coco fiber

[HtVic]

I find coco fiber very dusty when it dry

 

[jason g.]

Me too I always mist it with a spray bottle. Rodney likes it better that way I think cause he seems to dig around alot more and throws it on his shell. He always comes out of his hide covered.lol witch is awesome after I condition his shell. Goes into his hide looking like a million bucks and comes out looking like he was buried alive! Lol he loves his dirt.

 

[HtVic]

I worry that dry coco fiber will get into tort's eye

 

[Dagashi]

We just included coco fiber in our enclosure yesterday.. and compared to fir bark... it's very messy and sticks to the torts alot. (they look like little soil monsters) their carapaces and feet get dirty especially when they go into the water! so we've put up a row of rocks in the hopes that they'll clean off on the rocks. If that fails we might consider putting in a strip of carpet grass to act as the brush for their underbellies!

We keep our coco fiber moist and misted. I guess it's like soil. We're still testing it out but I think we'll be sticking to it. Spartacus seems absolutely contented with snuggling down in the coco fiber while Galaticus is still testing out the substrate. He seems unsure of how he feels about the substrate.

But one think I know.. they have eaten quite a bit of it! (added fiber I guess?? hehe)

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

The surface of coco coir gets dry rather quickly (minutes to hours), while the subsurface remains moist for a long time (weeks to months). I just let the surface dry, and every couple weeks, while the torts are out of their pens, I just stir up the substrate, and maybe add some more water if need be, so that everything is more uniformly moist again.

 

[Len B]

I have never used coco coir and was wondering if it is the same material that is used to make the hanging baskets for plants? according to the tag they are made of coconut fiber. So if it is, and you cut some baskets into pieces and laid them flat would it work the same as the coco coir? without the mess

 

[HtVic]

We just included coco fiber in our enclosure yesterday.. and compared to fir bark... it's very messy and sticks to the torts alot. (they look like little soil monsters) their carapaces and feet get dirty especially when they go into the water! so we've put up a row of rocks in the hopes that they'll clean off on the rocks. If that fails we might consider putting in a strip of carpet grass to act as the brush for their underbellies!

We keep our coco fiber moist and misted. I guess it's like soil. We're still testing it out but I think we'll be sticking to it. Spartacus seems absolutely contented with snuggling down in the coco fiber while Galaticus is still testing out the substrate. He seems unsure of how he feels about the substrate.

But one think I know.. they have eaten quite a bit of it! (added fiber I guess?? hehe)

YES, that's also one thing I am concerning about, when very messy, even on their foods and water, make it very dirty, so I have to change water few times a day. I am sure they've eaten a lot alone with their foods

 

[Dagashi]

Today when we got back, they were very clean! no longer the messy monsters they were on the first day. Ithink they are used to being clean and go into the water all the time to clean themselves off. No coco coir stuck to their face and legs!

But the water is also relatively clean. Just slightly a bit coir floating in the water. but very little.

I think it helps to not put the substrate around the water bowl. Also we compress it alot! (but they dug it up anyway where they were sleeping).

I think it's much less messier when we compressed it so less coc fiber is dragged around. But so far we like it and will be continuing with it. We're thinking of changing all of the fir bark into cocofiber soon. Currently its' 50% coco fiber, 20% fir bark and 30% tile.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I have read that, even if tortoises ingest some coco coir, it is not dangerous for them. It is just wood (lignin), and should only contribute to the fiber of their diet. They might even be able to digest a little bit of it, or it might just pass through them, but it should not promote gut compaction.

 

[HtVic]

I have read that, even if tortoises ingest some coco coir, it is not dangerous for them. It is just wood (lignin), and should only contribute to the fiber of their diet. They might even be able to digest a little bit of it, or it might just pass through them, but it should not promote gut compaction.

REALLY?

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Today when we got back, they were very clean! no longer the messy monsters they were on the first day. Ithink they are used to being clean and go into the water all the time to clean themselves off. No coco coir stuck to their face and legs!

But the water is also relatively clean. Just slightly a bit coir floating in the water. but very little.

I think it helps to not put the substrate around the water bowl. Also we compress it alot! (but they dug it up anyway where they were sleeping).

I think it's much less messier when we compressed it so less coc fiber is dragged around. But so far we like it and will be continuing with it. We're thinking of changing all of the fir bark into cocofiber soon. Currently its' 50% coco fiber, 20% fir bark and 30% tile.

Yea, I think I will do the same, just put the water bowl in the tile area, so is the food dish

 

[Dagashi]

I have read that, even if tortoises ingest some coco coir, it is not dangerous for them. It is just wood (lignin), and should only contribute to the fiber of their diet. They might even be able to digest a little bit of it, or it might just pass through them, but it should not promote gut compaction.

Good to hear this! One less worry about fiber foods!

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I have read that, even if tortoises ingest some coco coir, it is not dangerous for them. It is just wood (lignin), and should only contribute to the fiber of their diet. They might even be able to digest a little bit of it, or it might just pass through them, but it should not promote gut compaction.

REALLY?

---

Today when we got back, they were very clean! no longer the messy monsters they were on the first day. Ithink they are used to being clean and go into the water all the time to clean themselves off. No coco coir stuck to their face and legs!

But the water is also relatively clean. Just slightly a bit coir floating in the water. but very little.

I think it helps to not put the substrate around the water bowl. Also we compress it alot! (but they dug it up anyway where they were sleeping).

I think it's much less messier when we compressed it so less coc fiber is dragged around. But so far we like it and will be continuing with it. We're thinking of changing all of the fir bark into cocofiber soon. Currently its' 50% coco fiber, 20% fir bark and 30% tile.

Yea, I think I will do the same, just put the water bowl in the tile area, so is the food dish

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As ours are still tiny and have difficulty getting into and out of the waterdish and food dish if it's on level ground, we have to bury it half way into the substrate. they need to have at least half their body (if not their entire body) into the food dish in order to eat. I'm figuring once they get bigger, their necks longer, they will be able to eat without getting into the bowl.. We tried feeding them on the tile.. but that's even messier!

We now hang some vegetables from the tank just to give them some exercise. and surprise them with some leaves in some odd places. They seem to enjoy the change in feeding habits. I enjoy it most when we hide Mazuri cause they can smell Mazuri a mile away. And will hunt for it! IT's like a little expedition as we hide it behind grass or rocks and watch them discover it.

But if your torts (btw what torts do you have?) are older and able to dip their heads in relatively easy then that would be much cleaner to put it on the tile!

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I have never used coco coir and was wondering if it is the same material that is used to make the hanging baskets for plants? according to the tag they are made of coconut fiber. So if it is, and you cut some baskets into pieces and laid them flat would it work the same as the coco coir? without the mess

Hi Len!

I think it would be the same, but because it's already been completely pressed, they would have some difficulty burrowing in it. Although not like russians who I heard burrow till they are completely covered, my stars enjoy to be at least a little bit burrowed in substrate during the night. It could also be because it's about 25 degres in the night for them here and that's much colder than the 40degrees they are used to.

We also feel that they enjoy burrowing (one burrows and eventually pushes the other one out of the hide.. this happens alot) and it works their muscles! so they can become strong torts!

 

[HtVic]

lol...that's cute and nice and fun tricky of hiding mazuri, let me try it tonight
mine is Star tortoise too, her/his name is lucky.. but they don't burrow much, so i didnt put up higher substrate, only one inch heigh
I would not be worry, as long as coco fiber can be eaten by tort

 

[Dagashi]

would love to see some pictures of your Lucky! how old is he/she?

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I have read that, even if tortoises ingest some coco coir, it is not dangerous for them. It is just wood (lignin), and should only contribute to the fiber of their diet. They might even be able to digest a little bit of it, or it might just pass through them, but it should not promote gut compaction.

REALLY?

Yes, I used to be on another forum dedicated to redfoot tortoises, and I believe it was the admin, Mike Pingleton, author of The Redfoot Manual: A Beginner's Guide To The Redfoot Tortoise, who said that coco coir was harmless to ingest, and may even contribute to the fiber content of a tortoise's diet.

 

[HtVic]

Yes, I used to be on another forum dedicated to redfoot tortoises, and I believe it was the admin, Mike Pingleton, author of The Redfoot Manual: A Beginner's Guide To The Redfoot Tortoise, who said that coco coir was harmless to ingest, and may even contribute to the fiber content of a tortoise's diet.
[/quote]

Good to know this.always learn something from this forum
now I am relieve

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would love to see some pictures of your Lucky! how old is he/she?

he/she is about 3 to 4months old. I will post some pictures up later on