Substrate issues

[MidwestyB]

I’m in Iowa. I’ve called 10 local nurseries and garden stores and can’t find orchid bark. They have the Better Gro brand at Lowes and I have 7, 8 qt bags in my cart for $45 total. Enclosure is 52 1/2” L x 20” W. Is that enough?
Cypress mulch is $2 for 2 cu ft/bag which would be the easy choice, but not preferred for the Hermann baby I plan to get soon. Super frustrated.

 

[Cathie G]

I’m in Iowa. I’ve called 10 local nurseries and garden stores and can’t find orchid bark. They have the Better Gro brand at Lowes and I have 7, 8 qt bags in my cart for $45 total. Enclosure is 52 1/2” L x 20” W. Is that enough?
Cypress mulch is $2 for 2 cu ft/bag which would be the easy choice, but not preferred for the Hermann baby I plan to get soon. Super frustrated.

Hello and welcome to the forum. If you can find Zoo med repti bark from a pet shop on sale it's probably worth the investment as to Lowe's. It's also orchid bark. I'm not sure what to tell you about how much because I mix mine about 50/50 with coco choir. My first bag I found at Lowes but my second is also from a pet shop. I just like the way the substrate is when it is mixed with the bark and the choir. My Tortoise seems to like walking across it. Also I think that those products will give you a coverage guage so that you may be able to better figure out how much you need.?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Do you have any HOME DEPOT stores in Iowa?
I get mine there. And I use it as 100% of the substrate.

 

[MidwestyB]

Hello and welcome to the forum. If you can find Zoo med repti bark from a pet shop on sale it's probably worth the investment as to Lowe's. It's also orchid bark. I'm not sure what to tell you about how much because I mix mine about 50/50 with coco choir. My first bag I found at Lowes but my second is also from a pet shop. I just like the way the substrate is when it is mixed with the bark and the choir. My Tortoise seems to like walking across it. Also I think that those products will give you a coverage guage so that you may be able to better figure out how much you need.?

Thank you! Pet store price is

Hello and welcome to the forum. If you can find Zoo med repti bark from a pet shop on sale it's probably worth the investment as to Lowe's. It's also orchid bark. I'm not sure what to tell you about how much because I mix mine about 50/50 with coco choir. My first bag I found at Lowes but my second is also from a pet shop. I just like the way the substrate is when it is mixed with the bark and the choir. My Tortoise seems to like walking across it. Also I think that those products will give you a coverage guage so that you may be able to better figure out how much you need.?

Thank you. Unfortunately, it’s not on sale at my local pet store at $30/24 q. Might have to suck it up anyway. Jealous of our West coast members you can get orchid bark for chump change!

 

[MidwestyB]

Thank you! Pet store price is

Thank you. Unfortunately, it’s not on sale at my local pet store at $30/24 q. Might have to suck it up anyway. Jealous of our West coast members you can get orchid bark for chump change!

Do you have any HOME DEPOT stores in Iowa?
I get mine there. And I use it as 100% of the substrate.

We do! They don’t have it in stock, but it shows up on their website for the same price as at Lowes.

 

[Tom]

I’m in Iowa. I’ve called 10 local nurseries and garden stores and can’t find orchid bark. They have the Better Gro brand at Lowes and I have 7, 8 qt bags in my cart for $45 total. Enclosure is 52 1/2” L x 20” W. Is that enough?
Cypress mulch is $2 for 2 cu ft/bag which would be the easy choice, but not preferred for the Hermann baby I plan to get soon. Super frustrated.

I prefer a thick layer of damp, hand packed coco coir for baby Testudo. I switch them to O bark when they reach about 3.5 inches.

24 quart bags of Repti-bark (fine grade orchid bark) can be found at Chewy.com for about $18. Two of those should do your enclosure.

 

[MidwestyB]

I prefer a thick layer of damp, hand packed coco coir for baby Testudo. I switch them to O bark when they reach about 3.5 inches.

24 quart bags of Repti-bark (fine grade orchid bark) can be found at Chewy.com for about $18. Two of those should do your enclosure.

I have been seeing a preference around here for coco coir for baby Testudo - hope I can make it work without too big of a mess. Maybe mixing some Repti-bark in may help?
Only seeing it on Chewy for $29/24 quart still… i’ll keep digging. Thank you!

 

[Tom]

I have been seeing a preference around here for coco coir for baby Testudo - hope I can make it work without too big of a mess. Maybe mixing some Repti-bark in may help?
Only seeing it on Chewy for $29/24 quart still… i’ll keep digging. Thank you!

Coir can be messy. The trick is to use a thick layer and firmly hand pack it down.