Re: Substrate for Sulcatas

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Posted by Justin on December 06, 2001 at 12:39:07:

In Reply to: Re: Substrate for Sulcatas posted by danya on December 06, 2001 at 11:17:04:

Water bowls breed bacteria. Spilled water in the enclosure leads to wet substrate, a piece of substrate lodged near soft skin quickly leads to blisters. In the wild most tortoises do not have constant access to water, they are built to withstand dry conditions. Most torts can get all their water from their food. If that leopard tortoise ate pellets, I seriously doubt he would be dead by the next day. Part of the equation is missing or being left out. I have had tortoise eat rocks, moldy food, dog poop, mulch and many other such delicacies with out a problem. I keep much more delicate tortoises than leopards on pellets and have never had a problem. I have tried both lizzard litter and calci sand. The instances of mycoplasma went through the roof during this time period. So I switched substrates and problem solved. The substrates I prefer to use are mulch, pellets, and newspaper. They all work fine as substrate. I have owned over 50 tortoises and have only lost one of those, which died due to a liver parasite which it arrived at my home with.

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Re: Substrate for Sulcatas danya 12/06/01 (2)
- Re: Substrate for Sulcatas Justin 12/07/01 (1)
  - Re: Substrate for Sulcatas Danya 12/07/01 (0)

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: Water bowls breed bacteria. Spilled water in the enclosure leads to wet substrate, a piece of substrate lodged near soft skin quickly leads to blisters. In the wild most tortoises do not have constant access to water, they are built to withstand dry conditions. Most torts can get all their water from their food. If that leopard tortoise ate pellets, I seriously doubt he would be dead by the next day. Part of the equation is missing or being left out. I have had tortoise eat rocks, moldy food, dog poop, mulch and many other such delicacies with out a problem. I keep much more delicate tortoises than leopards on pellets and have never had a problem. I have tried both lizzard litter and calci sand. The instances of mycoplasma went through the roof during this time period. So I switched substrates and problem solved. The substrates I prefer to use are mulch, pellets, and newspaper. They all work fine as substrate. I have owned over 50 tortoises and have only lost one of those, which died due to a liver parasite which it arrived at my home with.

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