elaine
 

Hi I'm new to this forum☺so Hi to all! I have a 20 year old horsefield tortoise and am now new owner of baby Hermann tortoise☺was just wondering what u guys think is the best subtrate for her!? at mo using hemp but was wondering whether the tortoise subtrate which is soil like and I use for my african land snails may be a better option!? appreciate any opinions!thanks all☺

Hello and welcome I'm new too, I use the substrate from tortoise life, I like it, I don't know if that's the same as land snails use, when I had them I used organic compost bags from garden centres, but that was a long time ago. I don't know if that's the same thing, I can't remember.
But welcome :)

HI Donna! thanks for replying☺yes it is the tortoise life stuff! I'm going to give it a go as the hemp stuff looks really dry! Mango seems to like it anyway!How long have u had your tortoise?any hints or advise always welcome��take care Elaine

Sterilised topsoil is the best substrate. Wickes seems to be a popular choice on here. It's the only one I use. :-)

Hi Emma many thanks for that☺!looks like u have a proper menagerie!!xxxx

No problem and yes....I do have a bit of a menagerie, though nothing compared to others on the forum. :lol:

Hello and welcome, I agree with Emma, sterilised top soil is best, and I also like Wickes best.

I find that indoors a mix of bagged topsoil and coir works well. The coir seems to hold moisture better which keeps the dust level down but I don't like the coir on its own.

The blocks of coir are quite cheap and you can get a big bag of them in the post. When it's dry this stuff weighs next to nothing. The topsoil is very heavy to cart about too.

When I change the substrate the mix is ideal to put on the garden . Complete with some tortoise poops!

Yes I put the old substrate on the garden too. :)

I love coir. I use a combination of this and pro rep tortoise life in Lily's table. 1 block of cour goes a long way :)xx