substrate?

Sorry forgot photo

 

[Tim Carlisle]

Sorry forgot photo

Is that orchid bark?

 

[zovick]

Sorry forgot photo

It looks way too dry. Also the water dish you are using is drowning hazard for your tortoise. Instead use a shallow clay saucer.

 

[KoopaDaTroopa]

It looks way too dry. Also the water dish you are using is drowning hazard for your tortoise. Instead use a shallow clay saucer.

Sorry bout the water dish! I will work to get a new one. I’m pretty sure they have terracotta pots at Home Depot. I recently found out about pouring warm water in the edges of the enclosures so the moisture goes deep or something. I also misted the enclosure. Did I over due it or under do it. Or is it good? It feels moist when I touch it by allot.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Sorry bout the water dish! I will work to get a new one. I’m pretty sure they have terracotta pots at Home Depot. I recently found out about pouring warm water in the edges of the enclosures so the moisture goes deep or something. I also misted the enclosure. Did I over due it or under do it. Or is it good? It feels moist when I touch it by allot.

With coco coir, you should be able to hold it in a fist without too much moisture coming out and it should more or less hold its shape when you do, if it crumbles apart it’s too dry, if a bunch of water comes out, it’s potentially too much, it can take time to find the balance, but you’ll get there, make it nice and damp(not sopping wet) and firmly press it down by hand, if you see water coming up, add more coir to soak it up

Seeing as this is a baby you have, he’d greatly benefit from a closed chamber if it isn’t already, there’s some different options in here

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[zovick]

Sorry bout the water dish! I will work to get a new one. I’m pretty sure they have terracotta pots at Home Depot. I recently found out about pouring warm water in the edges of the enclosures so the moisture goes deep or something. I also misted the enclosure. Did I over due it or under do it. Or is it good? It feels moist when I touch it by allot.

Misting won't do the trick and can actually be detrimental to your tortoise's respiratory tract.. You need to pour the water into the 4 corners of the enclosure so the moisture is underneath the substrate and gradually soaks through and up to the surface. You should probably take everything out of the enclosure and use your hands to work the water into the substrate the first time you do this. After that, when the surface just starts to look dry, pour water into the corners again.

 

[Tom]

thoughts on the new substrate?

We really want to help you succeed and keep your tortoise healthy and happy. With that in mind, we have to tell you what is wrong so you know what to fix. This is all meant to help you, so please don't feel discouraged. No one is born knowing this stuff.

You've got the wrong substrate. You bought coco "fiber", not coco coir. Those fibers will be eaten either accidentally or on purpose, and they can cause impaction. You need to replace the substrate with plain coco coir, also sometimes called coco peat. The names can be confusing. Not peat. Not sphagnum moss, or sphagnum peat moss. Just plain coco coir without the extra fiber.

From the hardware store, you don't want a terra cotta pot. You want a terra cotta saucer that would usually go under a pot to catch any drips. I recommend one for the food too. And then get two extras so that you can rotate through them as you take the dirty ones out to clean them. Also, you will break one at the worse possible time, and you'll be glad that you already have a spare or two. Ask me how I know this...

 

[KoopaDaTroopa]

We really want to help you succeed and keep your tortoise healthy and happy. With that in mind, we have to tell you what is wrong so you know what to fix. This is all meant to help you, so please don't feel discouraged. No one is born knowing this stuff.

You've got the wrong substrate. You bought coco "fiber", not coco coir. Those fibers will be eaten either accidentally or on purpose, and they can cause impaction. You need to replace the substrate with plain coco coir, also sometimes called coco peat. The names can be confusing. Not peat. Not sphagnum moss, or sphagnum peat moss. Just plain coco coir without the extra fiber.

From the hardware store, you don't want a terra cotta pot. You want a terra cotta saucer that would usually go under a pot to catch any drips. I recommend one for the food too. And then get two extras so that you can rotate through them as you take the dirty ones out to clean them. Also, you will break one at the worse possible time, and you'll be glad that you already have a spare or two. Ask me how I know this...

So I replace the whole substrate

 

[Tom]

So I replace the whole substrate

Yes. Or hand pick out each and every one of those hair like fibers, one by one.

 

[KoopaDaTroopa]

Yes. Or hand pick out each and every one of those hair like fibers, one by one.

Pick out the coco husk?

 

[Tom]

Pick out the coco husk?

It was a joke. Yes, you need to replace the substrate. Use coco coir, not coco fiber.

 

[KoopaDaTroopa]

It was a joke. Yes, you need to replace the substrate. Use coco coir, not coco fiber.

Can I cut the straw into smaller pieces? As far as I have seen him he never tryed to eat the new substrate. He also burrowed fully for the first time and I feed him off a plate. If I feed him off a plate what risk of impaction is there?

 

[Tom]

Can I cut the straw into smaller pieces? As far as I have seen him he never tryed to eat the new substrate. He also burrowed fully for the first time and I feed him off a plate. If I feed him off a plate what risk of impaction is there?

There is no practical way to cut every one of those fibers down to size. There are too many. Some of those pieces will be accidentally ingested, and sometimes they do it on purpose. Feeding off of a plate, or my preference is to use a sunken terra cotta saucer, reduces the likelihood and amount of substrate ingestion, but does not eliminate it.

It's a bummer. You got the wrong substrate. It's not worth risking your tortoise's life over.

Also, did you remove the ramped water bowl? That is much more of an immediate danger than your substrate.

 

[KoopaDaTroopa]

There is no practical way to cut every one of those fibers down to size. There are too many. Some of those pieces will be accidentally ingested, and sometimes they do it on purpose. Feeding off of a plate, or my preference is to use a sunken terra cotta saucer, reduces the likelihood and amount of substrate ingestion, but does not eliminate it.

It's a bummer. You got the wrong substrate. It's not worth risking your tortoise's life over.

Also, did you remove the ramped water bowl? That is much more of an immediate danger than your substrate.

I should have time to go to home Depot today or tommrow.