Orchid bark isn’t made of orchids 🤦‍♀️

[Mabelthetort]

I’ve been an absolute plonker…again!

I’ve learnt that Tom is the guy to trust since joining last month, and he’s always recommending orchid bark. My little marginated seems to enjoy ‘her’ coco coir but I don’t like that she walks it onto her feeding slate so was looking for orchid bark for that area of her enclosure.

Well, no matter how hard I looked, all of the so-called orchid bark was made of pine and not orchids!

I’m embarrassed to admit I had to read the contents of several products before I realised it was used FOR orchids and not made out of dried orchid stems. Orchids don’t even have bark? What is wrong with me?!

I saw people saying it was expensive and thought ‘well, yeah. It’s made of orchids, what do you expect!’

Good god, my poor tortoise doesn’t stand a chance.

Anyway, just wanted to share my embarrassment as I don’t have any real-life tortoise people to confess this to.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I think the formula changes a bit by location

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I have had my own struggles trying to find the right kind of bark here in Finland. Of course pet stores sell those small bags that are a bit expensive for what it is. The bark sold here for orchids have two problems 1) They often have things added to them like fertilizer, moss etc. and 2) Either they don't even mention what species of tree the bark is from or if they do it is often Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea) which I have thought to be the wrong kind.

 

[Sarah2020]

Hope you found the bark you needed? Swell reptiles sells small bark. I buy Prorep bark in the UK. Sometimes there's are flies so whilst it sounds odd, I bake it in the cover on trays for 30 mins to get rid of the bugs. I find it the most easy non messy substrate and it goes in the garden when done.

 

[Tom]

I’ve been an absolute plonker…again!

I’ve learnt that Tom is the guy to trust since joining last month, and he’s always recommending orchid bark. My little marginated seems to enjoy ‘her’ coco coir but I don’t like that she walks it onto her feeding slate so was looking for orchid bark for that area of her enclosure.

Well, no matter how hard I looked, all of the so-called orchid bark was made of pine and not orchids!

I’m embarrassed to admit I had to read the contents of several products before I realised it was used FOR orchids and not made out of dried orchid stems. Orchids don’t even have bark? What is wrong with me?!

I saw people saying it was expensive and thought ‘well, yeah. It’s made of orchids, what do you expect!’

Good god, my poor tortoise doesn’t stand a chance.

Anyway, just wanted to share my embarrassment as I don’t have any real-life tortoise people to confess this to.

That is a new one for me and quite entertaining. Thanks for sharing your story and bringing smiles to everyone.

 

[Mabelthetort]

Hope you found the bark you needed? Swell reptiles sells small bark. I buy Prorep bark in the UK. Sometimes there's are flies so whilst it sounds odd, I bake it in the cover on trays for 30 mins to get rid of the bugs. I find it the most easy non messy substrate and it goes in the garden when done.

I’ve just gone and checked and Swell Reptiles has an offer on so I bought 40l. Do you find your tortoise can still dig down in it as a substrate and does it need to be changed more frequently than coco coir? I’ve only had my tortoise a little while and her original coco coir is still good so long as I remove everything and mix it all around once a week. Is it okay to treat the orchid bark the same way? Thanks!

 

[Tom]

I’ve just gone and checked and Swell Reptiles has an offer on so I bought 40l. Do you find your tortoise can still dig down in it as a substrate and does it need to be changed more frequently than coco coir? I’ve only had my tortoise a little while and her original coco coir is still good so long as I remove everything and mix it all around once a week. Is it okay to treat the orchid bark the same way? Thanks!

If you soak your tortoise regularly, most of the poo and pee will be deposited in the soak water and not the enclosure. With daily spot cleaning and removal of left over food, your orchid bark should last for a year or two.

 

[Mabelthetort]

If you soak your tortoise regularly, most of the poo and pee will be deposited in the soak water and not the enclosure. With daily spot cleaning and removal of left over food, your orchid bark should last for a year or two.

Oh wow, that’s great. Much longer than I thought! She’s only ten months, so I soak her daily. Thanks!

 

[TammyJ]

I’ve been an absolute plonker…again!

I’ve learnt that Tom is the guy to trust since joining last month, and he’s always recommending orchid bark. My little marginated seems to enjoy ‘her’ coco coir but I don’t like that she walks it onto her feeding slate so was looking for orchid bark for that area of her enclosure.

Well, no matter how hard I looked, all of the so-called orchid bark was made of pine and not orchids!

I’m embarrassed to admit I had to read the contents of several products before I realised it was used FOR orchids and not made out of dried orchid stems. Orchids don’t even have bark? What is wrong with me?!

I saw people saying it was expensive and thought ‘well, yeah. It’s made of orchids, what do you expect!’

Good god, my poor tortoise doesn’t stand a chance.

Anyway, just wanted to share my embarrassment as I don’t have any real-life tortoise people to confess this to.

You're not alone in having mistaken orchid bark for orchid bark.
However, please don't go looking in real life for tortoise people...you just might find them...

 

[wellington]

Also if you bake the bark at 250F for around 3 hours, it will help to ward off any of the tiny little fly eggs that may be in it. They are tiny flies, and don't last long. Don't hurt your tortoise, just more of a nuisance to you.
You can also just put the bark over the coir if you want to give a deeper substrate without having to use all bark and get can dig down deeper and into the coir. Packing the bark down some into the coir top will help the coir stay in place a little better.

 

[Mabelthetort]

Also if you bake the bark at 250F for around 3 hours, it will help to ward off any of the tiny little fly eggs that may be in it. They are tiny flies, and don't last long. Don't hurt your tortoise, just more of a nuisance to you.
You can also just put the bark over the coir if you want to give a deeper substrate without having to use all bark and get can dig down deeper and into the coir. Packing the bark down some into the coir top will help the coir stay in place a little better.

Great! Thanks for the tip!