Bulk Orchid Bark

grizzclan

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Hello I live in Colorado I've adopted a 13 to 15 year old sulcata tortoise weighing 20lbs and I'm trying to find bulk amounts of orchid bark for his enclosure. Does anyone know where I may be able to purchase this at a reasonable price I see it recommended a lot and have been unable to find it in bags of 8 qts which isn't very much! I found a place on-line that carries some bulk bark called LLL Reptile but I'm not familiar with them. If someone could give me some ideas I would really appreciate it!!
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings… LLReptile are good, but see if your local big box store garden center like Ace, Lowes, HomeDepot or WalMart have 100% cypress mulch.

Here we get 2-3 cubic ft bags of cypress mulch for $2.50 or so. Ive been using this for many years with our Sully.

good luck

looks like it is $3.78 for 2 cubic ft
9285C0C0-02D7-44B5-8E40-95F8D6812AAF.jpeg
 

grizzclan

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Lakewood, CO
Greetings… LLReptile are good, but see if your local big box store garden center like Ace, Lowes, HomeDepot or WalMart have 100% cypress mulch.

Here we get 2-3 cubic ft bags of cypress mulch for $2.50 or so. Ive been using this for many years with our Sully.

good luck

looks like it is $3.78 for 2 cubic ft
View attachment 338998
Thank you I'm doing some research now looks like most of the bulk stuff is not in season here ugh! I will probably have to order from an area where it's used year round the price is great with my big guy he needs a lot of bedding! Thanks ? again I really appreciate it!!
 

Yvonne G

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Last time my tortoise partner was here he called around to different plant nurseries and found one that sells fir bark bulk. I don't remember the price but I got a pick-up load pretty cheap.
 

Tom

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If you can't find it or order it from a local nursery, you can get it on chewy.com. 24 quart bags for about $18.

You really don't need substrate for a tortoise that size though. I just use dirt in my 4x8' night boxes and it makes clean up much easier.
 

Big Ron

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Last time my tortoise partner was here he called around to different plant nurseries and found one that sells fir bark bulk. I don't remember the price but I got a pick-up load pretty cheap.
@Yvonne G does the fir bark have a bad odor,cypress mulch smells as Todd said like the swamp it comes from My outside enclosure should be done by sunday but i will still bring Hermie in at night ,we have foxes,coyote's,and raccoons i just feel better with him inside with me at night thanks in advance :)
 

Yvonne G

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I'm the wrong person to ask. I love the smell of fresh earth. . . in fact, I used to eat dirt when I was a kid.
 

Tom

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@Yvonne G does the fir bark have a bad odor,cypress mulch smells as Todd said like the swamp it comes from My outside enclosure should be done by sunday but i will still bring Hermie in at night ,we have foxes,coyote's,and raccoons i just feel better with him inside with me at night thanks in advance :)
You don't need o bring him "in" a night. Make a heated night box. I shut and latch the doors each night after verifying that all the tortoises are in, and open the doors each morning. This way your tortoise is inches own enclosure, with the correct temperatures, plus shelter and protection from the elements and any predators.
 

grizzclan

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Location (City and/or State)
Lakewood, CO
@Yvonne G does the fir bark have a bad odor,cypress mulch smells as Todd said like the swamp it comes from My outside enclosure should be done by sunday but i will still bring Hermie in at ni
Last time my tortoise partner was here he called around to different plant nurseries and found one that sells fir bark bulk. I don't remember the price but I got a pick-up load pretty cheap
Last time my tortoise partner was here he called around to different plant nurseries and found one that sells fir bark bulk. I don't remember the price but I got a pick-up load pretty cheap.
Thank you all I'm using dirt now I thought it might be cleaner with the bark lol I'm definitely new at this and want to make sure i do right by him!! Its hard to find bulk of anything needed for tortoise the size I have just getting our feet wet!! I will look into all of these options again thank you for all the help!! ?
ght ,we have foxes,coyote's,and raccoons i just feel better with him inside with me at night thanks in advance :)

Last time my tortoise partner was here he called around to different plant nurseries and found one that sells fir bark bulk. I don't remember the price but I got
 

Henry’s mom

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Dec 17, 2021
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Tampa FL
Hello I live in Colorado I've adopted a 13 to 15 year old sulcata tortoise weighing 20lbs and I'm trying to find bulk amounts of orchid bark for his enclosure. Does anyone know where I may be able to purchase this at a reasonable price I see it recommended a lot and have been unable to find it in bags of 8 qts which isn't very much! I found a place on-line that carries some bulk bark called LLL Reptile but I'm not familiar with them. If someone could give me some ideas I would really appreciate it!!
I have a baby sulcata and I also read that orchid bark is best for holding in humidity and the Fine grade is the best. I had a hard time finding it at first.
The only thing I could find at the hardware store are these 8 qt bags. I think they were about $8 and that’s not very big. It’s not Fine though so I finally found Fine specifically on Amazon and they’re 24 qt bags. ? The one from Amazon says fir bark but I looked it up and they are the same. I received one bag and it’s much smaller! I like it so far. I ordered another one. They aren’t cheap though! $30 a bag.
 

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Yvonne G

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10 Year Member!
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Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
I have a baby sulcata and I also read that orchid bark is best for holding in humidity and the Fine grade is the best. I had a hard time finding it at first.
The only thing I could find at the hardware store are these 8 qt bags. I think they were about $8 and that’s not very big. It’s not Fine though so I finally found Fine specifically on Amazon and they’re 24 qt bags. ? The one from Amazon says fir bark but I looked it up and they are the same. I received one bag and it’s much smaller! I like it so far. I ordered another one. They aren’t cheap though! $30 a bag.
Cheaper than that at chewy.com - Nevermind. . . I just looked it up and they've raised their prices. Used to be $15 a bag:

 

Henry’s mom

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Dec 17, 2021
Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Tampa FL
Cheaper than that at chewy.com - Nevermind. . . I just looked it up and they've raised their prices. Used to be $15 a bag:

Oh that’s still a little bit cheaper. I didn’t realize chewy.com was more than just dog and cat supplies. Thank you!
 

Henry’s mom

Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2021
Messages
97
Location (City and/or State)
Tampa FL
Cheaper than that at chewy.com - Nevermind. . . I just looked it up and they've raised their prices. Used to be $15 a bag:

Do you know if anyone uses soil under the substrate? I was wanting to have some live plants or grass and it looks like I either need to plant them in the enclosure or sink them down into the substrate in their their pots. That’s a lot more substrate though. Currently I have a little container of wheat grass on it’s side that Henry munched on a little before he started not feeling well but it’d be nice to have some for him to shade too.
 

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