Do tortoises need soil?

Soil is an obligatory component of the terrarium, regardless of the type of turtle. What is it for?

Properly selected soil:

– allows you to maintain cleanliness in the terrarium, absorb liquids and retain odors;

– retains heat;

– strengthens the muscles of the turtle and contributes to the proper development of the skeleton. The turtle makes efforts to move along the ground, actively works with its limbs, building shelters;

– promotes natural grinding of claws;

– protects the turtle from stress. On a flat surface without the ability to dig shelters, the turtle does not feel safe.

In addition to being beneficial for the turtle, the soil allows you to create a spectacular design of the terrarium and emphasizes the beauty of its inhabitants.

The soil should be well absorbent, dense, heavy and non-toxic. Avoid soils that create a lot of dust: your pet will have to constantly inhale these particles, which will be bad for his health. In addition, maintaining cleanliness in such a terrarium is more difficult.

As soil for a land turtle, you can use special pebbles, sawdust or corn filler, moss, sand, coconut substrate, bark, wood chips, hay, etc. complete packaging. It is better not to purchase soil “from hand”.

But which product to choose from all this diversity? What is the best soil for turtles?

The classic choice is pebbles and moss. But it all depends on the type of turtle and the preferences of the owner. For example, the Central Asian tortoise loves to dig holes and a thick layer of soil made of sawdust, shell rock or earth is perfect for it.

An excellent solution is to combine several types of soil in one terrarium. For example, large pebbles, soft hay and shell rock are suitable for a steppe turtle. Or these combinations:

– pebbles, sawdust (wood chips);

– earth, moss, bark;

– sawdust, bark, moss.

As a soil must not use:

• Any paper, cotton

• Cat litter

• sharp gravel

• The bark of pine and cedar, as it contains substances dangerous for reptiles.