Tortoise balm

[Riles15]

Have you hand packed the coir tightly? Some people find that a layer of orchid bark on top of the coir is enough to keep the enclosure less messy, some prefer all orchid bark.

I hand packed it yesterday. I was thinking of putting a layer on top.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I switched the substrate and with this. Seems to hold humidity a lot better but a mess. It’s driving me nuts with how dirty Ivys face is. I’ll try the orchard bark next.

Glad to hear it’s holding better! if I’m being 100% honest, I’m not personally the biggest fan of coir, or at least not on its own, don’t get me wrong it’s perfectly safe for use and works really well when maintained properly, hence it’s on my recommended substrate list, I just found it was trickier to maintain than something like orchid bark. The thing with the coir, it dries out on top quite quickly which can make it rather messy, you’ll probably have to keep spraying the top down for it to not go everywhere, you have to pay extra attention in making sure it’s all staying damp, as when left to dry it can technically draw moisture from the environment itself, firmly press it down with your hand so it’s not left loose and fluffy, that’ll dry it out quicker. Once you’re in the swing of maintenance it’s not too bad, but I have had people say they found it difficult at first, sometimes it’s easy to add too much moisture and you end up with a rather unpleasant standing water smell, I’d recommend giving it a regular mix to avoid this.
I’m sure you’ll soon figure out the up keep of it though, do a lukewarm water pour into the corners once a week or so, giving it a good mix and press down, do a little at a time.

I do think it tends to work better as a base, with a generous layer of orchid bark on top, it stops that top layer getting so messy and helps lock the moisture in. Or you could opt to use orchid bark on its own