Substrates

[ashleighcamps]

Hi.

I have been using woodchips and soil for my tortoise enclosure but I have seen in pictures that others have been using bark or hay. Am I using the correct substrate? I was told to use this by seller of tortoise.

Thank you.

 

[mctlong]

What kind of woodchips are you using?

I've tried alot of different substrates and cypress mulch is my favorite.

 

[wellington]

Depending on the age and species, hay usually is not a good substrate. Cypress, coconut coir. Wood chips are okay, but the two mentioned above is the better ones depending on the tort.

 

[Mich]

I use cypress mulch, if you purchase it at a hardware or garden center it is very cheap ($6 for a HUGE bag at Home Depot) .. far cheaper then pet store but be sure to read the lable and only buy the all natural kind, not the treated or painted kind. I used the coco-choir bricks too but found they got dusty despite watering them down each day so I mixed them 50/50 with soil or play sand. I have a leopard tort and found these worked best for me!

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

what kind of wood chips? Hay can mold easily which in my mind makes it less ideal than cypress mulch or coco coir.

 

[Mich]

what kind of wood chips? Hay can mold easily which in my mind makes it less ideal than cypress mulch or coco coir.

Same as hay! I put some timothy or orchid grass in my encloisre there from time to time during the winter for my tort to sleep or munch on (not that she really does anyway) but only in a small dry corner for fear of mold.

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

Mine started eating hay over the winter so I do the same thing... I put it in a dry corner and I switch out what they don't eat every other day.

sphagnum moss (the dried kind for hanging plant baskets) is also a a good one for burrowing into to sleep. I use it in the outdoor hides.