Substrate Help!

[Oswald's Mommy]

Hi guys, quick question...

I know there are tons of threads on substrate, however, I had a specific question. I am having a hard time keeping up the humidity in Oswald's (my baby leopard tort) tank, thank you dry so cal...I know his substrate is wrong (I was given misinformation that I now realize could harm my little guy) and I am wanting to change it out to something that will help to hold in the humidity better. I have reptibark in there now, but wanted to change it to a coco choir mix. I bought some organic sphagnum moss that I was going to use in his humid hide but it was not what I expected. I was thinking it would be tan, mossy looking stuff and I ended up with stuff that looks like soil. I was wondering, though, if I could use this mixed with coco choir for his new all-over substrate. Let me know what you would recommend. I would like to be able to use the soil-looking peat moss if possible because it is sitting on my patio useless at the moment. I have shown pics below of what it looks like in case I haven't described it well. Thanks in advance for your advise.

 

[wellington]

Yes, you can use the peat moss. Just be use its free on any chemicals. Pat it down good when you put it in and it will help to keep him and his food and water dish cleaner. As for humidity. Are you doing the closed chamber? If there is no top on the enclosure, it will be pretty impossible to keep humidity up.

 

[Oswald's Mommy]

Thank you!
I currently have foil closing it off until we can figure out the best option/what to build to seal the top of his tank.

 

[Oswald's Mommy]

Also, could I use the peat moss by itself or should I mix it with something like coco choir?

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Nothing wrong with peat moss alone - it's a bit more acidic than the other options, but I've not heard any issues because of that. Nothing wrong with a mix of peat and coco coir either. Also nothing wrong with reptibark (unless the bark chips were too large for your tortoise to walk on).

 

[Oswald's Mommy]

Nothing wrong with peat moss alone - it's a bit more acidic than the other options, but I've not heard any issues because of that. Nothing wrong with a mix of peat and coco coir either. Also nothing wrong with reptibark (unless the bark chips were too large for your tortoise to walk on).

Thank you! My tort can walk just fine on the reptibark, I just feel like the bark isn't holding the moisture enough. Its also an ongoing battle with the weather here...its currently 28% humidity in Southern California. I am trying to get his tank to 80% humidity. That is what it should be at for a baby leopard tort right?

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Yes. You want to aim for 80% relative humidity. Your enclosure design is most critical here - fir bark holds humidity quite well. Coco coir may be a little better, but if you're really struggling to get humidity up, it's likely that your enclosure is too well ventilated.

 

[Oswald's Mommy]

Yes. You want to aim for 80% relative humidity. Your enclosure design is most critical here - fir bark holds humidity quite well. Coco coir may be a little better, but if you're really struggling to get humidity up, it's likely that your enclosure is too well ventilated.

Thank you so much for your help! I REALLY appreciate it. I don't know what I would do without this forum and all of the helpful members like yourself!

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Did you post photos of your enclosure in your other thread? Doing so can be helpful, because we may be able to see things to fix before you invest in new supplies.

 

[Oswald's Mommy]

Did you post photos of your enclosure in your other thread? Doing so can be helpful, because we may be able to see things to fix before you invest in new supplies.

Not yet. I will post soon.