[toytoisegirl]

HI....Im kind of new to all of this and its a whole suprise for mums birthday...she had a herman tort as a little girl and always talks about him and how shed love another...he was passed down 3 family members but went missing when my mum was younger. so a suprise for her birthday im getting her a tort....iv bought a table as following advice from many people on here....im a little confused on substrates.....i would like to no a few so the tort can have a few areas to make it differnt for him/her and what is best..???i no i can mic loam compost and playsand as seen on tortoise trust? anything else for variety? thanks

 

[Esarosa]

top soil/play sand is great.though can be very heavy.so i tend to just put a tray or two in.

Hemp < is perfect. Also known as (aubiose,hemcore) U can get a big bale for £8.50 < it'll last ages also. It's safe if it's ingested so no chance of impaction.

I have a pebble area in mine n used to have one in the garden. Make sure they're bigger than the torts head.i've got a little bugger who will try to eat anything.

 

[toytoisegirl]

thanks....yeah iv seen a few people with like a pebble type area...i bought some cat litter size trays to put few diff things in....iv been looking into this for months on end....things i still finding out are crazy...by time i get it her il want him/her myself x

 

[repteen]

I use a mix of soil/play sand, hemp, and large pebbles.

 

[Drummerkid]

Top soil/play sand at a ratio of 60:40

Hemp

Pebbles/stones

Oyster Shell

Oyster Shell and Hemp can be bought from...

eBay UK Shop - Shelled Warriors: tortoise, tortoises, limestone flour
or
Substrate @ shelledwarriorsshop.bravehost.com - A Bravenet.com Hosted Site


(some people reccommened alfalfa pellets but these are not ideal beacuse they are high in protein and if the tort decides to eat these then he may pyramid or become ill)