Substrate
 

Hi all, as some of you know I got my baby marginateds in April and have now decided to take the step to move them permanently outside to their shed. I did love having them in the house to keep a close eye on them and just take them outside when the weather was good. I have moved the table into the shed and provided access to outside, my problem is this time when changing their substrate 50/50 mix of topsoil and playsand today I found it to be very damp and worried about them lying on it all night, so I still have them indoors tonight in a small box of hemp, I was just wondering have any of you ever had this problem, the last time it was fully changed it did'nt seem to be so wet. and they were indoors most of the time as the weather was not good. I know a lot of you use hemp but it is not available over here. :(
Beverley

I hope this is what you want to know, as you have recently created 50/50 new substate it will be verry damp as it still has moisture inside and the weather will not dry it out at the moment, mybe bring the table inside to dry or put in the sun on a good day, if its damp outside it will be ok as long as its hide is warm and dry inside, my inside enclosure took two weeks to fully dry out but that was a large one. what kind of substrate is available to you?

Hi and thank you for your reply, the only substrate that would be availalble here would be the 50/50 mix of playsand and topsoil hemp is not available and the quantity i would need to fill my table would be really expensive to get posted from England. I take it using meadow hay is a real no no :( for a couple of days until it dries out a bit more, the thought of emptying the table to dry it out as it is so large is not a fun thought, but if thats what it takes to keep the babies ok then wheres my bucket :D :D
Beverley

if you are unable to wait untill it drys by it's self then if possible place a portable heater bunder the table to speed up the drying prosess, good luck with it all and its worth it in the end.

Thanks for your help, its a good idea but not possible at present, I will get it sorted and thank you for trying to help.
Beverley

i speeded up drying mine out by placing 6 boiling hot ho****er botles on top of the substrate

the torts were in a seperate place

I think some people in the States use aspen as an alternative to hemp (I think Egyptian Dan said he used aspen). The only thing I 've heard against it is that it can sometimes be stringy and is therefore better not used with hatchlings (but I might be wrong on this).

Thank you nina, I'm not sure if Aspen can be got here but I will have a look. :)
Beverley

Yes I do use Aspen :D Nina. I don't use it for brand new hatchlings. Once they have a bit of size to them (about 6 months) I switch them over to Aspen and have never had any trouble. The trouble Sarah had with hemp never happens with Aspen as the Aspen stick to itself and doesn't get taken into the tortoise if he flashes. :shock: :lol:
You should be able to get Aspen over there Beverley. :D

Danny

Thank you Danny I will look for it and give it a try. :)
Beverley