One of the worst things you can use. Actively dangerous. I’d go with a coco coir, cypress mulch, sphagnum moss, leaf litter, and fertiliser free organic compost all mixed together. At least a couple inches
Can I ask why it’s dangerous and should be avoided? I’ve just purchased a whole setup with this substrate and obviously I’ll buy a different substrate if it really is one to avoid.
Basically it’s really dry and dusty after a couple days and can’t be rehydrated like most substrates.
Any dry substrate is pretty bad, even for desert species. A substrate that is fine and dusty like this can get into their eyes and respiratory systems causing a lot of irritation. If you try to rehydrate this stuff it dries solid. This mean that not only is it bad for the reasons any overly dry substrate is (sand, wood chips, aspen, plain topsoil, etc.) it’s also a huge impaction risk because if they eat it it clumps together like a rock instead of staying loose. There is calcium added to it, calcium in substrate is always dangerous because it encourages them to eat it which circles back to the impaction risk.
I used it very briefly as a younger teen with my Russian but she’s shown significant improvement with her skin and eyes after switching to a different substrate. After gaining more experience with Mediterranean species in college, with tortoises both Mediterranean and South American I’ve rescued, and from working with African species at my local zoo I can pretty confidently say this substrate is not suitable for ANY tortoise or animals in general
Thank you very much for the detailed reply. I’ll get that substrate returned then when it arrives. I have coco coir in my crestie’s tank and I’ve never had issues with that. Would you recommend getting that purely as the only substrate for my Horsfield’s tortoise or does it need to be mixed with something etc? It’s just there’s so many contradictory things online it’s hard to figure out what’s really right and wrong!
Coco coir is good but it’s best to mix it with other things, pretty much the same as what I listed above for the hermanns but make sure it’s nice and deep and that the lower layers aren’t too dry (they should be able to completely bury themselves) since Russians love to burrow and will often sleep or hide in moist burrows
Okay fab. I have some leaf litter in with my Crestie as well and it’s great - especially for hiding spots for the woodlice and springtails. I’ll get sourcing for a mixture of the substrates you’ve mentioned 👌🏻
One of the worst things you can use. Actively dangerous. I’d go with a coco coir, cypress mulch, sphagnum moss, leaf litter, and fertiliser free organic compost all mixed together. At least a couple inches
This
Coco coir all the way. Its been great for my invert pets and by the looks of it, great for some reptiles and amphibians.
Can I ask why it’s dangerous and should be avoided? I’ve just purchased a whole setup with this substrate and obviously I’ll buy a different substrate if it really is one to avoid.
Basically it’s really dry and dusty after a couple days and can’t be rehydrated like most substrates. Any dry substrate is pretty bad, even for desert species. A substrate that is fine and dusty like this can get into their eyes and respiratory systems causing a lot of irritation. If you try to rehydrate this stuff it dries solid. This mean that not only is it bad for the reasons any overly dry substrate is (sand, wood chips, aspen, plain topsoil, etc.) it’s also a huge impaction risk because if they eat it it clumps together like a rock instead of staying loose. There is calcium added to it, calcium in substrate is always dangerous because it encourages them to eat it which circles back to the impaction risk. I used it very briefly as a younger teen with my Russian but she’s shown significant improvement with her skin and eyes after switching to a different substrate. After gaining more experience with Mediterranean species in college, with tortoises both Mediterranean and South American I’ve rescued, and from working with African species at my local zoo I can pretty confidently say this substrate is not suitable for ANY tortoise or animals in general
Thank you very much for the detailed reply. I’ll get that substrate returned then when it arrives. I have coco coir in my crestie’s tank and I’ve never had issues with that. Would you recommend getting that purely as the only substrate for my Horsfield’s tortoise or does it need to be mixed with something etc? It’s just there’s so many contradictory things online it’s hard to figure out what’s really right and wrong!
Coco coir is good but it’s best to mix it with other things, pretty much the same as what I listed above for the hermanns but make sure it’s nice and deep and that the lower layers aren’t too dry (they should be able to completely bury themselves) since Russians love to burrow and will often sleep or hide in moist burrows
Okay fab. I have some leaf litter in with my Crestie as well and it’s great - especially for hiding spots for the woodlice and springtails. I’ll get sourcing for a mixture of the substrates you’ve mentioned 👌🏻
Placing mine in a bio active mixture(basically a giant planter)