substrate

[Blakem]

Hello, first off, my Russian has the start of shell rot in a small spot on the bottom of his shell. I took him to the vet a month and a half ago to receive treatment. I was given betadine solution to apply once a day.
I bought coco coir a few days ago and started the soaking/drying process. I took a few hours to be complete and broken down. The next day, I then left it in the sun to evaporate some of the water. When I felt like it might be okay, I then put it in my Russians tank. It is still slightly damp and I figured that the basking lamp and the CHE would evaporate it as well. It has been approximately 6 hours since the solution has been in the tank and it does not seem to be evaporating. I am worried that the substrate will not dry enough and will have worse affects on my Russians rot. SHould I be worried? Sorry if this is a common sense answer that is needed.

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Bump....

 

[Blakem]

Double bump

 

[lynnedit]

As long as it is moist but not wet, the coir should work well.
Keep mixing it up, it might take a couple of days, but it will dry out fairly quickly. Coir is a great substrate, it holds moisture w/o staying wet for long. You will be adding water before you know it to keep the underlayers moist!
If you want to be extra safe, you can sprinkle something else like Cypress mulch on part of it, but that is probably not needed.
And if your tort can get onto a basking tile at times, he should be fine.

(I have one hide for my torts when they are inside that has just Aspen in it. It is a bit drier. I separate it from the main substrate -coir/topsoil- by a row of larger river rocks, a piece of wood or a log would work too)