I recently got an 8-year-old male Greek tortoise. His previous owners only used sawdust/straw as his substrate. I have tried switching him over to soil; however, he is not burrowing in it (maybe because its new to him), so I had to put straw on top. Should I just swap him back to only straw as substrate or will he eventually get used to the soil and attempt to burrow?
not burrowing?
- Thread starter TNR
- Start date
Alex and the Redfoot
Well-Known Member
Hello!
I would not use straw as it molds easily. Instead of bagged soil you can use coco coir (same texture, less issues). Substrate should be hand-packed and slightly damp, 4-8 inches thick. Or you can switch to orchid bark - it still allows burrowing but larger tortoises don't make that much mess out of it.
I wouldn't worry about him not burrowing. Maybe he just don't need to - e.g. if he has safe hiding places and is kept in comfort temperatures/humidity.
