Is this cypress mulch blend ok for leopard tortoise substrate?

Ergotaxon

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I can’t pinpoint the ingredients. I am using it as a substrate for my my redfoots for a few weeks now in an outdoor enclosure. They seem to be just fine. I was planning on using the blend in an enclosed chamber for my baby leopard tortoises.
 

ZEROPILOT

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This is from Home Depot.
Is there one nearby?
They're just a few bucks a bag.
Buy the one that says POTTING MEDIA and avoid the one that says POTTING MIX.
In the big bags I look for pure cypress.
But this may just be widely available in this area.
 

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Ergotaxon

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Thanks for the all the replies. I have removed the cypress blend from the enclosed chamber. There is a HomeDepot in the neighboring town that I will visit tomorrow. I sincerely appreciate the advice. Having options is great.
 

Blackdog1714

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At 23.95 a bag you could easily get Fine Fir Bark from what Zeropilot said with the "potting Media" or with Reptibark from a pet store. In VA at Lowes this is $3.78 at it is 100%
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S2G

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I used a blend with a Hermann's. I was looking for 100%, but couldn't find it in smaller quantity. The main thing is you dont want foreign substances. Rubber, chemicals, or anything funky. This one just had 3 different 100% mulches mixed together.

I mixed it with top soil & sand. Works really great.
 

Maro2Bear

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I used a blend with a Hermann's. I was looking for 100%, but couldn't find it in smaller quantity. The main thing is you dont want foreign substances. Rubber, chemicals, or anything funky. This one just had 3 different 100% mulches mixed together.

I mixed it with top soil & sand. Works really great.

You just have to be very careful with what those 100% mulch ingredients are.....’cause you could easily end up with 50% cypress & 50% oleander..... both all natural - but the Oleander could easily kill your tortoise. Thats why it is important to know what the “natural” ingredients are. Be careful.
 

S2G

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You just have to be very careful with what those 100% mulch ingredients are.....’cause you could easily end up with 50% cypress & 50% oleander..... both all natural - but the Oleander could easily kill your tortoise. Thats why it is important to know what the “natural” ingredients are. Be careful.

Well I didn't mean 100% natural of something I don't want. That falls into the something funky realm I mentioned lol. Theres safety data sheets (SDS) for everything. I check those & make sure theres not something snuck in there.
 

Maro2Bear

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Well I didn't mean 100% natural of something I don't want. That falls into the something funky realm I mentioned lol. Theres safety data sheets (SDS) for everything. I check those & make sure theres not something snuck in there.

Sure, understood. It’s just that producers of mulch intend it for in the garden and around bushes & trees etc, not in reptile enclosures. You could easily end up with a mix of cypress, pine, aspen & oleander. All “good” mulch (no plastic, nails, tin cans ground up), but not good for your enclosure. Hopefully the mulch companies don’t knowingly use oleander...or other toxic junk.

Any how, i see Toddrick says he uses this product, so thats a good vote yes.

I usually use the “100 %” cypress mulch that Lowes sells in their garden centers. No wetting/surfactants added (that they confess to).

Good luck! Always good to triple check.
 

Tom

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I can’t pinpoint the ingredients. I am using it as a substrate for my my redfoots for a few weeks now in an outdoor enclosure. They seem to be just fine. I was planning on using the blend in an enclosed chamber for my baby leopard tortoises.
Up in Portland you should have no trouble finding orchid bark, aka "fir bark" in bulk. I've never found it in a big chain store. I've only found it in local nurseries.
 

tortadise

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So for the most part. Blend in tree clearing or construction mainly means a majority. That majority can include a magnitude of different species of trees in said “harvested” or “mulched” site. May have some hackberry, ash, oak, or anything else. BUT mainly it is cypress. Most trees aren’t an issue with animals. Except cedars. Most cedars aren’t typically near cypress clearing areas. BUT it is possible indeed.
IN my opinion. Cypress is good substrate filler. But that’s it. “Holds moisture”......”isn’t toxic” blah blah blah. Sure. But if an enclosure is set up properly and just with soil layered systems it doesn’t need a “bulk” substrate filler like cypress. Now cypress can be part of the soil system for sure. But most sands, top soils, and screened clays and native earth are much more beneficial to a vast majority of chelonians. This paired with proper lighting and heating(strategically placed of course) can yield fantastic results for your shelled creature.
 

Ergotaxon

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So for the most part. Blend in tree clearing or construction mainly means a majority. That majority can include a magnitude of different species of trees in said “harvested” or “mulched” site. May have some hackberry, ash, oak, or anything else. BUT mainly it is cypress. Most trees aren’t an issue with animals. Except cedars. Most cedars aren’t typically near cypress clearing areas. BUT it is possible indeed.
IN my opinion. Cypress is good substrate filler. But that’s it. “Holds moisture”......”isn’t toxic” blah blah blah. Sure. But if an enclosure is set up properly and just with soil layered systems it doesn’t need a “bulk” substrate filler like cypress. Now cypress can be part of the soil system for sure. But most sands, top soils, and screened clays and native earth are much more beneficial to a vast majority of chelonians. This paired with proper lighting and heating(strategically placed of course) can yield fantastic results for your shelled creature.
Thanks for the insight. I appreciate it. My redfoots seem to be enjoying it in their outdoor enclosure.
 

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