Substrate Advice!

[jacegeiger]

HI Everybody! I've wanted to change my tort's substrate for a while now and I'm finally going to do it. I've been using the Zoo Med brand substrate, which is basically bark chips. They smell nice out of the bag, but within a week they smell bad and get soiled. I clean up his terrarium everyday and it still is no use. I want to change to a more organic substrate and I was thinking a topsoil and sand mix, I have a Russian and I need help finding the correct ratio of sand and topsoil. I've also heard that coconut coir is a good option so if that's good I'll consider it. Any advice is well appreciated and Thanks in advance.

 

[wellington]

I wouldn't use sand, it can cause impaction. The soil and coir would be a nice mix. Or you could use just one of them. If he's not a baby, I would probably use just soil. I use soil and some leaf litter for my russian.

 

[jacegeiger]

Okay so no sand, even if it is play-sand? Just soil could be an option, but if I understand correctly the coir is good for retaining moisture while not molding. My tort, Cecil, is about 3 years old. I'm not entirely sure what qualifies him as a baby

 

[wellington]

No sand, even play sand. Some people use it with no problems, I'm not one to take a chance. If you lose the chance, your tort pays. Cour is great for retaining moisture and does not mold. If used with the soil, it will make your soil lighter I think and not get so muddy and thick.

 

[jacegeiger]

Alright that sounds pretty good, So will the mix be light enough that he can still burrow at night? I plan to make it about 2- 21/2 inches deep.

 

[Tom]

I would not use topsoil because you don't have any way of knowing what it is.

Sand is no good because it is an impaction risk and a possible skin and eye irritant.

I have been using orchid bark for 30 years and have never experienced the problems you are having. I've got it in several enclosures right now. It is basically inert. It never smells and if your substrate is somehow getting "soiled" by something, any other substrate will also be getting "soiled" the same way.

Are you using something other than the ZooMed orchid bark? Is it some other kind of bark that is not meant to be kept damp? Are you not keeping it damp?

 

[jacegeiger]

I'm only using Zoo Med bark chips. What I meant by "soiled" was that if my tort gets it wet by either getting out f his water or peeing, the soil gets soft and smelly. Obviously and substrate would smell after it was peed on, but I've heard that soil/coir is better at absorbing the liquids. The Zoo Med bark chips are supposed to be kept a little damp, but I find i hard to do so myself. The Zoo Med stuff works fine, but I think I can find something better in coconut coir. Maybe not though, that's why you guys are here.

 

[Carol S]

For a 3 year old Russian I like cypress mulch mixed with coir.

 

[Herbert Forever]

You can use top soil as long as you check its herbicide, and pesticide free. I like to get my top soil from my pet and garden store because they can refer me to safe chemical free top soil, so just ask a worker and they can give you some okay advice on good top soil. I used coconut coir and it worked but it's fairly expensive and dries up pretty fast. Really just do research and find what fits you, generally it takes awhile to find a good substrate. Hope I could help

 

[CanadianTestudo]

I have used sand for the past 8 years without a problem BUT I am switching my girl to (most likely, haven't figured out exactly what I want) Cypress mulch mixed with coco coir due to the inability of sand to hold humidity and because it could potentially irritate her eyes and skin. I don't worry so much about impaction because she eats from a terra cotta saucer, biggest concern for me is the humidity in the winter months.

 

[jacegeiger]

Well I live in Baltimore and it gets pretty arid during the colder months. Even in summer it gets pretty dry, but this year has been an exception. So keeping moisture is something I want in my tort's substrate. If coconut coir dries up fairly fast like you said Herbert, then maybe that's not the right thing. Or maybe adding something like top soil would help the coir keep moisture. When I first got my tort I believe I used cypress mulch or something similar to that and my tort never seemed to like it. He would itch at his eyes a lot so I switched. Maybe I just wasn't keeping it moist enough because I was a new owner. I guess I should just see what works for me and my tort!

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Water, don't spray the substrate. Coconut coir holds moisture well when it's given enough water often enough. I use a watering can.

Make your own compost. It's fantastic substrate. Indoors I mix it with coir.

 

[djhoff22]

I'm only using Zoo Med bark chips. What I meant by "soiled" was that if my tort gets it wet by either getting out f his water or peeing, the soil gets soft and smelly. Obviously and substrate would smell after it was peed on, but I've heard that soil/coir is better at absorbing the liquids. The Zoo Med bark chips are supposed to be kept a little damp, but I find i hard to do so myself. The Zoo Med stuff works fine, but I think I can find something better in coconut coir. Maybe not though, that's why you guys are here.

Hi Tom,
Is orchid bark something I can buy onlind? I can't find it in my area. I checked Lowes, HomeDepo and Menards with no luck.

Sorry dont mean to hijack your post

 

[jacegeiger]

The Zoo Med bark chips are sold at pet stores. Petco, Petsmart, etc. That is the only place I know to get them.

 

[Russianuncletwo]

If using ZooMed ReptiBark, try to use about 6 inches for tort to burrow in; also it keeps tort higher up for better airflow. Coco coir is suppost to be great, but as someone mentioned above, I'd be leery about adding sand as some do-also could get in their eyes. I still have concerns about shell rot despite experts saying: "keep the substrate moist". One advantage of ReptiBark is it's easy to get in a pinch.

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom,
Is orchid bark something I can buy onlind? I can't find it in my area. I checked Lowes, HomeDepo and Menards with no luck.

Sorry dont mean to hijack your post

Try a garden center instead of the chain hardware stores.

I get mine at Lowes and they call it "Pathway Bark". I've also bought it at two different local garden centers.

 

[Russianuncletwo]

Is it pretty splinter and dust free? I'll have to check it out-I'm passing Lowe's tomorrow.

 

[Tom]

Is it pretty splinter and dust free? I'll have to check it out-I'm passing Lowe's tomorrow.

No dust at all with damp substrate. I've never run it dry, so I couldn't tell you.

 

[Tom]

[QUOTE="Russianuncletwo, post: 1151362, member: 50179"I still have concerns about shell rot despite experts saying: "keep the substrate moist".[/QUOTE]

I don't consider myself an expert, but I've raised literally hundreds of tortoises of 5 species, including a couple dozen russians, on damp substrate and not one case of shell rot yet...

 

[djhoff22]

Try a garden center instead of the chain hardware stores.

I get mine at Lowes and they call it "Pathway Bark". I've also bought it at two different local garden centers.

Thanks Tom! I will keep looking.