Substrates

[TaylorWRP]

@Noodle - I have seen these in pets at home, not too bad! Good in hand if no IKEA is near by. My nearest IKEA is 45 minutes away, pets at home is 2 mins up the road

@Anita - Also remember the tortoises are not in the wild, they are in captivity. Providing they are given the correct diet that they thrive from not get sick from, given the correct lighting and heating as well as the correct type of enclosure then substrate is not really of huge importance providing it is not going to cause them any harm. Substrates is just what covers the floor...not what helps with growth from my understanding. If we were to mimic their wild habitat in captivity we'd need massive amounts of space for them and we'd have to take various measures to keep them that way. We can mimic mini-versions of their natural habitats but never get it 100% identicle. For example a lot of horsefield tortoises come from sandy substrate areas of the world...yet in captivity we do not advise using sand..not even play-sand on its own. Feeding is all dependant, you could quite easily not feed a tortoise yet it will still grow to some extent. Some tortoises are hibernated every winter and fed the correct diet and not large amounts to not "over-feed" yet in 5 years they are just a mere 1 or 2 inches off being adult size and their shells remain in immaculate conditions and others take as 10 or more years to reach adult size. I guess it all is dependant on the individual tortoise whether they are fast growing or slow growing. I am not saying it is right to put a tortoise on say lino tiles or put a desert tortoise newspaper shredding. I am merely saying that a tortoise can happily live on say hay all of it's life and providing it has the correct dietary, enclosure and light/heating then they will remain healthy. I do not believe substrates play a huge role, providing a tortoise can burrow and what not as usual..then substrate is a small role that is played in their lives. Just my opinion is all.

[Catwoman63]

Originally Posted by Doodle-Bug

I use this http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90231416/# now, the breeder my girls came from did the research and its all natural, no additives etc, it looks just like soil but my girls are never dirty as it does not stick like soil does. It is alot lighter than soil to.

Is this ok to use for horsefields? X

[Doodle-Bug]

Originally Posted by Catwoman63

Is this ok to use for horsefields? X

Its ok for horsefields the breeder of my girls uses it for both her hermann and horsefields

[Catwoman63]

Thanks noodle will give it a try, gota be worth a try for 1.99 from ikea, i live near lakeside with ikea about 10 mins away x

[EJ]

If it's not kept damp it does get dusty. The coconut material should be used in a humid hide because the tortoise should be allowed to dry out.

Originally Posted by Doodle-Bug

Its ok for horsefields the breeder of my girls uses it for both her hermann and horsefields

[pagan queen]

I just use soil from my garden in one half of my viv and large pebbles in the other.