soil and sand

[purplesue30]

Hello i am new to tortoises but did read loads before i got one last friday. I want her to have a natural enviroment as much as possible any way. I wanted to put soil and sand in the tortoise table so she can dig, but somebody told me she might eat it and then have problems i find this confusing cos they have it in the wild. If anyone is using soil and sand please can you tell me what sand to use and what soil i know that sounds weird, but i am assuming i cant dig it out of the garden, i did buy some forest bed stuff but that says it retains mosture and i dont want her getting shell rot. I think i am doing everything else right but i just wanted it to be more natural then using hemp i dont want her to be borred. Only had her a couple of days and i love her to bits i am hooked. love sue

[Laraine]

Hi Sue, B&Q and other garden centres sell bags of Top soil, (sterilised, sifted or organic) and Childrens Play Sand, ordinary sand is too sharp, the play sand is soft and the mix is approx 70% top soil to 30% Play sand.

[dizzywend]

Hi

What species is your tort?

Wendy

[purplesue30]

Thankyou so much for clearing that up for me and i will go and get some today, i want the best possible life for her. Hilda ha ha is a horsefield and she is about 2. Could i please ask you if a repti glo full spectrum 2.0 compact 13w uvb light is strong enough for a tortoise table, i think i need a stronger one but i thought i would double check before hand.


Thankyou love sue

[kitty]

How do you measure the topsoil/sand percentage? do you go on weight or mass? just thought i'd ask

[linda]

Originally Posted by kitty

How do you measure the topsoil/sand percentage? do you go on weight or mass? just thought i'd ask

i have the bags next to my table

then use a plant pot to scoop it up

7 plants pots of soil 3 plant pots of sand

all placed in table

then mixed by hand

i continue in this way until my table is full

[nina]

Originally Posted by purplesue30

Thankyou so much for clearing that up for me and i will go and get some today, i want the best possible life for her. Hilda ha ha is a horsefield and she is about 2. Could i please ask you if a repti glo full spectrum 2.0 compact 13w uvb light is strong enough for a tortoise table, i think i need a stronger one but i thought i would double check before hand.


Thankyou love sue

Hi Sue,

I would definitely go for a stronger UVB tube, and you will need an additional source of light/heat for her to bask under, as the UVB fluorescent bulbs don't give off much heat. I use the Reptisun 10.0 strip light (for which you will need a starter unit), as I personally don't like the compact UVB bulbs, and they don't cover as wide an area as the tubes do, plus either an ordinary 60W or 100W household spotlight for heat and light. And do make sure that you have a reflector on your UVB bulb -- it increases the amount of UVB reaching the tortoise by up to 30%, and it saves your eyes from having to look into the tube.

Nina

[purplesue30]

Thankyou nina i thought so, about the bulb the pet warehouse told me to get that one thought it wasnt strong enough, i will get her another one today. Her tortoise table is improving everyday god love her, she is so beautifull just want everything to be perfect. Have bought some seeds to start getting a outside enclosure ready for her in the summer, just love to sit watching her. When everything is perfect for her, i plan on getting another one. Thankyou again


love sue

[nina]

Glad to be of help, Sue, and tortoises are addictive, aren't they? Try to give your horsfield as deep a substrate as you can, as they do love to dig. In my indoor enclosure I have a topsoil/playsand mixture in half of it (the half where the heat source is) and half in hemp (where the sleeping area is). They really love to dig down in the hemp. I have separated the two areas with a row of large flat limestone rocks, to give a different texture for walking on, and to separate the two substrates.

[purplesue30]

Yes they certainly are addictive. I have bought her top soil and play sand, for half of her table and she has slate in there, and stones. I want to put plants in there as well pos aloe vera plant, but place it where she cant eat loads of it incase it makes her loose. Thanks again nina.
Takecare love sue