# Is this cypress mulch ok?



## jtrux (Oct 1, 2012)

I picked up some mulch at Lowes called Hapi-Gro cypress mulch blend. On the list of ingredients it states that it is a mixture of cypress mulch and other forest products. There was actually two kinds and I bought this one because it was a smaller bad just in case it didn't work out. The other one listed the same ingredients as well.

What do you guys think?


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## Pokeymeg (Oct 1, 2012)

It doesn't specify what other 'forest products' there are in there? It probably means cheap filler. I'd be hesitant to use it...other types of wood can be harmful to a tortoise.


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## jtrux (Oct 1, 2012)

Hmmmmmmm....I couldn't find anything that said just cypress mulch though. Any suggestions?


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## Madkins007 (Oct 1, 2012)

Stick your nose in the bag and take a deep whiff. If it smells 'earthy', it is probably OK. If it smells like pine or chemicals, it is not. 

Take some and rub it on your hand or some white paper. Did dye transfer? That is a bad sign as well. 

Look at some of it. Do you see things like small white pellets (balls of chemicals), or just stuff you would expect to see in a pile of chipped wood?

I know it is easy to get paranoid- these animals are somewhat sensitive since we took them out of their natural habitat, and companies today throw all kinds of bad stuff into products- but there is probably not much to worry about here. "Other forest products" is probably just 'lawyer talk' for whatever other stuff got chopped down too, or may have gotten tangled up or as they tossed stuff into the industrial shredder.


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## jtrux (Oct 2, 2012)

I played with it a little, no dyes, smells kinda like wet dirt. No pellets or anything else for that matter. I think it will be good.


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## jtrux (Oct 2, 2012)

I decided that the tortoise was too big of an investment to risk on a 2 dollar bag of mulch. I picked up some of that compress coconut stuff from the pet store until I kind find what I want exactly.


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## stinax182 (Oct 2, 2012)

always be careful with things that aren't treated either, STERILE is always the best way to go. i bought the cheapest bag of top soil and it said it has ingredients naturally gathered from nearby areas.....basically just dug up and put in a bag. so it could have come with a lot of things like spores and eggs, so i had to bake 40lbs of dirt in my oven -_-;


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## jtrux (Oct 2, 2012)

Yea i've done similar things before for drift wood and such, kind of a pain.


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## EKLC (Oct 3, 2012)

It's better off skipping the cypress mulch anyways. They pretty much destroy cypress swamps to harvest it.


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## LuckysGirl007 (Oct 3, 2012)

I had the same problem. I just went and got the Cyprus mulch bedding at the pet store.




stinax182 said:


> always be careful with things that aren't treated either, STERILE is always the best way to go. i bought the cheapest bag of top soil and it said it has ingredients naturally gathered from nearby areas.....basically just dug up and put in a bag. so it could have come with a lot of things like spores and eggs, so i had to bake 40lbs of dirt in my oven -_-;



Hmmm? Can you send me more info on this baking?


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## samiburke (Oct 3, 2012)

I have a question. Why do you bake the dirt and of soil??? And how???


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## jtrux (Oct 3, 2012)

Put it in the oven in a shallow pan, a thin layer at a time and bake it to kill off bad stuff, maybe 250 or soo


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## janevicki (Oct 3, 2012)

I agree jtrux that it is a wise choice to go with the coconut coir and not the wood chips from Lowes, because you do not know what exactly is in the bag at Lowes. A thought for you to consider is your own leaves from your backyard that have not been treated with pesticides. I go one further and only use leaves from trees that have been organically fertilized. I use persimmon tree leaves and the boxies love to hide in the piles with their head sticking outâ€¦. They look so funny! Because your boxie is small, you may want to crunch them up a bit before you put it under the coir for added moisture. The leaves I would not use are citrus and pine trees. Most of the deciduous trees are safe, like oak, maple, apple, persimmon and pear.


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## leonardo the tmnt (Oct 3, 2012)

jtrux said:


> Put it in the oven in a shallow pan, a thin layer at a time and bake it to kill off bad stuff, maybe 250 or soo



Yup you boil it to burn bacteria and some critters that could come whit the dirt


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## LuckysGirl007 (Oct 3, 2012)

How long?


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## jtrux (Oct 3, 2012)

Hmm, i'd say 30 minutes. It's been years since i've done any sanitizing stuff dealing with autoclaves and such but iirc, 270 is the magic temp to kill just about everything. You can do it with just about any type of landscape objects you find in your yard or on walks that you would want to put in with your critters like rocks, sticks, etc.


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