Substrate

[Laurie-Jean]

Hello, I am turning my shed into an enclosure. I have water proofed the floor and have been trying to buy Cypress mulch, hemlock mulch or coco coir with no success. I can find cypress mulch, but the charge to ship it is around $300.00. My local landscape company suggested Gorilla hair mulch, but I have read this is not a good choice for substrate.
Does anyone have any suggestions for what I can use for the substrate?
Thanks

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I buy this from HOME DEPOT. There are 2 size bags. Neither are particularly large.
Are you not able to buy bagged mulch?
Do you have an adult Redfoot?
An adult could use a combination of cypress mulch and earth from your yard. It wouldn't need to be 100% bark/mulch.

 

[Laurie-Jean]

I buy this from HOME DEPOT. There are 2 size bags. Neither are particularly large.
Are you not able to buy bagged mulch?
Do you have an adult Redfoot?
An adult could use a combination of cypress mulch and earth from your yard. It wouldn't need to be 100% bark/mulch.

Thank you for your response.
My red foot, Bubba, is 30 years old. I can buy the orchid mulch in small bags, but I need to fill 20 cubic feet. I was hoping to find a more economic bedding if possible.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Thank you for your response.
My red foot, Bubba, is 30 years old. I can buy the orchid mulch in small bags, but I need to fill 20 cubic feet. I was hoping to find a more economic bedding if possible.

My Redfoot live outdoors. It's not economically feasible to use only Orchid bark or mulch over several hundred feet of space. Nor is it required for adult RF. Only my very small RF live on 100% bark. And I currently have none.
In your case, the mulch will help with humidity. But it doesn't need to be 100% of the substrate.. you can do a one side mulch. One side earth. Or any combination of the two. Since just having some mulch that stays damp will provide your ambient humidity.
My enclosures right now contain just about no mulch. The mulch that was there is now crumbling into compost and our raining season is here.
You'll only need enough for what suits you. In your situation. That and a large, shallow water source for self soaking and drinking will give you your humidity.
You'll just need to lightly hose down the mulch every week or so. But that's just a guess.
Get the big bags of cypress mulch. Hand sift it as you pour it out. I've found both metal and plastic in it. And start by just pouring the mulch around the parameter of the shed.
You can always ad more later.