Tom's response to "Garden State Tortoise" Video

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

All the debate aside, the logical part of my brain tells me mixing sand into a substrate you need to keep partly damp to maintain humidity(this is more referring to indoor set ups) would make sand want to stick absolutely everywhere, including the nooks and crannies where their skin is softer, I doubt that feels particularly pleasant for them. A grain of sand in the eye must feel more irritating than a little bit of soil..

Out in the wild they’ll encounter it, but have the choice to move on and not be exposed to it 24/7 with no means to avoid it.

Thats just my hunch, the impaction side of it is just an added factor to me regardless of why that happens to some captive kept tortoises and not others. It’s enough for me to not want to purposely add to substrate, and to discourage others from doing so too.

I guess that’s where my input ends, it’s not much, but something🥲

I respect people’s interest in the more in depth details though🙂

 

[S2G]

All the debate aside, the logical part of my brain tells me mixing sand into a substrate you need to keep partly damp to maintain humidity(this is more referring to indoor set ups) would make sand want to stick absolutely everywhere, including the nooks and crannies where their skin is softer, I doubt that feels particularly pleasant for them. A grain of sand in the eye must feel more irritating than a little bit of soil..

Out in the wild they’ll encounter it, but have the choice to move on and not be exposed to it 24/7 with no means to avoid it.

Thats just my hunch, the impaction side of it is just an added factor to me regardless of why that happens to some captive kept tortoises and not others. It’s enough for me to not want to purposely add to substrate, and to discourage others from doing so too.

I guess that’s where my input ends, it’s not much, but something🥲

I respect people’s interest in the more in depth details though🙂

Theyre literally designed for it. It does not bother them one bit.

My issue isnt sand. Sand is being be used as an escape goat for poor husbandry that will cause issues regardless. Fix the husbandry & its a non issue all together. If it was an issue thered be evidence across the board.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Theyre literally designed for it. It does not bother them one bit.

My issue isnt sand. Sand is being be used as an escape goat for poor husbandry that will cause issues regardless. Fix the husbandry & its a non issue all together. If it was an issue thered be evidence across the board.

I appreciate that opinion, you could very well be correct. But again in the wild, they still don’t have to be exposed to it 24/7 with no means to avoid it.

I somewhat agree with the second part of your statement, but again, when using a platform to advise on animal care, you have to cater for the enormous spectrum that is the tortoise keeping community, if you’re going to advise to the broadest range possible, for the sake of as many tortoises well beings as possible, we need to eliminate things that are potential risks in those with less than perfect husbandry😣
There’s never going to be a place in time where every single tortoise owner truly understands every aspect of care in preventing the risks that comes with the sand, it’s never going to be wise to advocate for it in captive care.

We can strive to educate the best possible care from housing, to diet to supplements, the lot, but this world is brutal when it comes to the pet trade, it’s up to well educated and experienced folks, to advise the least risky ways possible to keep a tortoise, for the broadest range of owners when using a platform the entire world has access to. Again, that is just my opinion🙂