Top soil gone wrong

[New Desert Tortoise Mommy]

So the top soil had a lot of sticks and rocks in it. Nd it was the plain earthgro top soil for 2.49. Well we tried it the first time and it was beyond sad how badly the water got and how it got in their eyes. Not to mention we have a baby that has eye problems.

Then I was thinking maybe if I dry it out and strain it, it wont be so bad. So I strained it and guess what I found !??! A freaking broken beer glass !!

Then we put the strianed soil all nice in their cage and it just went to crap. We will try moss and dirt. When we get paid. Hope this helps someone.

 

[wellington]

I can't believe some of the stuff that does get found in soils purchased. I had one that had lots of pieces of plastic, like shredded plastic bag. Did you try patting the dirt down, almost making it solid hard by patting it down really good. Anyway how's the little one doing?

 

[pfara]

Wow.. sorry to hear about your bad experience. I would suggest 50/50 of coco coir and plain top soil since it seems like you favor the dirt route. It's a little messy, but the coco makes the dirt nice and fluffy for the tort(s) to dig into and it helps with moisture retention. Good luck!

 

[sibi]

That's outrageous!! Where are they getting the soil? From the garbage dump! It makes you wonder what other dangers lurk in the soil we put into our enclosures. Sorry about the substrate. Coco coir is good to mix into the soil. Also peat moss is a good mix. How's our baby with the bad eye? Can he open his eyes sometimes? Is he having any other symptoms of illness? Btw, you have a great setup for the babies. I wish I had that when my babies were little.

 

[New Desert Tortoise Mommy]

I can't believe some of the stuff that does get found in soils purchased. I had one that had lots of pieces of plastic, like shredded plastic bag. Did you try patting the dirt down, almost making it solid hard by patting it down really good. Anyway how's the little one doing?

yeah we patted it down compeletly and his eye shut again and then it opened half moon. ):

---

That's outrageous!! Where are they getting the soil? From the garbage dump! It makes you wonder what other dangers lurk in the soil we put into our enclosures. Sorry about the substrate. Coco coir is good to mix into the soil. Also peat moss is a good mix. How's our baby with the bad eye? Can he open his eyes sometimes? Is he having any other symptoms of illness? Btw, you have a great setup for the babies. I wish I had that when my babies were little.

his eye opens half moon then closed but the one that was barely opened now opens completly i just dont know how to open his eye for the drops to put in. i dont know why his eye is shut but it opens here and there. thank you we try the best for theses little guys. but we will try peat moss. do i just fill the whole tank with that? have you used it? does it smell? and how messy is it?

---

Wow.. sorry to hear about your bad experience. I would suggest 50/50 of coco coir and plain top soil since it seems like you favor the dirt route. It's a little messy, but the coco makes the dirt nice and fluffy for the tort(s) to dig into and it helps with moisture retention. Good luck!

we actually hate the dirt or soil. we want something else. its just getting in their eyes and we have rocks by the water but it doesnt help. maybe they are too small for dirt or soil. they are only 2 weeks old.

 

[ascott]

Peat moss is good;

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Premier-3-cu-ft-Peat-Moss-70976040/100626048#.UkJwyWTXhk8

You can also purchase a couple slate floor tiles and place the food on one and the water on the other...this way you will not have to worry so much about the dirt getting into it too quickly...also it will help them to keep their nails trimmed down

 

[sibi]

Peat moss is light and fluffy. I have used a 50/50 of organic soil and peat moss. I wet it and pat it down. It can be messy if the babies dig, but anything you put in there is gonna be messy if they dig. Like Angela said, get a couple of slate tiles at HomeDepot (that's what I did), and put it around their food and water. His way they can't drag it into their water/food. Peat moss is also good because it helps to keep humidity up. Just spray water on it from time to time.

 

[Tom]

Go to the pet store and look at "Orchid Bark", or "Repti-bark". Its pretty expensive for a small amount at the pet store, but once you know what it is, go look at the hardware store. You should be able to get a huge 2.0 cubic foot bag of it for about $4. This is my substrate of choice for sulcatas and DTs. You can spray it or wet it to keep any dust down and add humidity, if needed.

Peat moss, sphagnum peat moss, and soil are all okay, but they are all messy and that seems to be where your problem lies. Coco coir can be messy too, but not as bad as the others, and it has other good qualities. It my substrate of choice for little burrowing species.

Either of these two will work well for you and not be as messy as the soil. If you use coir, hand pack it down to reduce the mess.

 

[Dizisdalife]

I used coconut coir for my baby sulcata. It was messy at first, but after a few days of wetting and packing it worked great. It also stained his head and legs, which scared me at first, but disappeared soon enough. About every 3 to 4 months I would take it all out and bake it to eliminate bugs, then repeat the wetting and packing process. It was easier to pack down after the first time and not so messy.

 

[LisaTurtle]

I found a piece of glass in my top soil and shredded plastic too I also don't like how messy and dark it is, it makes the enclosure look pretty at first but it gets very muddy and messy. I think I've tried just about every substrate over the last year and ilike the repti bark like Tom said the best. I don't have babies tho, I have an adult RT. but the bark is not messy like dirt or coco coir and it doesn't stick to your tort. I just put the repti bark on top of the top soil I already had in the enclosure.

 

[Saleama]

I use coco coir and Sphagnum (sp) dirt. I mix it and then wet it down ( a process that takes all day for it to absorb) then I top it with cypress or hardwood mulch. They love it. True, the water gets dirt fast but I change their water every morning, afternoon and night anyway. I simply dump poop free water right into the habitat and pour more on and then change out the plate every other day.

 

[New Desert Tortoise Mommy]

Would the bark be good for 2 week old babies ? Because once we put the pellets back they were so active and happy

please and thank you

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

I have coco coir in the bottom and fine grade orchid bark as a top layer. If you do decide to try that later, make sure that the orchid bark has NO perlite in it. I just do not think we need to risk them eating perlite. Perlite is volcanic rock, very lightweight, white. At the Home Depot by me, they have two brands. One has perlite, the other has straight bark, nothing else. We want straight bark.

Also, do you have ReStore by you? Those are the stores run by Habitat for Humanity. OMG! Best place ever for home stuff deals. But it is like going to a thrift store, very tutti frutti, you never know what they will have. Over by me, ReStore has tiles right now, terra cotta tiles, probably left over from a project. They are about 2 inches by 2 inches. For a dime each! What? A dime each, crazy cool. Something like that around their water, like a mini cobblestone path, would probably help keep the water clean and the clay would help file their nails and beaks, too. A few ideas ... I have leopard babies right now, so I am looking for stuff to make their little habitat enclosure better.

Oh, I also found an old muffin pan at a garage sale for 50 cents and I drilled a hole where each muffin was suppose to go - to make "pots" - and I planted different types of seeds in each one. An easy peasy planting tray with a variety of things growing, all in one tray, for them to graze on. Pop it in the middle of their enclosure and as they go around, a different thing to try. Fun!

 

[New Desert Tortoise Mommy]

im really curious to this peat moss stuff, i found the bark, but i seen a vet and they told me i should use shredded news paper. so im going to try many things on pay day

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Use eye drops to get the eyes degunked enough to open so you can medicate. I use colyrium for fresh eyes. It's available over the counter.

 

[New Desert Tortoise Mommy]

I have been using eye drops. It seems to help a little but not a lot. But I hope we r doing good.

please and thank you

 

[sibi]

We know you're you're doing the best you can. Whether you try bark, peat moss, coco coir, or newspaper, we know you'll find the right stuff. Remember that babies like routine and when they get use to something, they don't take kindly to something new. They also don't know what is best for them. As a mom, you'll need to make that decision for them.

 

[thatrebecca]

Just be aware that whatever substrate you choose, it will take the torts a few days to settle in and get used to it. My juvenile DTs did a lot of pacing and got agitated after I changed their substrate from sand outdoors/newspaper indoors to dirt outdoors/fine orchid bark indoors. It was absolutely necessary -- I had gotten bad advice about the sand, which can cause impaction if eaten, and the newspaper didn't allow them to dig themselves a little pallet at night, which they really seem to love to do. At first they seemed really stressed about the change, but they settled in after 2-3 days. And with each day after that they did better as they got used to their healthier new home.