Cypress Mulch Alternatives

[Geode890]

Hey everyone. I asked a tangentially related question quite awhile ago, so sorry for the potential double-posting, but would anyone happen to know of any alternatives for cypress mulch in a tortoise enclosure? For the past handful of years, I've been using cypress mulch, but for some reason I've recently only been able to find cypress mulch blends (that don't list all included woods), and even those are rare. This has kind of pressed me in terms of bedding options, and I haven't seen too much discussion about different mulches, as the immediate recommendation always seems to be cypress.

If absolutely need be, I could shell out every once and awhile for the cocoa shell (I think it is called), but that is also quite expensive where I live. I'm not entirely against spending more to happily house my tortoise by any means, but if there's an equally good alternative, like oak mulch or maple mulch or something, for a better price point, I'd love to know about it! I just want to ensure that the different mulches wouldn't hurt his feet or be toxic in any way. My tortoise is a Russian tortoise, if that makes any difference.

 

[jsheffield]

Orchid bark is good, as is coconut husk, and I've been able to find both cheaply, which is pretty much my guiding principle for bedding for the 5 enclosures I'm currently running.

Jamie

 

[Geode890]

Orchid bark is good, as is coconut husk, and I've been able to find both cheaply, which is pretty much my guiding principle for bedding for the 5 enclosures I'm currently running.

Jamie

Out of curiosity, do you get it online or in a chain like Lowes or Menards or anything like that? For comparison, I've been able to get a bag of 2 cubic feet of cypress for around $6, of which I need two or three to properly fill the enclosure. I did a quick search and the cheapest I could find either of the two you recommended was at around $20 a bag for the same amount, which is just a tad pricey for me.

 

[Happytort27]

I recently got my orchid bark (or fir bark) at my local nursery. I find that there are usually additives or other ingredients in the bags at large home improvement stores, and the plain orchid bark we’re looking for is scarce (at least for me). So it’s best to go to your small local nursery to find some fine grade orchid bark. It should only be made of fir bark. Here’s an example of one that I got:

I think it was a good deal - about $9 for 2 cubic ft.

 

[Blackdog1714]

East coast fir bark option is Reptibark. West coast can get the garden mulch size bag of fir bark! So jelly!

 

[Tom]

 

[turtlesteve]

East coast fir bark option is Reptibark. West coast can get the garden mulch size bag of fir bark! So jelly!

Yep. No bulk fir bark here. East coast option at Lowe’s (this is aged pine bark fines):

 

[Geode890]

Yup. Should have probably mentioned I’m over on the East Coast. Fir bark does seem to be a bit pricey here. I’m a tad hesitant to try pine related stuff after reading that some can be too strong and hurt the tortoise’s eyes and skin though, unless someone has evidence against that occurring. I’ll keep looking and see if fir anything is around here and may just individually search the efficacies of the various mulches I do have here. Thanks for the advice!

 

[turtlesteve]

Yup. Should have probably mentioned I’m over on the East Coast. Fir bark does seem to be a bit pricey here. I’m a tad hesitant to try pine related stuff after reading that some can be too strong and hurt the tortoise’s eyes and skin though, unless someone has evidence against that occurring. I’ll keep looking and see if fir anything is around here and may just individually search the efficacies of the various mulches I do have here. Thanks for the advice!

I use pine bark and have for many years. There are a few comments out there that it can be an irritant, but I have never seen any issues using aged bark.

 

[Blackdog1714]

I cheap out for the indoors- cypress about 2-3" thick and liberally coat the top with reptibark until you can't see the cypress. For my Leopard who doesn't dig it works perfectly and looks nice too!

 

[Tom]

Yup. Should have probably mentioned I’m over on the East Coast. Fir bark does seem to be a bit pricey here. I’m a tad hesitant to try pine related stuff after reading that some can be too strong and hurt the tortoise’s eyes and skin though, unless someone has evidence against that occurring. I’ll keep looking and see if fir anything is around here and may just individually search the efficacies of the various mulches I do have here. Thanks for the advice!

Fir bark is not pine. Its fir. I've been using it for decades under 100s of different reptiles including several tortoise species, including Russians.