Do I have any substrate choices besides dirt for a star tortoise? We get "nats" easily in Colorado where I live and I am not sure dirts an option. Please any ideas?
Substrate choices?
- Thread starter Vishnu2
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You can try to bake the dirt in the oven. 250 for about an hour should kill any eggs that might be in the dirt. Other then that, I don't know much about Stars, but I love coconut coir for a substrate. Holds in moisture and won't mold. See what others have to say.
Thanks Wellington!! Any words of wisdom from anyone else?
My Girlfriend had the same problem 
oven helped! CO can be a pain sometimes
oven helped! CO can be a pain sometimes
Ive tried peat & found my star was always muddy as he loves being in his water!
I've tried sand and found that just got everywhere!
Now I'm using something called 'kittys crumble'. It comes from Australia originally & was originally for cats. It's a coco coir mix & think it's great. I also use orchid bark near the water area.
I hope this helps.
The 'kitty's crumble' can be bought on Amazon.
I've tried sand and found that just got everywhere!
Now I'm using something called 'kittys crumble'. It comes from Australia originally & was originally for cats. It's a coco coir mix & think it's great. I also use orchid bark near the water area.
I hope this helps.
The 'kitty's crumble' can be bought on Amazon.
Very helpful everyone, thank you loads.
I mix coco coir a little sand and cypress mulch. I dont really have a knat problem in Texas so I don't know if it will work for you. I do tend to get flies when I feed some fruit on occasion. But regardless around here I change everyone's pen once a month.
I prefer a deep layer of plain cypress or other hardwood mulches. This way, you can pour water into it to create a wet layer at the bottom and the top stays pretty dry. Then all you need to do to control humidity is cover most or all of the top and/or heat the bottom of the substrate.
(By the way- the small bugs are spelled 'gnats' in case you are trying to research them! )
(By the way- the small bugs are spelled 'gnats' in case you are trying to research them!
)
I live in Colorado, too, and I just use 100% coco coir. The top couple millimeters dry out, but the subsurface layers stay nice and moist for weeks. Coco coir comes free of fungi and insects, and resists the development of pests as well.
So, you can use Cypress Mulch for a Star Tortoise?
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