Is it possible to use sand and clay substrate for a Russian tortoise?

[BorisTheWonderTort]

I do understand the problems that sand substrate cause, but for an adult would a mix of sand/rock/hardened clay be suitable. I was having a look into some research about their wild area and I have been thinking about how best to recreate their sandy type steppes environment. For the baby I still keep them in a reptibark humid enclosure but I was wondering if I could make something like this for when they become an adult?

 

[BorisTheWonderTort]

PS it wouldn’t be full sand because I won’t want my tort to develop arthritis or impaction/eye issues.

 

[Blackdog1714]

Regular dirt, cypress or fir bark mulch. Please no sand

 

[BorisTheWonderTort]

Regular dirt, cypress or fir bark mulch. Please no sand

Not even a thin sprinkle on the surface?

 

[Sarah2020]

Hi I use orchid bark for my Russian and spot clean it lasts a while. IN UK I use swell reptiles whi deliver

Swell Premium Orchid Bark Coarse

Orchid bark is a woody substrate that is perfect for any rainforest setups Retains moisture and can be used to raise humidity Great for forest dwelling species

www.reptiles.swelluk.com

Out of stock bit you can splenectomy an alert when back in stock
Also from Amazon Pro rep ....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Z33MCZT/?tag=
Sand and soil can be messy, get in their food, get in thier eyes and is not rerecommended. It can be ingested and cause internal issues.

 

[TammyJ]

The tortoises may travel across sand to get where they are going in the wild, but they don't live and eat in it if they have a choice.

 

[Maggie3fan]

NO SAND!!! How can you say "I do understand the problems that sand substrate cause", yet you are still looking for someone to say sand is ok...It's not ok...it can KILL your tortoise...yet you still want to use some? NO

 

[BorisTheWonderTort]

Hi I use orchid bark for my Russian and spot clean it lasts a while. IN UK I use swell reptiles whi deliver

Swell Premium Orchid Bark Coarse

Orchid bark is a woody substrate that is perfect for any rainforest setups Retains moisture and can be used to raise humidity Great for forest dwelling species

www.reptiles.swelluk.com

Out of stock bit you can splenectomy an alert when back in stock
Also from Amazon Pro rep ....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Z33MCZT/?tag=
Sand and soil can be messy, get in their food, get in thier eyes and is not rerecommended. It can be ingested and cause internal issues.

I know that but I think a small amount will be ok in my outdoor enclosure

 

[BorisTheWonderTort]

NO SAND!!! How can you say "I do understand the problems that sand substrate cause", yet you are still looking for someone to say sand is ok...It's not ok...it can KILL your tortoise...yet you still want to use some? NO

I was wondering for an outdoor enclosure. Sand can kill your tortoise but I wasn’t going to use that high of a quantity. The picture I added was a photo of Russian tortoise natural habitat which contains a small amount of sand on the surface with a hard clay base. The indoor enclosure doesn’t contain that but for the outdoor I was wondering if anyone else had any experience with trying to replicate this terrain.

 

[BorisTheWonderTort]

The tortoises may travel across sand to get where they are going in the wild, but they don't live and eat in it if they have a choice.

My enclosure is 22x16 and I was going to put a few hand fulls of sand around the rocky patch and a clay area with around a handful of sand on top to help drainage and the dry terrain that they have in the wild .

 

[Tom]

I know that but I think a small amount will be ok in my outdoor enclosure

We are unanimously telling you "no, sand is a bad idea". Why do you think that is?

If you keep asking, you will find someone who tells you what you want to hear. Then you can learn about what sand does to tortoises first hand with your own tortoise.

Your enclosure is not the wild. Your tortoise is not eating or behaving as a wild tortoise would. Is sand possible? Of course it is. Is sand suitable? No. No it is not. Do some people still use it and recommend it? Yes, yes they do. Do some tortoises still get skin and eye irritation, as well as sand impaction from this practice? Yes, yes they do.

 

[BorisTheWonderTort]

We are unanimously telling you "no, sand is a bad idea". Why do you think that is?

If you keep asking, you will find someone who tells you what you want to hear. Then you can learn about what sand does to tortoises first hand with your own tortoise.

Your enclosure is not the wild. Your tortoise is not eating or behaving as a wild tortoise would. Is sand possible? Of course it is. Is sand suitable? No. No it is not. Do some people still use it and recommend it? Yes, yes they do. Do some tortoises still get skin and eye irritation, as well as sand impaction from this practice? Yes, yes they do.

Ok but is the rock and hardened clay allowed? That was what I was really asking for. I understand that my enclosure is not the wild but I wanted to make a nice enclosure for my Russian tortoise when he is full grown that was similar to the wild - not identical. I really didn’t think that a few handfuls of sand would cause harm due to the size of the enclosure but my main question was the rock and hardened clay because that is more like their wild environment.

 

[Tom]

Ok but is the rock and hardened clay allowed? That was what I was really asking for. I understand that my enclosure is not the wild but I wanted to make a nice enclosure for my Russian tortoise when he is full grown that was similar to the wild - not identical. I really didn’t think that a few handfuls of sand would cause harm due to the size of the enclosure but my main question was the rock and hardened clay because that is more like their wild environment.

I use the native dirt in my area, but I see no harm in using rock that is too large to swallow, or hardened clay. Russians are adept escape artists and climbers, so my only caution would be to make sure he can't flip or get stuck in your art work.

As far as using a few handfuls of sand, why would you want to? The sand won't do anything beneficial for the tortoise, and it only takes one grain to cause and eye infection. A few handfuls is enough to cause impaction if ingested. I would just skip it in favor of items that don't cause harm.

 

[Sarah2020]

When I built my outside enclosure I layed chicken wire end to end with big breeze blocks surrounding. I added a a bed of pebbles then bark substrate. No soil no sand. When I clean my indoor enclosure the orchid bark goes to the outside enclosure. My Russian is very at home on bark and burrows. I have the knowledge that he can not tunnel out.