Coco coir

[tortoise@india]

Is coco peat the same as coco coir?
Also attaching a screenshot...please tell if I should buy it for my pair of stat tortoises indian.
Zoomed does not deliver in mumbai india nor are its products available online for shipping.
This one is a 5 kg block.
How should I use it and how much will it expand?

 

[ISU]

If you soak it in water, it will swell up. 5kg will be about 50L

 

[Tom]

Is coco peat the same as coco coir?
Also attaching a screenshot...please tell if I should buy it for my pair of stat tortoises indian.
Zoomed does not deliver in mumbai india nor are its products available online for shipping.
This one is a 5 kg block.
How should I use it and how much will it expand?

Yes, it is the same stuff. I put it in a tub and dump about 5 gallons of waters into it. It absorbs the water and expands over night.

This is not the best substrate to use. It is not harmful or dangerous, but it is messy. Fine grade orchid bark would be better if you can find it. If you want to use the coir, make a very thick layer of it and then hand pack it down firmly. You'll need to pack it down daily and then after about two weeks it will settle in nicely and become less messy. 20-24 cm will hand pack down to around 7-10cm, which is what you want.

 

[tortoise@india]

Yes, it is the same stuff. I put it in a tub and dump about 5 gallons of waters into it. It absorbs the water and expands over night.

This is not the best substrate to use. It is not harmful or dangerous, but it is messy. Fine grade orchid bark would be better if you can find it. If you want to use the coir, make a very thick layer of it and then hand pack it down firmly. You'll need to pack it down daily and then after about two weeks it will settle in nicely and become less messy. 20-24 cm will hand pack down to around 7-10cm, which is what you want.

actually I have searched everywhere for orchid bark but it just isn't available.
enquired online as well as to other keeper and they use normal gardening soil with coco coir 20soil 80coir ratio.
found few sellers on amazon but half don't deliver to Mumbai and the rest never seem to have it in their stock.
do inform if you know any website or seller delivering orchid bark to Mumbai.

 

[Liggysasha]

Orchid growing is very popular in India (my favorite Orchid YouTuber is in India), so I would think they would sell orchid bark. Is there a garden or plant store near you? You could ask them if they have orchid bark. It could be called something different there.

 

[Tom]

actually I have searched everywhere for orchid bark but it just isn't available.
enquired online as well as to other keeper and they use normal gardening soil with coco coir 20soil 80coir ratio.
found few sellers on amazon but half don't deliver to Mumbai and the rest never seem to have it in their stock.
do inform if you know any website or seller delivering orchid bark to Mumbai.

I can understand the difficulty in finding things there, but I would not use soil. Coco coir will work for you, but soil is made from composted yard waste and there is no way to know what might be in it. Could be toxic plants, or non-toxic plants with toxic chemicals applied to them.

 

[Crush da Baum]

actually I have searched everywhere for orchid bark but it just isn't available.
enquired online as well as to other keeper and they use normal gardening soil with coco coir 20soil 80coir ratio.
found few sellers on amazon but half don't deliver to Mumbai and the rest never seem to have it in their stock.
do inform if you know any website or seller delivering orchid bark to Mumbai.

Are there Lowe’s in Mumbai?

 

[tortoise@india]

Are there Lowe’s in Mumbai?

no I checked it online
not here