Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a very large indoor enclosure for my red foot, and I have been looking for brands of topsoil that would be safe to use as substrate. I found a brand called Earthgro at a local store, and the ingredients are listed as

Regionally formulated from organic and inorganic materials derived from one or more of the following: peat, forest products, compost, ash, sand or native soil.

It doesn't say anything about any chemicals or fertilizers, like some of the other brands do. Does this sound alright?
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--SneakySnakesINC--

1.0 Gopher Snake(Oshy)
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python (Taboo)
1.1 Macklot's Pythons (Pixel and Medusa)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Moonshine)
1.0 Albino Black Rat Snake (Vegas)
1.0 Green Iguana (Elvis)
0.0.1 Grey Tree Frog (Froggeh)
0.1 Oriental Fire Bellied Toads (Dott)
0.4 American Toads (Bertha, Ethel, Lucy, Olga,)
0.1 Red Foot Tortoise (Marzipan)
2.0 Equines (Sherlock the draft and Cleatis the donkey)
5.0 Felines (Caesar Ray, Pharoh, Phoenix, Boomer,Top-Cat)
1.0 WC boyfriend

I am always suspicious of the label "forest products". I have found chips of wood with paint on them in some mulches. I suppose the label "forest product" could include old pallets or
picnic tables.
At any rate, any time a natural product is used as bedding it can become a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi if not changed frequently and kept scrupulously clean.

Not to be persnickety, but don't tortoises, when in the wild, live in and around dirt? Seems to me that Mother Nature would have built in some sort of system to help deal with various naturally occurring bacteria at reasonable levels.

the soil is constantly washed, cleaned and flushed by natural processes, not so in a confined area where it can become stale and potentially harmful bacteria and fungi can multiply dramatically

Mother Nature is in-efficient and cruel at best,but when you take her dirt inside "all bets are off" Captive enviroments and the wild are like parallel lines.You can get close but will never meet.Even in large outside enclosures,things go wrong,the keeper must make the life and death call sometimes "NO DIRT FOR YOU". Vic

I use that very product myself. I buy bags and bags of that stuff every year from Home Depot. I keep hatching box turtles, Sulcatas and Leapord torts on it with great results. After about a month or so I remove it throw it in my garden and replace it with a fresh bag. In my area it is a $1.14 for a 40 pound bag... You cant beet that

Allen

Thanks for the reply, You answered my question.

I see the points in the other replies, but there is conflicting information. I have seen thread after thread on these tortoise forums telling people to use top soil as effective substrate in their enclosures.

I am not worried about it getting "dirty" as I clean the enclosure of any left over food and feces daily. I completely clean out the entire enclosure every month.

I have used cypress mulch before, but it is very costly here, unless it can be purchased in large quantities at a hardware store? It is $20 for a smallish bag here, and it takes about 3 for this enclosure. I currently use the bricks of compressed coconut fiber, which I do like, although they are a little more cumbersome when it comes time to do full cleanings.

I was just looking into other options, since I have read many posts telling people it was good to use. I wanted to try it on a trial basis and see if I liked it, or just continue as is.
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--SneakySnakesINC--

1.0 Gopher Snake(Oshy)
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python (Taboo)
1.1 Macklot's Pythons (Pixel and Medusa)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Moonshine)
1.0 Albino Black Rat Snake (Vegas)
1.0 Green Iguana (Elvis)
0.0.1 Grey Tree Frog (Froggeh)
0.1 Oriental Fire Bellied Toads (Dott)
0.4 American Toads (Bertha, Ethel, Lucy, Olga,)
0.1 Red Foot Tortoise (Marzipan)
2.0 Equines (Sherlock the draft and Cleatis the donkey)
5.0 Felines (Caesar Ray, Pharoh, Phoenix, Boomer,Top-Cat)
1.0 WC boyfriend

For a indoor enclosure you might want to use cypres mulch if you can get it.Dirt uselly doesnt work well for captives inside.You will be hatching out all kinds of bugs and flys after the poop and dirt meet.Cypres is lighter,easer to clean up and replace than dirt.You can keep it moist and you wont grow a fungus amumgus your torts.If that doesnt talk you out of it The Torts will eat the dirt and die.....or a Vet could saw in open and clean it out for about two grand.Have a nice day!LOL people.lighten up! Vic. been there,killed that...pic...he's nuts,but the chow is good.