Oyster shell substrate

cjheller

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Mar 19, 2018
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The oyster shells were so dusty so I rinsed them. Now it's a big goopy mess in the bucket. Should I have just put them in my tortoise house dry and dusty? Or was I suppose to rinse them? Not sure if they'll dry normally or if I need to just go buy more.
 

Maro2Bear

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The oyster shells were so dusty so I rinsed them. Now it's a big goopy mess in the bucket. Should I have just put them in my tortoise house dry and dusty? Or was I suppose to rinse them? Not sure if they'll dry normally or if I need to just go buy more.

Greetings...and welcome to the Forum.

What kind of Tortoise and what does your enclosure look like? If you can upload a pix of who you have, and what you have...it will help everyone provide some good valuable info. I’ve not seen oyster shells recommended for a substrate here, so I’m curious on your setup.

Welcome, post often!
 

cjheller

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Mar 19, 2018
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago,IL
Greetings...and welcome to the Forum.

What kind of Tortoise and what does your enclosure look like? If you can upload a pix of who you have, and what you have...it will help everyone provide some good valuable info. I’ve not seen oyster shells recommended for a substrate here, so I’m curious on your setup.

Welcome, post often!

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I have an Egyptian tortoise. I have had him for a couple of months now and he is thriving (think it's a "he"). My enclosure is adequate and I've had my reptile vet and an expert at the Arizona Tortoise Compound approve it. But now I'm just trying out different substrates mixtures to see what works best. I've seen oyster shell recommended for Egyptians many many times. I am attempting to make a mixture that includes the crushed oyster shells. But I just wasn't sure if they should have been rinsed first or not. So until I find out, I'm just going to leave them out. Any advice is welcome!

Thanks!
 

Maro2Bear

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5 Year Member
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May 29, 2014
Messages
14,712
Location (City and/or State)
Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
I have an Egyptian tortoise. I have had him for a couple of months now and he is thriving (think it's a "he"). My enclosure is adequate and I've had my reptile vet and an expert at the Arizona Tortoise Compound approve it. But now I'm just trying out different substrates mixtures to see what works best. I've seen oyster shell recommended for Egyptians many many times. I am attempting to make a mixture that includes the crushed oyster shells. But I just wasn't sure if they should have been rinsed first or not. So until I find out, I'm just going to leave them out. Any advice is welcome!

Thanks!

Yes, interesting about oyster shells being the “go to” substrate recommended for Egyptian torts. I’ve now seen a few other posts on this subject too. Wonder what the reasoning is behind this? A few more searches turned up this info which provides additional info http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatr...ed-lizards-and-tortoises-part-1/#.WrZJSP8pChA

  • Reptiles (like Egyptian tortoises) hailing from desert and semi-desert habitats are often very sensitive to molds and fungi. Having evolved in unique, relatively pathogen-free environments, their immune systems are usually unable to adapt to attack by microorganisms commonly encountered in captivity.
 

Yvonne G

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You should spread them out in the sun to dry.
 

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