Douglas Fir wood chips

[EppsDynasty]

I wonder if it will go through the chipper/shredder? I had a BIG bag of cypress mulch a couple years ago and the pieces were WAY too big for even a large tortoise. But it also had a bunch of stuff that looked like moss mixed in. I tried to run it through the shredder to get it smaller, and it just went right through, not changing sizes at all. I don't know how much you need, but Chewy.com sells Repti Bark (fir) in largish (8 Quart) bags for $15.98, and it's smallish pieces. I generally buy a bag each time I order something from Chewy so I now have a nice backlog of substrate for when it's needed.

I was thinking the same thing about re chipping them. I'm not sure. I paid $15.98 for these 8 quart bags from Homedepot. I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy wood from Homedepot next time and chip it. I will be sure to document my experiment and post it here. I have a logging company in my area and am thinking of buying a $1000 load of Douglas Fir Tress, if I can. That is if they'll seperate the trees up.
As far as how much do I need ... I want to cover my pens with this substrate. As you all know I live in the desert so to have a more natural substrate for some of the torts. I need to cover the sand with something. A light covering of this wood or bark would be better for them I feel. Humidty and less sand to cause impaction. So as for how much do I need ... About a dumptruck load would be sufficient.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm picturing a bunch of bare Christmas trees going through the shredder, with needles, branches, bark, etc. all combined, then spreading it out on the ground in the tortoise yards. Then, if you can rent a compactor, roll the compactor over the chips to pack them down and make it easier to walk on. I like that idea. Don't see any down side to it.

 

[EppsDynasty]

How about this…unable to get Douglas Fir but was able to get Red Fir, White Fir, and Lodge Pole. These are what is called High Altitude Pine. This mix of wood has NO OILS, thats right no oils. These trees are highly sought after because of just that ... less suit. For those of you that use wood stoves you will understand this ... Normally I remove the ash at least once a week, with these woods it can go a month before there is enough ash to clean out ... so far less dense and far less oils. I'll start to shred, chip and then heat (to remove any trace amount of oils) when it warms up again.
Right after that last pic the stick I was on shifted and the whole pile shifted almost crushing me, you can see where it's under another tree on the bottom ... this broke loose dropping me like a teeter totter. WHOA that was a unexpected ride, like when on a teeter totter and you are dropped unexpectedly.

 

[Yvonne G]

You just love to push the envelope!