Coconut coir messy and getting into eyes of baby tort

Stig060

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Dec 12, 2018
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Hi

I’ve recently switched to using coconut coir for my baby Redfoot. Previously used bark chip but found humidity to be low and coir was highly recommended on forums.

Problem I have is that once in the vivarium, the tort is getting very messy. His food and water trays are almost full of coir. His face is also getting very covered and my concern is the coir getting into his eyes or stuck between the shell and legs.

I’ve greatly reduce the amount coir but still the same problem.

I’ve attached some pictures of the enclosure but I didn’t manage to catch a pic of his face. I can later if needed.

By the way I used the loose coir rather than brick.

Would appreciate any advice!

IMG_1549444578.317818.jpgIMG_9023.jpgIMG_9024.jpg
 

CarolM

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Hi

I’ve recently switched to using coconut coir for my baby Redfoot. Previously used bark chip but found humidity to be low and coir was highly recommended on forums.

Problem I have is that once in the vivarium, the tort is getting very messy. His food and water trays are almost full of coir. His face is also getting very covered and my concern is the coir getting into his eyes or stuck between the shell and legs.

I’ve greatly reduce the amount coir but still the same problem.

I’ve attached some pictures of the enclosure but I didn’t manage to catch a pic of his face. I can later if needed.

By the way I used the loose coir rather than brick.

Would appreciate any advice!

View attachment 264222View attachment 264223View attachment 264224
Hi and welcome.
What I do is put the coco coir as a bottom layer and then the bark on top of that. However from your pictures you need a lot more in there than you have. When I say a lot, I mean way more.
To help with the humidity I find that putting plants in, helps your enclosed enclosure keep the humidity higher than a bare enclosure. However having said that, if you don't want your plants trampled and eaten to the ground I would keep them in pots. Try pick plants which they can eat and can provide nice foliage for your tort to hide under. A boston fern is one which comes to mind. Keep in mind all the safety rules when it comes to plants for torts.
 

Stig060

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Hi and welcome.
What I do is put the coco coir as a bottom layer and then the bark on top of that. However from your pictures you need a lot more in there than you have. When I say a lot, I mean way more.
To help with the humidity I find that putting plants in, helps your enclosed enclosure keep the humidity higher than a bare enclosure. However having said that, if you don't want your plants trampled and eaten to the ground I would keep them in pots. Try pick plants which they can eat and can provide nice foliage for your tort to hide under. A boston fern is one which comes to mind. Keep in mind all the safety rules when it comes to plants for torts.

The tort is almost swimming in this amount of coir already so I don’t know what to do.
 

CarolM

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The tort is almost swimming in this amount of coir already so I don’t know what to do.
I would make the coco coir at least 6cm thick and then pour a jug or two of water over it. Mix it all until it is nice and wet. Spread it all over the bottom. Then you put orchid bark over the top of that. Your baby will walk on top of it and will appreciate the depth when it wants to burrow for a bit. And it really needs some plants and or hides as with the enclosure being so bare your little one will feel very unsecure.
 

Stig060

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Ok I’ll try that. Thanks

I took out his hide yesterday as he was climbing on top of it and nose diving and tipping over.
 

Markw84

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That is the main reason I quickly gave up on coco coir as a substrate. It is just too messy. By far the best substrate for tortoises is a fine grade orchid bark. It holds humidity well, does not mold, and is WAYYYYY less messy. It is made of pure fir bark with no additives. The fine grade is needed as even the medium grade is too chunky for a tortoise under 8" in my opinion.

Your tortoise needs some plants in there. The enclosure looks like putting someone in a prison cell with no bed, chair, nothing! Your tortoise is huddled in the corner as it can find nowhere to feel secure. That low-grade stress can have a long term effect on their overall health. Get a few pots of pothos and/or boston fern. Use heavy pots so the tortoise cannot easily tip them over. You can even hang them from the ceiling of the enclosure so the fronds hang down to tortoise level. It will create a secure hide. It will retain much more humidity under the plant. Your tortoise will do much better.
 

Yvonne G

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Here's an example of an enclosure for one of my babies:
baby box turtle 05-14-14.jpg



It's a small plastic tub because the baby is a small turtle. But for a larger baby, like for your RF baby, I would use a larger plastic tub.

If you look outside the tub to the right, you can see what fine grade orchid bark looks like.
 
P

pguinpro

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That is the main reason I quickly gave up on coco coir as a substrate. It is just too messy. By far the best substrate for tortoises is a fine grade orchid bark. It holds humidity well, does not mold, and is WAYYYYY less messy. It is made of pure fir bark with no additives. The fine grade is needed as even the medium grade is too chunky for a tortoise under 8" in my opinion.

Your tortoise needs some plants in there. The enclosure looks like putting someone in a prison cell with no bed, chair, nothing! Your tortoise is huddled in the corner as it can find nowhere to feel secure. That low-grade stress can have a long term effect on their overall health. Get a few pots of pothos and/or boston fern. Use heavy pots so the tortoise cannot easily tip them over. You can even hang them from the ceiling of the enclosure so the fronds hang down to tortoise level. It will create a secure hide. It will retain much more humidity under the plant. Your tortoise will do much better.
Can you provide a link for fine grade orchid bark? Everything I see is in such small quantities.
 

Markw84

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Can you provide a link for fine grade orchid bark? Everything I see is in such small quantities.
The best place most people find is a local garden center. The larger nurseries where you would go to buy landscaping plants. I have found it at home depot, but many stores do not carry it. There is is more expensive as they only have smaller bags. At garder centers you can get 1 cu ft and sometimes 2 cu ft bags. I buy this one for $10. The second picture is the one Tom buys in So Cal. It's 2 cu ft and I believe he pays about $15

Orchid Bark.jpg


Orchid Bark Tom gets.JPG
 

Xetryia

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I mixed expandable coconut with store bought topsoil and my baby has no issues with it. It is definitely sturdier than that- no swimming! He even likes digging in it daily.
 

Ray--Opo

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Hi

I’ve recently switched to using coconut coir for my baby Redfoot. Previously used bark chip but found humidity to be low and coir was highly recommended on forums.

Problem I have is that once in the vivarium, the tort is getting very messy. His food and water trays are almost full of coir. His face is also getting very covered and my concern is the coir getting into his eyes or stuck between the shell and legs.

I’ve greatly reduce the amount coir but still the same problem.

I’ve attached some pictures of the enclosure but I didn’t manage to catch a pic of his face. I can later if needed.

By the way I used the loose coir rather than brick.

Would appreciate any advice!

View attachment 264222View attachment 264223View attachment 264224
Hello, just for my knowledge. What is the white vent in the enclosure? I also noticed where that vent is. It looks like your tort might be pacing back and forth. If he can see out (I can't tell if it is glass) put some tape on the outside of the glass from bottom up high enough so he can't see out.
 

ascott

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Hi

I’ve recently switched to using coconut coir for my baby Redfoot. Previously used bark chip but found humidity to be low and coir was highly recommended on forums.

Problem I have is that once in the vivarium, the tort is getting very messy. His food and water trays are almost full of coir. His face is also getting very covered and my concern is the coir getting into his eyes or stuck between the shell and legs.

I’ve greatly reduce the amount coir but still the same problem.

I’ve attached some pictures of the enclosure but I didn’t manage to catch a pic of his face. I can later if needed.

By the way I used the loose coir rather than brick.

Would appreciate any advice!

View attachment 264222View attachment 264223View attachment 264224

I would offer up at least 5 to 6 inches of soil....that little one also needs some places to hide in and under....that tort is supper exposed....I am also suggesting that if you are going to offer up a water source full time that you use a bottom of a shallow plant water saucer and also offer up a few pieces of broken up slate tile and perhaps a good size piece under the basking spot :)
 

Kells Bells

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I also use orchid bark. I started off with coir for my red foot after he had been raised on lino. The coir irritated his eyes and he ended up scratching and causing a bad eye infection. A lot of people have great success with coir but it didn't work for us
 

Tom

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Hi

I’ve recently switched to using coconut coir for my baby Redfoot. Previously used bark chip but found humidity to be low and coir was highly recommended on forums.

Problem I have is that once in the vivarium, the tort is getting very messy. His food and water trays are almost full of coir. His face is also getting very covered and my concern is the coir getting into his eyes or stuck between the shell and legs.

I’ve greatly reduce the amount coir but still the same problem.

I’ve attached some pictures of the enclosure but I didn’t manage to catch a pic of his face. I can later if needed.

By the way I used the loose coir rather than brick.

Would appreciate any advice!

If you are going to use coir, it must be damp and you need a very thick layer of it. The real trick is that you need to hand pack it down firmly. After a couple of weeks it usually settles in and becomes less messy. Your coir is much too dry, and you've got far too little. You need to have 3-4 inches after you've packed it down. My problem with coir for your species is that it stays too wet at the surface, which will cause shell rot.

I find the fine grade orchid bark to be much better. If you use 4-5" of it, the lower layers can be wetter while the upper layers are dry-ish, which is ideal for a redfoot to prevent shell rot.

I would never use "soil" because no mater what type you are buying from the store, you cannot know what composted yard waste material it is made of.

How well either substrate promotes humidity is a function of how much water you put into it, and how well that evaporating water is contained in your enclosure. If your humidity was too low, it means your substrate was to dry and/or you had too much ventilation. It is easy to maintain 80% humidity with bone dry substrate if you have a water bowl, a humid hide, some potted plants as Mark suggested, and the correct amount of venting in your enclosure. Adding a thick layer of dampened substrate to the above described scenario makes it even easier. If it can be done with dry substrate, you should have no trouble with doing it with damp substrate.
 

Stig060

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Hello, just for my knowledge. What is the white vent in the enclosure? I also noticed where that vent is. It looks like your tort might be pacing back and forth. If he can see out (I can't tell if it is glass) put some tape on the outside of the glass from bottom up high enough so he can't see out.

Hi sorry for the late reply. The white vent is part of the standard vivarium I have. It also has 2 similar vents at the top of the same side. I use these vents to also slide in the wires for temp, uvb, etc.

Thanks for the rest of the advise everyone. I dropped in plenty of coir into a bucket filled it up with a couple of jugs of water and after a good mix, I started to lay it into the viv. Managed to pat it down nicely and put some fine grade orchid bark on top. This has totally cured the “messy tort” problem.

I’ve also dropped in a few plants now.
 

LAwoman

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Sounds like you are on your way. I have a 8 month old Leopard Tortoise and had issues with my humidity. I used the coir on the bottom and cypress mulch on top. I think it is fantastic. He stays on top of it and burrows down at night. I want to put live plants in my tank too, I’m just afraid to put something in there with him and it not be good for him. What kind of plants did you choose? And will he eat them?
 

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