Hi, everyone I have a baby sulcata I've done quite a bit of reading here you guys have a lot of good amount of information here. I was wondering if anyone has tried to put a piece of sod in their indoor housing to provide grazing option for tortoise and help with humidity?
Sulcata housing
- Thread starter Jaime22
- Start date
Welcome 
The things I don't like about sod...
A)You don't know what chemicals have been used
B)The plastic netting in the base
But I do like having sprouts growing in the enclosure.
I'd recommend planting seeds directly in the substrate. The real challenge will be lighting though. You need good lighting and the right spectrums to keep plants alive in the indoor enclosure.
The things I don't like about sod...
A)You don't know what chemicals have been used
B)The plastic netting in the base
But I do like having sprouts growing in the enclosure.
I'd recommend planting seeds directly in the substrate. The real challenge will be lighting though. You need good lighting and the right spectrums to keep plants alive in the indoor enclosure.
I live on 5 acres of southern facing pasture. I treat it with nothing. For me, any tortoises I have housed indoors I do exactly what you are talking about here. I take a shovel out and scoop the top 3inches of soil with the various mixed weeds and grasses growing and put this in the enclosures allowing free grazing as they like. Works great! The only drawback I encountered doing this, I was inadvertently bring in the larva of all manner of insects that ended up developing into adults that would be flying around the inside of the house. This is unsettling for the humans inside, but they do supply needed food to the spider population in here.
Yes I've done what cowboy would do, too! Haha
I never used "plant specific" lighting. But I did make sure I had sufficient light without additional heat.
I used a tube UV light across the entire enclosure. I never tested it with a UV meter but it was old and I doubt it still emitted any UV rays.
I used an incandescent bulb on one side for basking.
I used led lighting on the opposite side
I also had a CHE on thermostat in the center.
That lighting allowed me to have plants thrive in a closed chamber. I couldn't put plants under the CHE or to close to the basking bulb...But the strip light and led worked great.
So maybe it's just enough light...not necessarly the the right light...
I never used "plant specific" lighting. But I did make sure I had sufficient light without additional heat.
I used a tube UV light across the entire enclosure. I never tested it with a UV meter but it was old and I doubt it still emitted any UV rays.
I used an incandescent bulb on one side for basking.
I used led lighting on the opposite side
I also had a CHE on thermostat in the center.
That lighting allowed me to have plants thrive in a closed chamber. I couldn't put plants under the CHE or to close to the basking bulb...But the strip light and led worked great.
So maybe it's just enough light...not necessarly the the right light...
Sod is grown with lots of toxic chemicals and it also has plastic netting in it. I would not use it for a tortoise.
You can make your own sod in trays without the chemicals or netting and then it will work great. If you do this with several trays, you can rotate them in and out as needed so your tortoise always has fresh grazing.
Thanks for your response.The condensation is just fine
some say coconut coir and some say orchid bark that so finely grounded up.
I grow all sorts of things. Mulberry leaves, grape leaves, African hibiscus, several types of grass, several types of opuntia cactus, Tyler's Testudo seed mix from Tortoisesupply.com, roses, lavatera, aloe, squash and pumpkin for the leaves and blooms. etc…
Many of these are on the list here:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
Does coconut coir have to be turned like bark to keep it from molding?
I'm not sure I think some people say to just to be safe. I'm new to this also.
Yes. It should not feel spongy or "squishy". It should feel sort of like the plastic lid of a butter container. Somewhat pliable if you press on it.
It will thicken up and harden over time.
