29-08-2008, 12:39 AM | #1 |
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Egg
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whats all the controversy about hemp?
can anyone outline the problem with hemp bedding for me please as ive just ordered a load haha
it turns out theres some issues with it!? ive got a marginated tortoise so i hope this stuff is good enough thanks in advance
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just the one tortoise, marge the 2yr old marginated |
29-08-2008, 07:35 AM | #2 |
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Hatchling
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Hi am sure somebody more experienced will reply but i have read somewhere that on a few isolated cases that some tortoises have ingested the hemp and it had ruptured the internal organs and they have died, i have been using hemp for my 2 horsfield for some time and they bury in it at nightime,i have not had any problems whatsoever with it.I do know that a lot of people use hemp and like i said it has been just a few isolated cases so i think you just have to weigh up the pros and cons with it and decide whether you use it or not,kim
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29-08-2008, 07:37 AM | #3 |
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I think the problems have been with sexualy active tortoises, when they withdraw hemp goes back into them too. Which in turn damages the organs inside.
I know that a lot use hemp when torts are small, and then change when they are older. Once informed its up to you what you do<g>.
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29-08-2008, 07:52 AM | #4 |
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Some people suggest that the ends are sharp enough to hurt eyes and that if ingested a sharp edge can damage internal organs.
Substrate is one of those issues where you have to carry out a basic risk assessment and work out what's good for you. It's arguable that a sand/soil substrate can cause impaction if ingested and that the sand is irritable to the eye as well. There is no one perfect solution, otherwise we'd all be using it! That said, hemp has its uses like Sandy says especially whilst your charges are young, and as long as you're sensible with it and do your research you can be in an informed position as to its use. |
29-08-2008, 09:07 AM | #5 |
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Incubating
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I use hemp but my torts are only a year old - if and when the time comes I'll change the hemp in the tort table for something else
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29-08-2008, 05:35 PM | #6 |
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Might be an idea to have a read of this which should answer your questions http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/hemp.htm
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30-08-2008, 10:31 AM | #7 |
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That's the article I was indirectly referring to Steph.
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30-08-2008, 12:43 PM | #8 |
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Shortly after reading the article I decided to start checking the tort poo.
I noticed some 'hard bits' in the Leopard torts poo, this is the disgusting bit, I picked it out and rinsed it, and found it to be some hemp. The tortoise concerned is roughly 2 years old, so is only a little one. I began looking more carefully at the tortoise poo for the others, I found the Hermanns hatchlings also had some small bits of it in their poo. I changed all the tables over to soil, as I had a huge bag of it, I now use that for the guinea pig instead of sawdust. Pig is happy and the torts are clearly happier on the soil, now they can make mud pies in their water dishes! The choice of substrate is at the end of the day, upto you, although it is a bit muckier when cleaning out the tables I am personally glad I changed. And my flower borders now have more 'fertilised soil than ever before.
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30-08-2008, 01:23 PM | #9 |
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Out of interest though Laraine, would you have noticed if it were sand and soil in the poo? I very much doubt it, because it looks pretty much the same...
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30-08-2008, 01:44 PM | #10 |
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Egg
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interesting stuff, so there are a few isolated cases of injuries but the majority of people are ok with the hemp?
i'll see how she copes with it and if there are any problems then ill scrap the hemp
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