The Tortoise Table

Hello,
I use topsoil in my indoor enclosure for my tortoise using bags of top soil from the garden centre. In the past I have sieved it but this is pretty hard work for a large enclosure as I get older! In the past I have found the odd bit of plastic or glass etc in the bags.

Do you think it is necessary to sieve it? I am thinking the odd twig or bit of bark won’t be a problem as in the wild they would obviously encounter such things but bits of glass or plastic etc is a concern.

Also, how important is it that that the soil is sterilised? I have read somewhere sometime ago that the top soil should be sterilised but the top soil I have got (Westland) doesn’t appear to be sterilised and none of the bags I find seem to be.

I would appreciate your comments.

Thank you,

Quasi

Hi Quasi.
I would say you’re right. Our tortoises once in the garden and even in the wild would come across things they might pick us and ‘mouth’ to see if it’s edible. I can’t see that any glass in these bags of topsoil would be sharp enough to cause any cuts because that’s would be an open door for claiming, and I would hope it’s not large enough to get stuck in the digestive system of a tortoise. We do build our outdoor enclosures for the tortoises and I doubt anyone checks it thorough enough to remove every piece of plastic or worn down smooth glass.
Personally I would agree with you and say it will be fine, but I do know Nina uses topsoil and maybe she can come on and give you her outlook on the subject.

Lin

Hello Lin,
Thanks for your reply which is reassuring.
Best regards,
Quasi

Hi Quasi,

I use topsoil and children's playsand mixed together, and I agree with Lin that the occasional bit of plastic or glass that you find isn't a problem. Topsoil is almost always screened, and these bits are small enough to have got through the screening process, so they aren't big and when I see them I just pick them out. I don't think it needs to be sterilised either (although in an ideal world that would be nice) -- after all, who sterilises the soil outside in their garden enclosure, and picks the bits out of that? For some reason, the last bag of topsoil that I bought has lots of very tiny stones in it, and in a way I worry more about my tortoises eating little white stones (which they sometimes do outdoors but don't seem to have done indoors yet), than I do about other stuff. I don't think any of those things are a major problem though and you are just fine with the bags of topsoil that you've been buying.

Nina

Hello Nina,
Thank you for your very helpful reply. It’s reassuring and makes perfect sense. I will stop sieving the soil now and will pick out any obvious bits that have found their way into the bags!

Thanks again,

Quasi