What substrates do you use for what kind of tortoise and situation? I am wondering if we could come up with a shortish list of options that we can recommend by situation. (Young red-footed? Try this or this. Big indoor space? Try this or this for these reasons).
Here is the thing, and why I listed it as an advanced topic- the most useful info will come from those of us who did a lot of trial and error, and are sure that we have a good mix for their situation.
For example, for my young red-footeds here in Omaha, I tried the sphagnum moss, various dirt mixes, etc. and settled on two that worked very well for me in all ways- cypress mulch and the bioactive substrate mix. The mulch is cheaper and lighter in weight, while the bioactive is not very effective in smaller spaces and takes a little more attention (like a compost pile).
Hopefully, we can come up with a series of good recommendations.
In a future effort, I hope to do a 'pros and cons' sticky of common recommendations so when someone asks that same substrate question over again, we can point them to these two posts.
Here is the thing, and why I listed it as an advanced topic- the most useful info will come from those of us who did a lot of trial and error, and are sure that we have a good mix for their situation.
For example, for my young red-footeds here in Omaha, I tried the sphagnum moss, various dirt mixes, etc. and settled on two that worked very well for me in all ways- cypress mulch and the bioactive substrate mix. The mulch is cheaper and lighter in weight, while the bioactive is not very effective in smaller spaces and takes a little more attention (like a compost pile).
Hopefully, we can come up with a series of good recommendations.
In a future effort, I hope to do a 'pros and cons' sticky of common recommendations so when someone asks that same substrate question over again, we can point them to these two posts.