Sup. I have recently aquired a russian tortoise from a friend who couldn't take godd care of him. Neway, he keeps eating his newspaper substrate, even though he has food. (pellet things.)Is this bad? My first instinct is to change the substrate, am I right? Basicly, what should I do? Thnx.
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Tortoise eating things he shouldn't.....
boprobe
Feb 17, 2005 06:20 PM
Replies (2)
joeysgreen
Feb 18, 2005 03:38 AM
That's pretty funny. Consider using a non-bleached, no-ink brown paper. Eating should not pose any problems. I would suggest that he may be doing this because of his current diet. I would suggest a good mix of vegetables, greens, and grasses (see below threads for russian diets). Not only is this more nutritious than pellets, it also adds behavioral enrichment. In otherwords, it's not as boring as his pellets.
EJ
Feb 18, 2005 09:53 AM
I have lost only one tortoise to impaction and that was one that ate more than it's fill of newspaper.
I'd suggest using hay, grass clippings, leaf litter, dirt, sand/dirt or a mulch as a substrate. I don'd like paper substrates for many reasons including the fact that it doesn't provide any traction.
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care
