Sandy, I've been usung coconut coir for 2 years. I personally love the smell. When warm and damp, it smells so... um, primal.
But... I only use it as a base. I have a topper of damp sphagnum moss at one end and dry cypress mulch at the other. For my new enclosure, I followed other's advice and mixed the coir 50/50 with top soil. We'll see how that goes.
I put smooth river rocks around the water dish in order to keep it cleaner. I overflow the water dish when filling, to keep the base substrate moist. I seeded pretty much the whole enclosure, and am attempting to root some plants. We'll see how that goes since mine, at 2.5 years, are becoming little bulldozers.
But... I only use it as a base. I have a topper of damp sphagnum moss at one end and dry cypress mulch at the other. For my new enclosure, I followed other's advice and mixed the coir 50/50 with top soil. We'll see how that goes.
I put smooth river rocks around the water dish in order to keep it cleaner. I overflow the water dish when filling, to keep the base substrate moist. I seeded pretty much the whole enclosure, and am attempting to root some plants. We'll see how that goes since mine, at 2.5 years, are becoming little bulldozers.