Coco coir

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J REED

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I was reading online that co co coir/fiber should be wet down and expanded before being put into a habitat due to it swelling and impacting in the gut if it isn't. Do you guys/gals do this or just put it in?
Jeremy
 

jjsull33

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I always soak mine first, however I always buy it as the dehydrated brick that has to be soaked. The few times I have bought coco not in brick form I soaked it anyway so it would be warm and help with humidity.

It usually doubles/triples in size when you soak the bricks, I don't remember how much the loose stuff expands.
 

alysciaingram

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I put mine in a tote outside and soak it with water from the hose. It expands pretty quickly.
 

mike taylor

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Five gallon bucket put brick in add two gallons of water and wait it will start to fall apart . Then squeez but as much water as you can a hand full at a time put in enclosure. When it's all in the enclosure pat it down with your hand . Get some cypress mulch and put on top so the top layer is dry .

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J REED

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The cypress mulch I see around here seems to be fairly big pieces

Jeremy


Also how do you re wet the coco and how often?

Jeremy


alysciaingram said:
I put mine in a tote outside and soak it with water from the hose. It expands pretty quickly.

Do you add a top layer of something else as well?

Jeremy
 

alysciaingram

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I mix the coco with organic topsoil, and then put sphagnum moss inside my hides. I mist my enclosures every morning. And twice a week I pull my plants out and rotate them out, when I do this I add water to the holes where the pots normally are. This keeps the moisture up, as the water evaporates upwards and I don't displace the substrate.
 

mike taylor

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I get my cypress mulch from Petco.

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J REED

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I bought some organic sphagnum peat but was told to use something else..

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jjsull33

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I put all my bricks into a 30 gallon tote and fill it with the appropriate amount of water and cover it. The hotter the water you use the quicker it will expand, and if you leave it covered it should only take 20-30 min max.

I use the hot water not only to make it go faster but to make sure that the coco isn't wet and cold.
 

Ansh

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I've used coco coir in my closed chamber enclosure. It's been 2 months and I haven't had to spray the substrate. The humidity has always been 80+ and the top layer seems dry but below this the coco coir remains moist.
 

J REED

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Re: RE: Coco coir

Ansh said:
I've used coco coir in my closed chamber enclosure. It's been 2 months and I haven't had to spray the substrate. The humidity has always been 80+ and the top layer seems dry but below this the coco coir remains moist.

Coco coir same thing as coco fiber?

Jeremy
 

J REED

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How deep are u guys putting it in

Jeremy


J REED said:
Ansh said:
I've used coco coir in my closed chamber enclosure. It's been 2 months and I haven't had to spray the substrate. The humidity has always been 80+ and the top layer seems dry but below this the coco coir remains moist.

Coco coir same thing as coco fiber?

Jeremy

No mold problems?

Jeremy
 

jjsull33

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I don't know if its immune to mold but I know it is mold resistant, and I have never had mold in any of my enclosures that use it.

As for how much to use, I have done 3 inches deep to 12 inches deep, it depends on the tort and what the main goal is. I would say on average I use enough for my torts to bury themselves if they wanted, but I think just a few inches to keep moisture is all you need assuming you give them other places to hide and feel secure in.
 

Ansh

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Two inches deep in my enclosure and haven't had mould or shell rot.
 

J REED

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Are you guys using just the coco? Sorry for all the q's just wanna get it right

Jeremy
 

jjsull33

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For me it depends on the species. My russians get a 50/50 mix of organic top soil (usually right from my yard as I know there is no pesticides in it) and coco fibers, My redfoots get 100% coco as it holds the humidity/moisture much better and shouldn't mold.

---

Another reason that I split for my russians is they get at least a foot of substrate even indoors, and it is a lot cheaper to use 1/2 dirt from my yard haha.
 

J REED

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I will be getting a sulacata and my daughter a leopard..We are building another chamber as we speak.

Jeremy
 

jjsull33

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Someone else with experience with those 2 species can give you more detail on how deep to put it, but I am fairly certain that sulcata love to dig. I am not sure about the leopard, I don't think they dig as much, but all tortoises feel more secure and comfortable if they are able to hide well.

Are you getting them as hatchlings? or juvenile?
 
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