lillyhurt
New Member
Hello! I received my baby russian tort 3 days ago and every time they go into their enclosure, they get super messy and their face gets covered in the substrate (as they love burrowing). i’m a little worried because i don’t want any issues with their health and my fear is that the substrate could lead to eye issues, breathing issues (like getting in their nose), and/or intestinal issues. i’ve done so much research and decided on using a coco coir brick mixed with reptisand (about 60-70% coco coir and 30-40% sand) but they get so messy and i am so nervous they’re gonna get sick or worse! i wanna hear any advice possible as they love to burrow and seem to like the substrate but i do see them wipe their eyes periodically and i really don’t want them to hurt their eyes. i also saw a coco coir fiber in their poop and have pulled it out of their mouth before so i don’t want to continue having it in there if it isn’t safe. the substrate is moist and humidity is always around 50-70% so i don’t know what else to do. any help is much appreciated!!