New here with substrate question

[goldie]

Hey you guys I have a little Golden Greek and was wondering about substrate also. I use ground walnut and keep his habitat nice and dry and hot on one side... but I do soak 4 times a week. Should I add moisture to the substrate. Also my Greek is about the size of a Silver dollar, is it to early to keep protected outside during the day for natural sunlight? I am from California and I have a one year old Greek that is outside during the day and inside at night can I keep them together or will my 1 year old get aggressive..both are Golden Greeks

 

[GBtortoises]

RE: Greek Tortoise temp. help

I'm not positive, but last I knew, I thought ground walnut shell was poisonous. Someone please correct me if I am incorrect!

A better substrate would be an 100% organic soil or an organic soil/coconut coir mix. It will hold it's form, hold moisture better and is safe. Some people suggest sand mixed in too. I personally don't like sand because it sticks to everything moist including food, eyes and mouth.

It's never too early to put your tortoise outside. After all, that's where they are in the wild! As long as the temperatures (and environment in genral) are within it's safe range and it is in a secure, safe habitat.

After a quarantine period to make sure that your new tortoise is healthy and that it is strong enough to withstand anything that you current Greek may be harboring, it's fine to put them together as long as they are comparible in size. I doubt very much that you current tortoise will become aggressive just because a new tortoise is added unless it is a mature male or they are both males and one is near maturity. But it's difficult to say for certain without more information on your current tortoise.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Goldie:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Its always a good idea to start a new thread if you have a question different from what the original thread is about. That way more people will see YOUR question and you'll get more help. (I split off Goldie's question)

May we know your name and where you are?

 

[goldie]

Hi, my name is Kelly California..San Jose

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Are ground walnut shells bad? I don't want my other greek to get sick.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, they may look nice, but they are very bad for your tortoise.

 

[HipsterTorts]

Hi Kelly
Yeah the walnut shells are bad. I use peat moss for substrate. I also have a baby greek, two actually, and tried a coconut coir mix (eco earth) but it seemed to dry out really fast and irritate their eyes. So far the peat moss has worked really well and was only $8 at lowes for a huge bag.

 

[goldie]

thanks so much.. I will go get peat moss and change it. I hope my little friend was not affected by the shells! I will let you know how it goes.

 

[goldie]

Bad news Aragon started bumping Arwen..guess I have to separate them now