Coco coir

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tortioselove101

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Hey every one as you have herd i got a new baby tort and was wondering were i could get coco coir he/she is on cypress mulch right now but want to try coco coir.
 

Eweezyfosheezy

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I personally prefer cypress mulch but you can get coco coir at any reptile specialty shops and at Petco and Petsmart.
 

tortioselove101

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Eweezyfosheezy said:
I personally prefer cypress mulch but you can get coco coir at any reptile specialty shops and at Petco and Petsmart.

Ya i love it but im afriad of it getting in my babys food dish.
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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Coco coir is my favorite because it holds moisture, and allows tortoises and box turtles to burrow into it, as though it were soil. Unlike soil, however, it does not harbor fungi or insects that can become pests in an indoor pen, and it is resistant to mold. Also, unlike soil it contains no sand, so it does not promote gut impaction if ingested (once they've been expanded).

I've tried cypress mulch in the past, but I don't prefer it, because it's difficult for animals to dig in it, and I've found it can also harbor fungi and insects. In my personal opinion, coco coir is the best.

You can buy coco coir expandable bricks in pet stores, but you can get them much cheaper and in larger amounts at gardening stores (or online).
 

wellington

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GeoTerraTestudo said:
Coco coir is my favorite because it holds moisture, and allows tortoises and box turtles to burrow into it, as though it were soil. Unlike soil, however, it does not harbor fungi or insects that can become pests in an indoor pen, and it is resistant to mold. Also, unlike soil it contains no sand, so it does not promote gut impaction if ingested (once they've been expanded).

I've tried cypress mulch in the past, but I don't prefer it, because it's difficult for animals to dig in it, and I've found it can also harbor fungi and insects. In my personal opinion, coco coir is the best.

You can buy coco coir expandable bricks in pet stores, but you can get them much cheaper and in larger amounts at gardening stores (or online).

DITTO, except you will get bugs. Little flying ones and teenie, tiny crawling ones. However, bake in a low oven, 200-250 for about 30 minutes to and hour, let cool then use or microwave it. I did mine for 6 minutes but at 1 minute intervals. I was afraid the bad might burst, it didn't. I think you only need to microwave for 2 minutes probably. The freezing of it doesn't work like I had hoped.
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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wellington said:
DITTO, except you will get bugs. Little flying ones and teenie, tiny crawling ones. However, bake in a low oven, 200-250 for about 30 minutes to and hour, let cool then use or microwave it. I did mine for 6 minutes but at 1 minute intervals. I was afraid the bad might burst, it didn't. I think you only need to microwave for 2 minutes probably. The freezing of it doesn't work like I had hoped.

I don't get bugs with coco coir unless I leave uneaten food out for a few days. Once I clean it up, the bugs usually go away after a few more days.

In my experience, with soil or cypress mulch, the fungi and bugs were non-stop. I suppose you could bake them to get rid of the pests first, but I'd rather just use coco coir.
 

Eweezyfosheezy

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tortioselove101 said:

In my experience its the coco coir that is the messy substrate. Cypress mulch stays very clean, but orchid bark is the best substrate in my opinion for indoor enclosures. I use potting soil or peat moss for my outdoor enclosures because they are the cheapest substrates and they work great outside for all species.
 

Masin

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wellington said:
DITTO, except you will get bugs. Little flying ones and teenie, tiny crawling ones. However, bake in a low oven, 200-250 for about 30 minutes to and hour, let cool then use or microwave it. I did mine for 6 minutes but at 1 minute intervals. I was afraid the bad might burst, it didn't. I think you only need to microwave for 2 minutes probably. The freezing of it doesn't work like I had hoped.

Fascinating! I'm going to try baking it. I don't own a microwave so hopefully an extended low degree bake will suffice. What do you think?
 
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