Home Depot recommendations?

[Dawn]

I've gotten some excellent advice on substrates and am interested in trying some Cypress Mulch. The only supply store here is Home Depot....any advice as to which brand or type I should try?

 

[DixieParadise]

Try to find out which one is available and then research it to see what the secondary wood is. Some are blended with pine. Which depending on your Tort might not be good for it. But then I have read some use pine with no problems..so back to your question:

I use Corbitt NoFloat Professional Cypress Mulch. Not the colored stuff.. This is the only one I have experience with

 

[Dawn]

Try to find out which one is available and then research it to see what the secondary wood is. Some are blended with pine. Which depending on your Tort might not be good for it. But then I have read some use pine with no problems..so back to your question:

I use Corbitt NoFloat Professional Cypress Mulch. Not the colored stuff.. This is the only one I have experience with

Thanks. I have a russian tort. what are the specific ingredients you look for in the mulch?

 

[lynnedit]

Try to find out which one is available and then research it to see what the secondary wood is. Some are blended with pine. Which depending on your Tort might not be good for it. But then I have read some use pine with no problems..so back to your question:

I use Corbitt NoFloat Professional Cypress Mulch. Not the colored stuff.. This is the only one I have experience with

Thanks. I have a russian tort. what are the specific ingredients you look for in the mulch?

Just make sure it is pure Cypress Mulch. Some use organic straight topsoil as a base, with cypress mulch sprinkled on top or mixed in for drainage/moisture retention. You can also use Orchid Bark (made for orchids, so safe, as they cannot tolerate additives). I believe this is made from fir mostly. And some use pure Cypress mulch, which is a great product.
Having a small separate hide with some Timothy Hay to burrow in is nice, some really like it. I think it is a matter of trying a few different things and seeing what they like.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Natural pure cypress mulch is what we use.

 

[DixieParadise]

you will have to see which are available to you and then google the company and product to see what they have in them. The one I use, is 100% cypress.

I live in Texas, so I am not sure that your Home Depot will carry the exact brand as mine. I believe mine comes from Florida.

 

[Dawn]

you will have to see which are available to you and then google the company and product to see what they have in them. The one I use, is 100% cypress.

I live in Texas, so I am not sure that your Home Depot will carry the exact brand as mine. I believe mine comes from Florida.

Thanks so much for the info. I'll go today and see what my store has to offer. Do you use the cypress alone, or mixed with the topsoil?

 

[lucas339]

I use Corbitt NoFloat Professional Cypress Mulch. Not the colored stuff.. This is the only one I have experience with

when i was breeding ball pythons i inquired with this company on the percentage of other woods in this mix. i liked it because it was double milled and had smaller pieces. however, it is only 80% cypress with the other 20% being pine so i stopped using it.

i forget the brand but it comes in yellow bags at home depot. it contians 95% cypress.

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Try to find out which one is available and then research it to see what the secondary wood is. Some are blended with pine. Which depending on your Tort might not be good for it. But then I have read some use pine with no problems..so back to your question:

I use Corbitt NoFloat Professional Cypress Mulch. Not the colored stuff.. This is the only one I have experience with

 

[Madkins007]

I just find a bag with a hole in it and take a big whiff. Good wood mulches will not have a strong odor of things like pine or cedar, but smell more 'earthy'.

I know I am sort of a lone voice in this issue, but there is a big difference between pine shavings substrates and pine bark mulch. If there is no odor of pine, then there is not a lot of resin in the material, and the resin is the bad stuff.

By the same token, I find no problems using cedar boards for an outdoor pen wall- the resins dissipate rather than concentrate in the habitat, or using pine wood or plywood for interior construction- not as much surface area releasing the resins as there is in the shavings.

HOWEVER- I respect anyone who chooses 'better safe than sorry', even if I disagree on the threat level here.