Hey everyone. I asked a tangentially related question quite awhile ago, so sorry for the potential double-posting, but would anyone happen to know of any alternatives for cypress mulch in a tortoise enclosure? For the past handful of years, I've been using cypress mulch, but for some reason I've recently only been able to find cypress mulch blends (that don't list all included woods), and even those are rare. This has kind of pressed me in terms of bedding options, and I haven't seen too much discussion about different mulches, as the immediate recommendation always seems to be cypress.
If absolutely need be, I could shell out every once and awhile for the cocoa shell (I think it is called), but that is also quite expensive where I live. I'm not entirely against spending more to happily house my tortoise by any means, but if there's an equally good alternative, like oak mulch or maple mulch or something, for a better price point, I'd love to know about it! I just want to ensure that the different mulches wouldn't hurt his feet or be toxic in any way. My tortoise is a Russian tortoise, if that makes any difference.
If absolutely need be, I could shell out every once and awhile for the cocoa shell (I think it is called), but that is also quite expensive where I live. I'm not entirely against spending more to happily house my tortoise by any means, but if there's an equally good alternative, like oak mulch or maple mulch or something, for a better price point, I'd love to know about it! I just want to ensure that the different mulches wouldn't hurt his feet or be toxic in any way. My tortoise is a Russian tortoise, if that makes any difference.