Bedding: We prefer to use 1/4" inch particle size coconut husk mulch for the bedding. It's very absorbent, somewhat soft, non-abrasive and splinter free.  Aspen shavings and cypress mulch are also commonly used beddings. We keep it only a half inch or so deep throughout most the pen but increase it to  6” deep in a sheltered corner.   Some breeders use soft Bermuda or Timothy grass hay as bedding.  This is excellent but use it where you will not be adding any moisture as it will mold.  Likewise avoid alfalfa pellets in these situations.  Sand is generally not a safe bedding, but if you wish to use sand,  be sure to use natural sand (feels round and smooth between your fingers).  Washed playground sand, beach sand and desert sand all fit this definition.  Man-made sands are made from crushing rocks and produce sand with rough edges that can interlock in the stomach, forming impactions that will require expensive surgery to remove to safe your animals life.  Likewise avoid corncob bedding, crushed walnut shell, and be leery of calci-sand and super fine desert sands that are commonly sold in pet shops for bedding.  All these tend to cause health issues so they are best avoided. While we use millet and other small round seeds for bedding for our Uromastyx, these are NOT suitable for tortoises.

Testudo tortoises need a moderately deep spot somewhere in the substrate in which to partially bury themselves when at rest. They prefer to dig under some natural surface barrier such as a log, so we place a wide plastic decking board (8" x 12" x 1" thick) glued onto 6" x 4" bricks  in the cooler end of the tank to serve as an overhead shelter. The goal is to produce a shelter just high enough for the tortoise to bury under without scraping the top of its shell.  Note: make sure the board or rock is glued to its legs to insure it can’t crash down on top of a digging tortoise. These tortoises have poor tolerance to damp conditions so be careful to keep the cage generally dry. Still, you need to make sure there is always some sheltered area in the cage that is just slightly moist. We lightly dampen the shelter area every other week and the whole cage every other month. The goal at that time is to make the substrate just slightly damp, not wet!  We also leave one other deep spot completely dry so the tortoises have a choice of bedding options.  Usually the Russians will pick the slightly damp spot, as will many of the Libyans, but the Golden Greeks like just a hint of dampness and will abandon any spot  that is any wetter. Note keeping all areas in the cage bone-dry all the time will lead to shell growth problems - especially in juveniles.  They all need some place that has at least some low degree of moisture to keep the shell healthy.  Likewise overly damp conditions will eventually lead to shell rot or respiratory problems.  Shell formation problems and respirator issues are THE  biggest health issue with these tortoises.  So we can't emphasize enough the importance of getting the shelter and cage moisture correct.  Again, have two shelter areas - one dry and one just slightly damp, with the rest of the cage dry, and you should be fine.  

Note for hatchlings, we've found that ours do consistently better if housed in smaller 20 gallon long aquariums with fine-stemmed leafy timothy or similar grass hay as the sole bedding. We make it several inches deep in all but the feeding corner which remains bare. The hatchlings shelter in the grass most of the day and come over to the feeding corner at will to feed. To aid in shell health, we very lightly wipe down the shell with BagBalm skin moisturizer once every two weeks. This serves to aid in preventing pyramiding from the scute edges overly drying out (one of the main causes of pyramiding in desert habitat tortoises).

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Diet: These tortoises are strictly herbivores and most will not (or should not) consume meat or insects. Our primary diet is composed of yard weeds such as dandelion greens and blooms, clover leaves and blooms, as well as various store bought greens such as Endive, turnip greens, Bok Choy, Escarole, and Romaine (avoid head lettuces). It's best to severely limit the amount of spinach, beet greens, Swiss chard, kale or collard greens you offer. These either bind important nutrients or tend to induce metabolic problems over time. We supply edible flowers when in season including nasturtium, rose, clover, and especially hibiscus. We also offer  Mazuri Tortoise pellets lightly softened by briefly pre-soaking them in warm water.  Mazuri can be used as the bulk of the diet if at least some greens are supplied as well. For animals needing extra weight gain, we also offer a few frozen mixed veggies (peas, cut green beans, carrots, corn, lima beans - all thawed/warmed before feeding) to the mix - but use these VERY sparingly with tortoises. We dust the food daily with Miner-Al – (Indoor version) calcium/mineral supplement (contains vit. D3 plus various minerals) and every other day with Uromastyx Dust (a herbivore-specific vitamin supplement).  Also when feeding peas etc, offer your animals a chance to soak in shallow warm water every few days to try and induce them to drink extra water. 

When you’re going to be gone for a few days, try to keep some cactus pads in each cage (Opuntia sp, commercially produced as human grade food, found de-spined at larger grocery stores). These last for many days, allowing for periodic nibbling at will.  The base end of heads of endive also work well for this purpose. These tortoises  commonly go months with minimal food in the wild and in general are overfed in captivity. This is not an excuse to feed them erratically - they still should have daily feeding most days.  But is merely a warning against overfeeding them.  Tortoises ALWAYS act hungry!  Be careful not to overindulge them.  Make sure they can always pull themselves nearly completely into their shells.   If not, start feeding less store-bought greens and replace them with weeds like plantain or dandelion (see our Edible Wild Plants page for alternatives wild foods).  Ideally, you should obtain a gram scale and track their weight so you can be sure of how they are doing  (see our Supplies page page to purchase gram scales and the mineral and vitamin supplements and Mazuri tortoise diet we recommend).

Water: In captivity, these species get the vast majority of their water needs met by feeding on the water-heavy greens commonly used for their diet.  Thus we don't routinely offer water to them inside the cage.  High humidity is very problematic to these particular species and open water bowls in a small enclosure can become a health issue. Still, you can not rely on the greens as the sole source of water.  Thus we periodically (every other week) soak them in a tub of very shallow (maybe ½” deep), warm water (mid 80'sF), allowing them to drink their fill.  Most pass on drinking at these times, or drink very little, but most will at least occasionally drink during these soaks. This also allows us to gently clean their shells and probably helps hydrate living shell tissue (excessive drying of the shell is a leading cause of pyramiding).  Allow them at least  10 to 15 minutes of undisturbed soaking and then return them to their cage.

___ Open-Ring Poultry Waterer ___