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Advise on indoor table set up and bedding
Posted: 01/12/2018 by Isabel

hi, i am a new owner of a lovely horsefield tortoise named Basil! I got him about 3 weeks ago and got a solid wood pine table 30 x24x8inches with built in enclosure, light, etc and a starter pack here:  https://www.happytortoisehabitat.co.uk/product/tortoise-starter-pack/

sorry all new to this so i have quite a few of questions :
- The substrate : the bedding that comes in the starter pack is readygrass, is that a good substrate for a horsefield, everything I read seem to say that I should be using a mixture of Earth sand and coir?  If it is ok then it seems very dry and I keep on reading that the substrate needs to be a little bit humid; a couple of time, Basil dug under  his water plate, overturned it and then buried himself in the damp readygrass, which is when I thought may be it is too dry and he likes it humid.... should I spray it with water slightly? Worried if I do it my go mouldy? 
- The set Up: I put the ready grass /bedding  straight on the floor enclosure... should I have put a plastic sheet before putting the substrate or something to protect the wood from water spillage and its little wee. On one occasion he dug himself in a corner of his enclosure in the ready grass and then  had a wee, and that made me wonder if I should have put a protective layer, and also how best clean it? I obviously removed the wet readygrass and cleaned the area really well...  should I be using some form of disinfectant?
 Sorry about all the questions!  thanks in advance! 

 

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