Sulcata substrate

[dropkickmaddie]

Hi, I’ve had both my guys for a few months now! I had them in a mixture of organic top soil, coco coir and moss! My problem was I started seeing little tiny bugs crawling under the damp spots (under the water, under the food and anything else that was damp) I could not deal although I read it was probably part of the ecosystem and would not hurt my guys! I decided to change the whole enclosure and put all new substrate! I also read it was from old food, and excrement! Has anyone else had this experience? I washed everything and let it dry before putting anything back in! Except this time I used a mixture of coco coir types, and cypress mulch! There are so many different things out there that says what is safe and what is not! So please don’t me be mean! I’ve done a lot of research! Trying different things!

 

[wellington]

Just about everyone gets them
First though, two tortoises should never live together, so if yours are, you need to seperate them ASAP.
Second, never use moss or sand. Coconut coir or orchid/fir bark is best or combo of them.
To keep bugs away longer, bake the substrate in the oven at 250-300 for about 4 hours. This kills and eggs or bugs in it and will keep them at bay a long time. Then do daily spot cleaning.
They are harmless, just a nuisance to us humans.

 

[dropkickmaddie]

Just about everyone gets them
First though, two tortoises should never live together, so if yours are, you need to seperate them ASAP.
Second, never use moss or sand. Coconut coir or orchid/fir bark is best or combo of them.
To keep bugs away longer, bake the substrate in the oven at 250-300 for about 4 hours. This kills and eggs or bugs in it and will keep them at bay a long time. Then do daily spot cleaning.
They are harmless, just a nuisance to us humans.

Thank you! I don’t use moss anymore! I’m glad ! I hate bugs! So next question is, if I bake every thing, doesn’t the substrate have to be a little damp? So do you spray it afterwards?

 

[dropkickmaddie]

Just about everyone gets them
First though, two tortoises should never live together, so if yours are, you need to seperate them ASAP.
Second, never use moss or sand. Coconut coir or orchid/fir bark is best or combo of them.
To keep bugs away longer, bake the substrate in the oven at 250-300 for about 4 hours. This kills and eggs or bugs in it and will keep them at bay a long time. Then do daily spot cleaning.
They are harmless, just a nuisance to us humans.

They get along great! They are from the same clutch! The lady I got them from said as long as you put them together young they will be ok! I had asked the same question!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you! I don’t use moss anymore! I’m glad ! I hate bugs! So next question is, if I bake every thing, doesn’t the substrate have to be a little damp? So do you spray it afterwards?

Yes, you will need to pour some water in the corners and mix it up. Then just add water in the corners when humidity goes down. You need to keep top layer of substrate more dry and lower layers damp (but not wet). This is more effective than misting. Coco coir should be hand-packed to reduce amount of dust

This trick works fine with "closed chambers" but with open top enclosures it's less effective (but still works).

 

[wellington]

They get along great! They are from the same clutch! The lady I got them from said as long as you put them together young they will be ok! I had asked the same question!

She is so very wrong. The sad thing is, your tortoises will pay, not you, for the breeders stupidity!

 

[wellington]

Oh, and don't forget who was wanting to sell you more than one. I and this forum isn't selling you anything.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

They get along great! They are from the same clutch! The lady I got them from said as long as you put them together young they will be ok! I had asked the same question!

You can never be sure that things are going fine. We often misinterpret tortoises behaviour - sharing hides, eating eagerly from one bowl, following each other are the subtle signs of bullying. You can see that one tortoise is growing larger than another, it has better place for basking, gets in the food bowl to eat more and blocks hide entrance. Sometimes it takes a few years before you see obvious aggression - ramming, biting and so on. Tortoises are mostly solitary animals. Even "gaze-following" is mostly about opportunities to gain more resources and not about friendship and sharing.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

No please don’t house them as a pair! Pair dynamics do not work for tortoises!! There’s very good reasons we say this! Believe me they will suffer! Possibly in ways that by the time it’s noticeable it’s too late! Don’t learn this the hard way and head the forums warning, we’ve seen this countless times!
tortoise of any species should NEVER be housed in pairs under any circumstances, they’re incredibly territorial, behaviours that look cute to us really aren’t, following one another and sleeping huddled up is all bullying the the tortoise world, you’ll eventually see more extreme signs of aggression and one can seriously stunt the other. Anyone who tells you pairs are fine, have no idea what they’re talking about, that breeder just wants to sell what she can!!

Small groups are ok when there’s lots of land and the correct male to female ratio.

These two need separating asap!

Please give this thread a look over, hopefully you’ll find it useful!

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Also feel free to check out this housing thread I made, it covers correct equipment(lighting, heating, uv), levels, importance of a closed chamber, appropriately maintaining humidity, substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better!

Leopard/sulcata starter

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for a leopard/sulcata until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give people some ideas!” I know it looks like a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes some more closed chamber options

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help!!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

They get along great! They are from the same clutch!

How many tortoises do you have?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

How many tortoises do you have?

It’s two

 

[Tom]

There are so many different things out there that says what is safe and what is not! So please don’t me be mean! I’ve done a lot of research! Trying different things!

Most of the care info that you find is just plain wrong. Many people go through this. Almost everyone. It's very difficult to determine which sources are correct and which are wrong. In time, after you've done it for decades many different ways you will learn for yourself what works and what doesn't. Our goal is to help you not have to go through the long process with the animal suffering for mistakes along the way. We won't be mean, but we will tell you the correct info and try to help you and your tortoises.

The problem with trying different things is that somethings work and somethings don't work. By trying them all, over time, you will learn that moss, sand and soil can kill your tortoises, and that orchis bark or coco coir won't. Alternatively, you can listen to people like me who have already been through that process over the last several decades and not have to learn the hard way, as I and so many other before had to do.

Now about your bug issue: Those are springtails. They are harmless detrivores and they come from the surrounding environment to colonize the favorable location that you have created for them. You can eliminate them by baking, boiling, or freezing the substrate, but they will always come back to do their job. Many people pay money to buy these on purpose to create "bio-active" reptile enclosures. They really are harmless and won't hurt you or your tortoises. There is often an early bloom of them, and then they taper down to more sustainable number in balance with what food is available for them.

Now about your other problem. Please don't ignore this. The breeder is wrong, and most breeders are full of incorrect info and don't start the babies correctly. They should never be housed in pairs. It is a problem and it is harming your babies. Groups of babies are fine, but not pairs. They don't get lonely and don't need any other tortoises around.

Please give this a read through. It will dispel a lot of the old wrong myths that you have been reading. Questions are welcome. You do not have to take my word for any of this. Feel free to ask for more explanation. There is also a sulcata care sheet near the bottom of this thread. Please stick around and let us help you wade through the conflicting info.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to the forum and I hope you can get the necessary changes made so that your little ones can each have the best possible life in your care. All the best !