So frustrated with substrate!!

[newgirl53]

Let me just start by saying that I live in Canada and it seems really hard to raise tortoises here!

I've read the care sheet multiple times and I'm trying really hard to make a suitable environment for my little tort. He/She will be a year old in Oct and I've upgraded his enclosure majorly. I have a 6x2 enclosure (biggest that will fit in my room, it literally spans from wall to wall). But my biggest issue is freaking substrate!!

Right now I have him in topsoil mixed with eco-earth coconut coir. I need a LOT more substrate to fill this big tank and I'm drawing a blank. I bought some black topsoil (only one I could find without additives) and on the bag it says keep away from pets. I'm a little freaked out because I didn't notice it before and Beans has been living in it since I got him.

I literally cannot find any other topsoil here without additives of some sort and it's driving me crazy. I don't want to do a tank entirely of eco earth and I can't because it's $33 a freaking bag (24 qt)! It would take like 10 bags to fill this thing deep enough for him to burrow and he loves to burrow down. That's how he sleeps.

I also can't go dig up my yard and get dirt from there. My parents would have a fit. I've called the greenhouses and nurseries around here and nobody has what I need.

What's a person to do? I don't have $300+ to spend on coconut coir and I really need to get him transferred over. His enclosure right now is way too small

 

[BrianWI]

You can get coco coir bricks much cheaper from garden stores. Just get the organic ones. I get them for under $2 each, cheaper at the end of the season.

 

[newgirl53]

You can get coco coir bricks much cheaper from garden stores. Just get the organic ones. I get them for under $2 each, cheaper at the end of the season.

I've never found them in our garden stores

 

[BrianWI]

Ask. I know Home Depot carries them. Lowes.

 

[saginawhxc]

In Michigan at petsmart we can get individual bricks of Coco coir for like six or seven bucks each or we can buy the "value pack" of three bricks for only twelve dollars. Don't know what you have available for pet stores around you, but look for similar value packs. If all else fails Amazon also has cheap three packs of bricks. Follow up on their advice first though. Look in the home repair stores and garden centers first.

 

[newgirl53]

Ask. I know Home Depot carries them. Lowes.

No deal unfortunately. I did find a large brick on Amazon but it's not organic and in the Q&A it says there's some sand mixed in. I've asked on a local reptile group so hopefully someone has some leads. A lot of the stuff that's plentiful in the USA seems hard to find here in Canada. It's unfortunate.

In Michigan at petsmart we can get individual bricks of Coco coir for like six or seven bucks each or we can buy the "value pack" of three bricks for only twelve dollars. Don't know what you have available for pet stores around you, but look for similar value packs. If all else fails Amazon also has cheap three packs of bricks. Follow up on their advice first though. Look in the home repair stores and garden centers first.

If all else fails, I'll have to go with the bricks. It says on the Petsmart website that they expand to 7-8L so I will most likely have to buy A LOT of them. In his enclosure now he has about 45L and it's much smaller.

 

[saginawhxc]

My enclosure is 6 foot by 3 foot and I think I originally used 9 bricks if I remember right. Also just added another brick to fill a low spot.

 

[newgirl53]

My enclosure is 6 foot by 3 foot and I think I originally used 9 bricks if I remember right. Also just added another brick to fill a low spot.

How thick of a layer did that give you?

 

[BrianWI]

Order it online.

 

[saginawhxc]

Off the top of my head I would say an average depth of three inches. I wouldn't mind it being deeper, but don't know if I will actually add more or not. He digs down to the Coloplast liner as it is. It's deep enough that when he digs down to the liner his back is close to flush with the ground.

 

[Eric Phillips]

Add some peat moss. I mix 2 parts of soil with 1 part peat. Natures care organic potting mix is a good one. I get mine at Meier but you can also get it at Home Depot.

 

[lisa127]

I don't use coco coir. Just organic peat moss. Much cheaper and easier to use. 10.00 for a large bale. You might need 2 bales, possible one.

 

[Yvonne G]

I went to my second best friend, Google (my first best friend is amazon), and entered "Purchase coco coir in Canada" and got several results. Here's just one of them: http://www.reptilescanada.com/showthread.php/31135-CHEAP-coconut-coir-at-Canadian-Tire

 

[newgirl53]

I did that as well and found many dead ends. The link you provided is from 2008 and that product is no longer available. I did end up finding something. I'm not 100% sure it will work but I'm going to give it a try. I purchased a few blocks of this, a lead from a local reptile group. It's compacted coconut coir. Hopefully it's okay! Apparently they swear by it.

https://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/...Z67l/Ne-67n/Ntk-All_EN/R-I5011955?Ntt=5011955

 

[lisa127]

I did that as well and found many dead ends. The link you provided is from 2008 and that product is no longer available. I did end up finding something. I'm not 100% sure it will work but I'm going to give it a try. I purchased a few blocks of this, a lead from a local reptile group. It's compacted coconut coir. Hopefully it's okay! Apparently they swear by it.

https://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/...Z67l/Ne-67n/Ntk-All_EN/R-I5011955?Ntt=5011955

Honestly, try organic peat moss. Similar to coco coir but much cheaper and easier.

 

[dmmj]

if you want to use a soil mixture with your coco-coir. You can always buy a couple cheap bags of stuff with attitive and cycle it a couple hundred times over a year or so thru earthworms and nightcrawlers. It will take some time but it saves you a lot of money in the long run

 

[Fredkas]

Let me just start by saying that I live in Canada and it seems really hard to raise tortoises here!

I've read the care sheet multiple times and I'm trying really hard to make a suitable environment for my little tort. He/She will be a year old in Oct and I've upgraded his enclosure majorly. I have a 6x2 enclosure (biggest that will fit in my room, it literally spans from wall to wall). But my biggest issue is freaking substrate!!

Right now I have him in topsoil mixed with eco-earth coconut coir. I need a LOT more substrate to fill this big tank and I'm drawing a blank. I bought some black topsoil (only one I could find without additives) and on the bag it says keep away from pets. I'm a little freaked out because I didn't notice it before and Beans has been living in it since I got him.

I literally cannot find any other topsoil here without additives of some sort and it's driving me crazy. I don't want to do a tank entirely of eco earth and I can't because it's $33 a freaking bag (24 qt)! It would take like 10 bags to fill this thing deep enough for him to burrow and he loves to burrow down. That's how he sleeps.

I also can't go dig up my yard and get dirt from there. My parents would have a fit. I've called the greenhouses and nurseries around here and nobody has what I need.

What's a person to do? I don't have $300+ to spend on coconut coir and I really need to get him transferred over. His enclosure right now is way too small

Man!!!! I feel you!!!

 

[JENNY04]

You can get coco coir bricks much cheaper from garden stores. Just get the organic ones. I get them for under $2 each, cheaper at the end of the season.

It's organic top soil is what you look for. But a good filler and substrate is cypress mulch for reptiles or mix it with reptibark. Just some suggestions.

 

[Maro2Bear]

In addition to what you have ordered, i second the option of getting a large bale of peatmoss. Peat, mixed with your current and future purchases, should be way more than you need. The funny thing, the bale of peat I bought for substrate is shipped here to our garden store from Canada!

The peat moss in bale form is quite dry, but once you mix it up and wet it down, it really makes a nice addition. Check out cypress mulch too when in garden centre. Large bags, cheap, adds a lot to dig in.

 

[Gillian M]

Hi @newgirl53 and a very warm welcome to the forum!

Hope you've found a solution to your issue.