Stinky Terrarium

[Rachel Sobran]

Hi! My tortoise's Tortoise Palace has been rather stinky lately. I changed everything, kept it moist and it still reeks of feces. Any advice?

 

[Killerrookie]

Get everything out and clean the thing from top to bottom with bleach and let it sit there and dry.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

What are you using as substrate?

 

[Rachel Sobran]

I just changed it so I am using zoo med forest bedding

and was using zoo med eco earth loose coconut substrate

 

[Rachel Sobran]

and i already changed it so i think its too late for bleach now

 

[johnsonnboswell]

What are you feeding your tortoise? What kind of tortoise? How deep substrate?

 

[Rachel Sobran]

He eats Romaine. He is a Russian. His substrate is about 0.75 inches deep.

 

[Rachel Sobran]

He is adorable!

 

[Tom]

Well if there is no poop, it shouldn't smell like poop.

What type of enclosure is it? Wood? wood is like a sponge and will absorb lots of odors causing stuff.


Your substrate need to be much deeper and your diet needs much more variety. They cannot survive on romaine alone.

 

[Yvonne G]

Russian tortoises do have a pretty stinky poop. But romaine isn't a very good diet for a tortoise. One way to solve your problem is to build him a safe and secure outdoor yard and move him outside.

 

[Rachel Sobran]

Yes, it is a Penn Plax Tortoise Palace. Also he does not just eat Romaine, that is just what he is currently eating at the moment. I always clean up his poop & pee, yet it always smells of urine. Caesar also sometimes smells like urine & I've found the smell intensifies when I mist his enclosure... We are also in the middle of building the perfect outdoor enclosure, but we live in Massachusetts so it isn't the warmest...

 

[johnsonnboswell]

His substrate should be much deeper, at least 4-6." That's part of the problem.

Is your habitat wood, and is it sealed? Unsealed wood will smell like pee.

 

[Rachel Sobran]

sealed? what does that mean? and yes it is wood.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Sealed means moisture can't get in. Polyurethane and paint are both sealants. Raw unfinished wood soaks up moisture & odor.

 

[Rachel Sobran]

Oh, well in that case I don't know. It might be because it is black, could be painted...