Hermann eating plastic mat substrate

[Wish Lin]

I caught one of my tortoise eating on the plastic mat substrate as I got home today. He/She has never done this before, and although I pulled a chunk out of his/her mouth, it appeared that a small part of the mat has already been eaten:


The tortoise is well fed and so far has not shown any signs of discomfort. He/she ate his/her hibiscus flower and dandelion snack normally a couple hours after the incident.

Is this something I should worry about? Or will be the pieces be pooped out normally?

 

[Tom]

I caught one of my tortoise eating on the plastic mat substrate as I got home today. He/She has never done this before, and although I pulled a chunk out of his/her mouth, it appeared that a small part of the mat has already been eaten:

View attachment 328966
The tortoise is well fed and so far has not shown any signs of discomfort. He/she ate his/her hibiscus flower and dandelion snack normally a couple hours after the incident.

Is this something I should worry about? Or will be the pieces be pooped out normally?

It is likely that the pieces will pass, but this is not something that should be under the tortoises. You need to get rid of that mat and use the correct substrate under your tortoise. Here is the correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[wellington]

Exactly what Tom said. Plastic mat, grass carpet, etc is not appropriate for tortoises.

 

[TaylorTortoise]

Exactly what Tom said. Plastic mat, grass carpet, etc is not appropriate for tortoises.

There is no plastic mats in the wild, so don’t use it in captivity. They are probably stressed out that they can not borrow. Trying to get under the plastic to do so.

 

[Wish Lin]

Ok! I will get some coco coir and use that instead!

 

[Tom]

Ok! I will get some coco coir and use that instead!

Orchid bark works better. Coco coir is safe, but its messy. If you use coco coir, keep it damp and hand pack a thick layer of it firmly.