bedding & allergies

[marlenepryts]

Greetings! My name is Marlene & I live in So Cal for now.(moving to Portland OR in 18 months) I have had reptiles off and on for 30 yrs or so. In the late 70's when I lived up north in the SF area I use to belong to BAARS (Bay Area Anphibian And Reptile Society). I'm very allergic to dogs and cats etc. I've had an Iguana, a Corn snake & a Lepord gecko. I have never had a tortoise. I have fallen in love with the Golden Greek Tortoise! I still need to do more research before I make a purchase...but my bigest concern is the bedding. Because of my allergies I have to make sure I won't be allergic to the bedding. I have read that coconut coir or coconut husk mulch is good to use. Does it have a strong odor? Anyone out there with strong allergies?? What do you use? Before I get too excited about having a tortoise for the next few decades I need to know if my allergies will handle it. Thanks for any help.

 

[Jacqui]

Hello! I use the coir (bricks), but I don't smell much more then an outdoorsy earthy smell. Then again my nose is not the greatest. I have allergies to only to dust, so it does not bother me. Hopefully somebody with major allergies will be on shortly to give you a better answer.

 

[Spn785]

Well, my gues is can you eat coconut? If you can then the Coco coir shouldn't set off your allergies, if you can't then I wouldn't go with that, and I would just use topsoil. I'm not an expert or anything, but I do have a sensitive nose, and the coco coir smells like what it is, it has an earthy smell with a bit of a coconut smell to it (my friend who uses coco coir can't smell the coco nut smell though).

 

[marlenepryts]

Where do you buy the Coco coir ?

 

[Jacqui]

Where do you buy the Coco coir ?

I buy the three pack bricks from pet stores and my local garden center.

 

[pam]

Welcome I have alergies and use the Coco coir also. The only thing that affects me is when the substrate gets dry the dust is an irritant so you need to try and keep it moist.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Marlene and welcome to the Forum!

You can always buy a small bag of each type of substrate and see if it bothers you. The small bags of cypress mulch sold at pet stores are about $8. I think a brick of Bed-A-Beast is less than $10. You can also use dirt from your back yard if it hasn't been sprayed with pesticides, etc. I think some folks use aspen bedding for Greek tortoises. I'm sure you can buy a small amount of that to see if you could use it.

 

[mainey34]

Hello and welcome...i hope you find a substrate you aren't allergic to...