Cypress/sphagnum moss

[sammi]

I was considering changing Ernie's substrate after we move, and have been considering a cypress/sphagnum moss mix. My question is, how much percentage should be cypress, and how much should be moss? For those of you that use it, have you had luck with it? I currently use Coco coir and sand mix, but it makes him pretty dirty, and he drags it all over his food plate, and it dries out pretty quick under his lights. However, I do like the coir/sand mix much better than cypress alone, as Ernie LOVES to burrow into it. This is why I'm not so sure he would like the cypress/sphagnum mix much..What do you guys suggest?

 

[Madkins007]

I would suggest to you that without knowing the species and habitat size that the poll is not as applicable.

My indoor habitat is about 4'x10' and is a fairly random mix of...
- clean bagged topsoil for bulkiness, moisture, and a growing medium for plants
- hardwood mulch and cypress mulch for bulk, drainage, keeping the soil loose, etc.
- sand for drainage and preventing compaction
- peat moss to hold moisture
- top dressed with cypress to keep the tortoise's shells from contact with the damp and to minimize muddiness.

 

[sammi]

Yeah, I realized that after I posted the poll, but I was just curious to see what people were using. You use a lot of stuff in your substrate! Have you been using that mix for a long time? And does it last a while too? As you are growing plants in the enclosure, don't your little guys eat them before they sprout? =P

 

[Stephanie Logan]

I use a combination of the coco coir and cypress (more cypress than coir) in Taco's enclosure, and in her hide I have a bed of cypress with timothy hay on top so she can bury herself. I also keep a cloth bag of sphagnum moss that I regularly water down, in her hide right next to the wall that has the heat pad on the outside. I just planted some of that frog moss by her water dish, and am planning to contrive some sort of weed garden for the summer nights she spends indoors. I also copied the idea of putting flat rocks flush with the substrate surface all around her water dish so she doesn't drag her substrate through it.

 

[Madkins007]

Yeah, I realized that after I posted the poll, but I was just curious to see what people were using. You use a lot of stuff in your substrate! Have you been using that mix for a long time? And does it last a while too? As you are growing plants in the enclosure, don't your little guys eat them before they sprout? =P

- I've only used this mix since September, and just made it up as I went along- trying to fill the space without going broke.

- So far, it has held up well. I am using FlexWatt 11" heat strips in the soil and have no misgivings yet. If I did it over, I might just do solid Cypress, though, to make it lighter- like some of the other posted large indoor enclosures lately. I am pretty sure the FlexWatt would still work, and I could add soil tubs or pots easily enough.

- The original plan was to plant tropical plants along the back and side. That changed to just setting a couple big potted plants in the space- although I am still thinking about scatter some grazing mix in there. If they eat it, no biggie.