Baking
- Thread starter Torty
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It's all safe without baking.
One of the things that makes cypress and coco coir so good is that they resist any kind of mold or fungus even when sopping wet all the time. I have never attempted to bake or otherwise sterilize any of my substrates. I do rinse new cypress mulch before use though.
Tom said:
I do love and use coco coir, but when it comes to cypress mulch, top soil, or potting soil, the situation you describe above has not been my experience. All these media harbor fungi and insects that can proliferate and become pests. Coco coir, in contrast, is clean, has no fungi or insects in it, and resists mold, as you mentioned above. It is also not harmful if ingested, unless in very large quantities (which doesn't happen). For all these reasons, coco coir is the only substrate I use now.
Coco coir can be used right away (or moistened, if it's in brick form, and then used). However, with cypress mulch, top soil, or potting soil, some tortoise keepers do like to bake these substrates in order to kill all the pests that might be living in there. Of course, you have to take care not to bake it too hot or for too long, because then it can burn and cause a fire. So, it's tricky business, which is why I don't do it. However, there are a few others on this forum who do, so I hope they'll chime in soon with some thoughts on it.
When i make up my bedding mix i get it lightly moist and i nuke it for 7 mins and then let cool down and lightly re-moist it but not have it soggy. I normaly have to make several batches to get the amount i need as not much will fit into the nuke in a big bowl at a time. I do the same thing for my african bullfrogs. It helps cut down on bactieria and also the stinkin black nats.
Just to let you know. Coconut coir does not have the little flying bugs. But there are some other really creepy bugs that crawl around in the moist coir. They stay inside the coir and don't climb around on the top or out of it but it does still get bugs.
Someone said to bake at 180 degrees for 1 hour. You can also freeze it. That is what I am trying to see if it keeps the bugs away.
Someone said to bake at 180 degrees for 1 hour. You can also freeze it. That is what I am trying to see if it keeps the bugs away.
The debate between coconut coir and cypress mulch is one of those 'Pepsi/Coke' debates that is almost all based on one's experiences.
I've had better luck overall with cypress than with coir- and I would bet that it is due to the temps, depth, moisture levels, etc.
Neither is real expensive. Why not do one for a while, then when you clean the place, try the other?
But you should not have to bake them nonetheless. If you want a better chance at killing bad stuff, let it freeze for a few days in the winter, or sit in bright sunshine in a closed bag in the summer- the wet heat will take care of it.
I've had better luck overall with cypress than with coir- and I would bet that it is due to the temps, depth, moisture levels, etc.
Neither is real expensive. Why not do one for a while, then when you clean the place, try the other?
But you should not have to bake them nonetheless. If you want a better chance at killing bad stuff, let it freeze for a few days in the winter, or sit in bright sunshine in a closed bag in the summer- the wet heat will take care of it.
Alternatively, put the new sack in the freezer for a week if you have space!Madkins007 said:
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