Hi Everyone from FLA

[Teiko's Mom]

Hi,
My son and I have just bought from a private breeder our first Leopard Tortoise hatchling, about 5 weeks old. Sooo cute and tiny. Seems active and healthy, has eaten a few bits of hibiscus and st. augustine grass . We named him/her? Teiko...it's an African name. I am trying to figure out the best substrate..seems everyone has a different opinion. I'm leaning towards cypress mulch? What does everyone else use and why? Thanks.....Linda

 

[Josh]

congrats on the new addition to your family and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! i think the most popular substrate is a coconut coir/playsand mixture but that might be because those are both relatively easy to find. i haven't used cypress but others will be able to weigh in on that...

 

[egyptiandan]

Welcome to the forum Linda I've never used Cypress mulch, so not going to be any help there either. I would use either soil or shredded aspen bedding.

Danny

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Linda: Welcome to the forum. You live in a really great state for plants and animals...I envy you!

Quite a few tortoise keepers use coconut coir mixed half and half with either playsand or top soil. You can buy the coconut coir at any plant nursery, or at a pet store where it is sometimes called Bed-A-Beast. It comes in a compressed brick and you have to soak it in a 5 gallon bucket of water. After it falls apart you drain off the water and mix it with the sand.

Yvonne

 

[micki]

hi and welcome to the forum.

 

[Redfootedboxturtles]

Wooooooo FL is the best!

 

[Isa]

Hello Linda
Welcome to the forum