Coconut Fiber - Messy, Sticking, Tortoise Struggling

[BurlingtonDarwin]

Hello.

First time with a tortoise so excuse my questions. We put down a bed of loose coconut substrate.

It seems like it's too loose despite attempts to pack it down and mist he. He kind looks like a kid in a ball pit. Eventually he gets where he's going but seems to struggle.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[pfara]

How moist is it? It becomes more compact and dense the wetter it is. I've never seen problems with tortoise traction when using prepared coco bricks.

 

[BurlingtonDarwin]

It's not too wet, just misted it.

Sorry, I'm new at this... Do I really wet it? They guy at the store gave me Loose Coconut Fiber and said it's the right stuff.

 

[TortieLuver]

Yeah that's good, but I would spray it more

 

[BurlingtonDarwin]

Ok, I'll spray more.

Right now when he tries to walk, he can get around, but sometimes his feet just push in place and he doesn't get anywhere...

Thanks for your help. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[pfara]

I'm not experienced with this but I'm guessing the bag of loose coco coir is equivalent to rehydrated coco bricks that dried out. If so, I probably would have dumped that bag into a bucket of warm water then strained and pressed the excess water out to get the right consistency that you're looking for. I don't know if misting will do too much. You can also dump water into the enclosure and allow the coir to wick the water up.

 

[edwardbo]

Thank you for asking this question .I hate that stuff ,never understood why people liked it ,and it's messy and ugly. I love cypress with nests of long fibered sphagnum . If I could post (after months of looking for the new post button,I'm convinced I don't have one) I was going to ask about little whitish bugs I found on the bottom of my enclosure ,they swarm then crawl onto the turtles legs / skin.it made me sick ,I think they may be some sort of wood louse (they float) anyway,it was only in the tank that I added coco core brick.stayed up till 4am cleaning ,wanted to stop keeping turtles I was so grossed out .SO ,welcome to the forum ,enter at your own risk.(kidding).forgive my writing style or lack of,,,,much love ...

 

[Elohi]

I love coconut coir. It's a great substrate but initially, and from time to time you need to actually wet it down and stir it up. I usually out on gardening gloves and pour warm water in and mix it until it's evenly moist or wet, then press it down by hand. Mixing it with ground sphagnum peat moss is an even better option. Same process for wetting it. Then spray it down daily or when it looks like it's drying a little. Pouring warm water into the corner of the enclosure helps keep it moist to. It will eventually soak up to the surface.

 

[BurlingtonDarwin]

Hi everyone.

Thanks for the help, it's greatly appreciated.

After a thorough wetting, mixing and pressing, he's motoring around his new home. So far so good.

Any other early tips (day 1) would be appreciated, but thanks for your help today.

He only has pellets right now, off to get some Kale tomorrow.

 

[edwardbo]

Looked at your pictures and my stuff is more chunky( better for pest to hide)your stuff is the kind that is like coffee grounds it will make a mess and stick to every thing ,the only way you can make that work is to completely soak it,it drys out fast too,,,return it or cover it with big flat rocks ,tiles or cypress mulch( my choice)and don't forget the long fibered sphagnum ,(don't worry that tort will eat sphagnum ,DO worry that your turtle will "eat" those coffee grounds )since I brought it up that stuff will stick to your turtles food ,feed him on something,flat rock,tile ,paper plate,,,,,are you sure you want to keep turtle ?you could return him with that messy ugly coco stuff .just kidding ,

 

[BurlingtonDarwin]

Good point... I'm noticing that already.

Yes, I can already see the "coffee grounds" are getting into the food and water. I will check out the stuff you mentioned as well. A nice flat rock is definitely needed.

 

[edwardbo]

Elohi,your a hoot!,,sounds like too much work ,and without the sphagnum it's not absorbent ,drys out too fast too .why don't you like cypress ?you won't need to stir ,mix ,wet,...and to can throw out the gloves !( unless your having a spa treatment under those gloves ).

 

[TortieLuver]

The sphagnum moss is good to place in a humid hide. I also love cypress mulch because it isn't dust...also orchid bark is good. It's on amazon now for a good deal, unless your local Home Depot or lowes has it in stock. I can't get it out here in Arizona without paying shipping charges that are expensive..lowes and Home Depot say it doesn't head past the Rocky Mountains for cypress mulch. A lot of bedding substrates can be found at home improvement stores for a lot less than pet stores.

What kind of pellet are you giving your tortoise?

 

[edwardbo]

Bdarwin, (sounds like a song,oh my Darwin ,oh my Darwin ...)what kind of tort are you keeping? Best of luck ,have fun and enjoy that turtle. Any chance of pictures? ( of the turtle) really ,that stuff is not worth the trouble ...

 

[BurlingtonDarwin]

It's a Leopard Tortoise. Here he is.

---

This is the pellet...



I know to do greens as well.

 

[edwardbo]

Tort lover , what's the point of being cheap ? Cypress is sold at Petco and pets smart .(Petco will match prices,I tell them pet smart sells cypress for 6 bucks (they dont'BUT ,it is cheaper at pet smart) however Petco is more convenient ,so I put it on sale myself. Get it ?)just get a bag of cypress it last for ever. ....Home Depot sells sphagnum and other stuff but I find orchid bark always has perilite in it and obsessive people like myself can spend hours trying to pick it out only to find more and more....I have some orchid bark and bags of cypress stocked up ,(might as wll buy a bunch when it's on sale)send me your location ,I'll send you some ...

---

As to food ,please do your home work here ,their are many nice people that keep beautiful leopards ,they are not my tort yet.(with basking temps in the 100s and my hot flashes uh uh .)anyway just kale is not the way to go,you should have known that before getting this animal .watch your temps and humidity,DO YOUR HOMWORK !!!

 

[BurlingtonDarwin]

I'm doing my best to learn. I just threw out Kale as one option.

He has lots of moisture now and temp, but I'll keep brushing up on everything.

 

[TortieLuver]

Edwardbo~don't talk to me like that...I spend $23.00 for shipping on one bag of cypress mulch! I strongly suggest you hear all the facts before you judge or make comments about being cheap. I have invested a great deal of money in my tortoise's care and only trying to help other members. If you look back through threads, you will find that cypress mulch is very hard to find, especially in large bags where people like myself who live in the sw and have had over 100+ torts and the little bags at petsmart doesn't come close to covering it. By price matching, you too are looking to save so let's all be on the same team on help each other out with our tortoise husbandry!

Burlingtondarwin~ I would throw out that pellet food right away. I suggest the mazuri tortoise diet or the zoomed grassland tortoise diet

 

[edwardbo]

Torts lover ,I made a poor choice of being funny .did you see the part where I offered to send you some?.....I'm going to try to locate whole sale pricing,will let you know .there has got to be better options for you with your over abundance of turtles.dont you live in Arizona ? Try living in freezing temps most of the year,you guys have it easy.pm me as I most likely will not encounter this post again.are you breeding anything? Can help with the money part ,let me know .pm will ensure I see you .....actually the whole post was tounge and cheek .with much love. Can you post a thread asking if people are keeping grandis ( hoesimy) (sp) .i would appreciate it as I can not find the new post button ,months of looking for it.also why don't more peps talk about yellow foots ? They are delightful .again I'm sorry for ruffling your feathers ,what types of torts do you keep ? Let's be friends .

---

(I'm not price matching ,I'm steeling ,shhhhh don't tell anybody)

---

Just read your post again ,I see your a girl ,now I'm even more sorry . Really ,let me know what your keeping , pm me . ...can you forgive me?....friends..???

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

I love the coco coir but you do need to be generous with the water at first, throw that sucker into the bucket generous. The cool thing, one of our experts shared this on another thread, is that you can wash and wear. Yep, every few months, I think he said he does it every 6, he throws it in a bucket and pours boiling water, waits until the water is cool and then strains/drains. Good as new, and cleaned up.

What I did also, to have less coffee grounds, was to put in terra cotta saucers and that makes little patios: one for water, one to use for foods, one upside down under the basking area to have a warm clay saucer underneath while they "sun" and another one upside down just to have more coco coir covered. It gives my babies some exercise too, going up and down the saucers and also files their nails a little, I think. You can also use pieces of slate. While not perfect, it helps cut down on the marsh effect that one can get with the keeping it wet for the necessary humidity. Has worked well for me and the saucers are easy peasy to rinse clean.

The pellet food I agree, Mazuri would be better, but maybe use what you have there by wetting your greens and sprinkling it on top. It will stick to the greens and some will get eaten. As an amendment, can't hurt.

BurlingtonDarwin, you are a newbie, so hello and welcome. : ) You came to a great place to learn so your baby will thrive. And I believe you have a little leopard ... here is a fun link I think you will like:

http://www.pinterest.com/pietersmith/leopard-tortoise-edible-plants/