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Old 09-04-2011, 08:58 PM   #1
derrick0312
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Question Topsoil + Playsand too dry?

Hi all, I just had my first ever Hermann yesterday (8 months old) and name is Sushi!!

Sushi has been running around the table a lot, doing a lot of exercise. Ate some italian salad mix leaves and drank a lot of water. she also poo-ed while I bath her this morning. the temperature is around 32-34C at the hot end and low 20C at the cold end.

One thing that worries me though, is that I found her rubbing her eyes a lot with her limbs...I had 50/50 mix of topsoil and playsand as the bedding and I think it's quite very dry especially at the hot end...therefore maybe too dusty and thus irritate her eyes? Whenever she's in water bowl, we rubbed her eyes more and this makes me wonder if she is cleaning her eye from dusts? There's no swollen eye or nose discharge or bubble from mouth.

I have since changed the substrate to contain more topsoil less sand (maybe around 70/30 or even 80/20), and it seems sushi enjoys it more with no more rubbing and she's wondering around very actively. She even dug a hole and is now sleeping in it.

So here's my question - is sushi showing symptoms of respiratory illness? Is it okay for me to use a different soil/sand ratio than 50/50? what's the purpose of having sand? Is it to regulate the humidity of the enclosure?
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Old 09-04-2011, 09:05 PM   #2
MiShelley
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I think you've done the right thing in adding more soil than sand. Are you spraying the substrate with water at all? I spray my table every day to stop the substrate from drying out. If you have some sand mixed in and you spray it with water then the sand/soil mix should hold the water and stay moist for a while.
If you just got your tort yesterday, I doubt you've caused respiratory problems in such a short space of time.
Hopefully someone more experienced should be along soon.
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Old 09-04-2011, 09:33 PM   #3
derrick0312
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I see. Yes I have sprayed it...but after a while it seems dried out again with the usual humidity being around 48% at the hot end, and 50-sth at the cold end. How much shall I spray? Just a light drizzle? is 48% being too dry? and shall I do it in the morning when it's active, or while at night when it's sleeping.

Do people use just topsoil instead of mix?
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Old 09-04-2011, 09:37 PM   #4
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Hi Derrick, I use a kiddies watering can to water my enclosure, and turn over and mix up the soil a bit to help stop it being too dry.

You can always use more topsoil than sand, I use about 70/30, some pople don't use sand at all if they find it irritates their tort's eyes.
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Old 09-04-2011, 09:37 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derrick0312 View Post
I see. Yes I have sprayed it...but after a while it seems dried out again with the usual humidity being around 48% at the hot end, and 50-sth at the cold end. How much shall I spray? Just a light drizzle? is 48% being too dry? and shall I do it in the morning when it's active, or while at night when it's sleeping.

Do people use just topsoil instead of mix?
its best to spray at night , after a few days its best to turn the soil over because it gets dry underneith then give it a good soaking
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Old 10-04-2011, 12:32 AM   #6
michelle g
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I think everyone has advised you well....

Think we need piccies of baby Sushi now!! X
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Old 10-04-2011, 07:06 PM   #7
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Bring on the pics

I use a 80/20 mix but mainly just topsoil in the outside enclosure.
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Old 10-04-2011, 11:06 PM   #8
derrick0312
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It seems more topsoil is better for her!! She didn't rub her eyes anymore today WOHOOO!!

How can I post picture?
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Old 10-04-2011, 11:11 PM   #9
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I ditched playsand years ago and just go for plain old top soil! I wate it with a watering can like Bindi and then turn it every few days. I also so it with boiling water once a week afr I have picked out any poo and obviously while the torts are off bathing. I don't think it is really needed, but it makes me worry less about germs! It is probably very silly though.
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Old 10-04-2011, 11:15 PM   #10
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I water it just now when she's gone sleeping in her hide. I think I should make this my daily routine as I was freaking out when I saw she rubbing her eyes non-stop yesterday. Now she's happy and it's totally worth spending 5 mins everyday to keep her happy.

Here's a few pic of her from yesterday and today:







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