Bark substrate
 

Hi,

I currently have top soil in there outdoor pens, but I'm thinking of adding a small area of wooden bark and another area of slate and I wondered if both of these would be OK?

I'm just trying to make things a bit more interesting for them.

Thanks

At the moment if you have any slate in the sun it gets way too hot and bark can be ingested and cause blockages so personally I would stick with top soil and plant it up with shrubs and weeds for a bit of variety.

I would say no to the bark as it’s hard for them to walk on and isn’t great for their legs. Also it can stick into them, I’ve read of tortoises ingesting it and they harbour mound spores if damp.
Slate is okay providing it won’t get too hot. You really don’t want it getting heated too much by the sun as it’ll burn your torts.

I added extra interest to the substrate outside with pebbles, little sterilised logs, pots, plants, shelters, etc. I’ve used large limestone chippings and I know some people use pea gravel.
It’s fun to plant up areas and add extras. Hope Darla and Dory enjoy their new areas. Bear in mind they don’t always like too much change at once, but I’ve always found mine have been curious to investigate anything new.

As Mary has said thin slate can become far to hot in full sun. But thick one piece slate works well, and it disperses the heat better. But a slab or half a slab works well, as tortoises will sit on this until grass has lost the dew:0)
Good shelter from the midday sun is great for tortoises, shrubs (as Mary said) and plants work well:0)
You will soon see what works best for them:0)

Hi guys,
Thanks for the replies, I'll just stick to top soil. Pea gravel isn't really an option, as Darla is a little stone magnet. :smile: I'll put some more plants in to make it more interesting.

You could try larger pebbles that won't fit the mouth:0)

yes nice big pebbles ! lovely ! slab of concrete as good as slate too as a focal sunbathing platform. My lot love to sit on the hot pebbles at all sorts of angles too , CB