Jon c
Member
I was using coco coir with some cypress mulch and I noticed the coir is already starting to get a little moldy after about 2 months. Especially under the clay water dish.
Coco coir mold
- Thread starter Jon c
- Start date
Jon c
Member
I had been watering it and mixing it up once a week to keep the humidity above 30% for an adult Russian. It's an open top 4x8 table. I was just about to switch to repti bark but I was planning on using another brick of coir as a cheap filler for the bottom but I don't think I'll be using coir ever again. Not from that same source anyhow. It said it was reptile grade and mold free... Lies. Has anyone ever had mold issues with just repti bark?
I have never had coco coir mold, and I have been using it for years. Are you sure something in it wasn't molding? Old food, poop, plant remnants?
Jon c
Member
Yes I'm sure
Jon c
Member
I would just take a handful of the mildew/moldy bits out of your enclosure & a bunch around the area. Nothing looks terribly bad.
Jon c
Member
Pictures don't do it any justice. One was taken from under the water dish but I already mixed it up. When I first lifted it up it was worse looking. And the random couple chips in some of the other pics is what the entire bottom layer looks like. It smells.... It's gone....
Jon c
Member
At the time I got those bricks I needed them that day and was forced to buy them from an infamously shady pet store in my area. Knowing the place they were prob tainted in some way. Adult Russians should be on fir bark though so I think I'm going with repti bark. Can anyone tell me how often you wash/change repti bark?
With the Reptibark I just spot clean. When I pick up the poop and take what is with near. It stays remarkable clean. I add water as need through my misting sytem to add moisture. Also I have some Isopods-rolly pollys. You can place some vegetable pieces/decaying leaves under a pice of wood and leav over night and check in the morning. Awesome cleaners
Jon c
Member
So you're suggesting I should grow them in that way myself or you're saying once you put them in thats what they are capable of?
It is amazing how useful they are at cleaning up decaying food matter. Anything that gets left behind if you clean up each day is gobbled up-they stray leaf when you grab yesterdays leftovers. I only pick up the big poos and just rke it up a little now and then. Fir Bark is available on the west coast and us poor East Coasters must make do with Repti-Bark.
Jon c
Member
Got ya. I have been starting to research a little about this. So you're saying it's litteraly as simple as leaving a veggie or lettuce leaf under a piece of wood and then I'll have a colony of them?
yep it draws them and keeps them occupied so you can scoop them up. Obviously if you are slightly lazy and its winter(Or close to)- EBAY Isopods. All kinds of differnet types too-the Zebra are awesome but Pricey!
jeneliza
Well-Known Member
Mildow will grow on anything that is wet, you should always let air flow to the areas of the encloser, water dishes need to be moved and under checked for being to wet etc, especially if you put it in the same spot each time, the fir bark will also grow mold if it's always covered and wet , I always check under my water dish and add dry substrate to the area if it's to wet so it won't grow, mold
Jon c
Member
Ya I geuss its a very fine line. And I'm dealing with an open top table and trying to achieve only 30-40%. I'm just going to have to stay on top of it. I wonder if people with closed chamber units hovering around 80-100% deal with this? I think I did get a bad batch of coir though because the cypress mulch in the same areas and touching some of the black coir was just fine.
L
LasTortugasNinja
Guest
I've used Coco coir for 30+ years for my gardens and reptiles. Never had an issue. I don't buy the pet brands stuff. I buy the bulk packs for planting. For the price of the little 2 gallon pet brick, I get a 10 gallon brick. Mixing the media with a little topsoil, sand, dry leaf litter, and wood chips has been the best I've seen for reptiles of all shapes and sizes. Just adjust the % based on your reptile's needs.
I frequently turn the soil a little in all my reptiles' cages to avoid any stagnant patches and also use biological filtration from springtails and isopods. Works great.
I frequently turn the soil a little in all my reptiles' cages to avoid any stagnant patches and also use biological filtration from springtails and isopods. Works great.
Jon c
Member
Do you think springtails and isopods could live in repti bark? I geuss you just order those things and then what, the just do there thing? How long do they last?
L
LasTortugasNinja
Guest
My colonies are self-sustaining, and live in my 4 part substrate for the past 8 years with no issue. Should do well in just repti bark, but keep an eye on humidity. Occasionally I see more than I want of them, and I'll scoop a bunch into a plastic bowl and sell the excess on local classifieds, or spritz the top layer with a little vinegar which will cut down the springtails really quick (but they come back). Never have issues with isopods. They seem to know just how many to make to keep a good working crew. LOL
jeneliza
Well-Known Member
I have a closed table, and use coir Earth, and have mine at 80, and yes it still can happen, it's just the nature of mold, I never have mine mold, but I do mix it around so it's not too wet under the water dish,
Kipley
Active Member
It is probably a bit of old food that is molding, not the coconut coir. I use springtails in all my indoor tortoise enclosures to help avoid this problem.
