What Substrate do You Use?

[sandy]

Thats funny Terry as I use large pieces of thick slate for my tortoise to feed off of, but like
yours they dig down under it, and come out once its warmed up. They have been doing that
for the last ten years<g>.

[kirstyhumphrey]

hi laraine

i used to use hemp but solo wasnt really active so i swapped to just sterilized top soil now
shes more active than ever and after reading about poor rolo im glad that ive swapped

and in her first outdoor enclosure im using the same sterilized top soil as it was all rubble
and sand so dug it all out and filled it with sterilized top soil

kirsty

[alicia]

i use 50/50 mix of play sand and topsoil.

i use it all over the table but in there upsidedown hanging basket liners i use hemp and timothy grass hay stuff .
they both seem to like having some where to go to snuggle down in at night time, my waterdishs have cuttlefish round them so they can get in and out easier and to stop the soil and sand getting in.
also i have slates wich i picked up from a beach in plymouth for them to eat off.

i've never had a problem with either substrates but tiny-willy sometimes gets hemp in his creases lol.

alice x

[hbvet]

I use graze and shredded paper for my "sickies" that are staying with me in their tables, easy to clean and they bed down under /in it fine.
Mine when inside are on soil/sand/graze and I spray it daily, fed on large peice of slate. The "sickies" get fed on large plastic lids as I clean and disinfect twice daily.

Ouside is all grassed and weeds, they tend to bed down under the large plants rather than dig down.

[Scott_M]

I use a playsand and soil from a dry river bed which is loamy to begin with. I use this mixture for all my animals for the most part. For some higher humidity species i'll mix in some coco fiber or cypress mulch. This has worked well with all of my varanids over the years. The only modification I made in the mix for the torts is I use a bit more sand to keep it drier and less muddy when it does get wet. I also mix in dried leaf litter and bermuda grass cuttings and leave some on top as well. They snack on it, nestle in it for cover etc etc. I'ts proven to work well so far with sulcatas, greeks, and hermans. Mess is all part of the game when keeping reptiles. You think torts are messy? keep a couple pairs of large monitor lizards or a group of dwarf monitors, then we can swap "messy" stories. ha ha ha

[TortMad]

After a great amount of thinking, I have decided to carry on using the hemp, for now any way.

At the moment I currently use 70%sand/soil mix in half the tables and hemp in the cooler half. With all the tortoises with the exception of my horsfields who have only hemp.

I have found some problems with sand and soil mix, the horsfields don't like it. One of the leopards doesn't like very dusty/sandy conditions so the soil has to be kept damp at all times, which is not always easy and I don't like them sleeping on the damp soil.

I thought hemp had solved all my substrate problems to a degree, but I am not so sure now One thing is for sure I can't be using topsoil in the leopards shed when they get bigger, as it just won't be practical.

[nina]

I'm really worried about this hemp thing, and I've been wondering if aspen would be a viable alternative. It looks a lot like hemp, but I think it might be softer (i.e. no sharp edges, etc.) -- not sure. I know that aspen is used in the States, and I wonder if anyone knows whether it would be better than hemp (or no different).

[lilacgeorge]

Don't shot me, but I have decided to stick with what I'm using - mixture of soil/sand & ambiouse in indoor enclosures and ambiouse in sleeping quarters in outdoor enclosure.

It works for me and mine seem to prefer burying in the ambiouse as opposed to the s/s mix.

Thats not to say I'm ignoring everyone's advice though, I will reguarly review the situation and if at anytime I feel different or there is more evidence to suggest otherwise then I will obviously change.

[DAISY]

For my horsfields I use 80% top soil/20% playsand. 18" deep for my adult who is hardly ever indoors anyway and 12" for my babies. I spray daily and dont really have much problems with dust except when cleaning out or turning the soil and I get a face full
It does take alot to fill my tables though and i have visions of myself sitting on the loo and the ceiling comming down on me as my tables are in the room above the bathroom
For my redfoot babies I have 3" top soil 2" reptibark.
I only used hemp once and was allergic to it, to be honest they never used the hemp area anyway.

[Laraine]

Decision to change substrate was made for me, so its all change here! The Aubiose has gone and the Top soil is in!

Today I gave the Leopards a bath, all in together...great fun, especially when they poo! Which 6 of them decided to do, talk about synchronised pooing.
As they have all being going out lately and eating loads of grass their poos were soft, and as they dissolved in the warm water, to my horror I saw that 2 of them had pieces of substrate mixed in the poo!

The decision was made for me, our guys are are more important to us than me having an easy life when it comes to cleaning the tables!

So here is the new and improved Leopard Table, the other tables are getting done in the morning.



Richard climbed up on a stool to get the 'birds eye view' of the table!