Mulch?

[gregcalverley0327]

http://www.countrystone.com/products/mulch/cypress

Is this cypress mulch good for sulcatas? It doesn't say anywhere on the bag that it's got pine or anything else mixed in. Just says cypress mulch, could I use this for my indoor cage? Need something not so dusty as of now I'm using top soil and sphagnum peat moss mix, thinking of doing the peat moss and cypress mulch. Heard about orchard bark but can't seem to find it anywhere. Thanks


0.3.0 sulcata tortoise
(Manavi, aspen, Bronx)
1.0.0 Russian tortoise
(Ivan)
1 Great Dane
(Koko)

 

[wellington]

Have you thought about coconut coir? It's the only thing I would use in an indoor enclosure. It holds humidity really well, will not mold and not real dusty. It also can be baked to help keep the bugs down. It can also be rinsed, rebaked and reused.

 

[gregcalverley0327]

I need alot of the substrate, it's an7x3x3 cage, can you buy that in bulk?


0.3.0 sulcata tortoise
(Manavi, aspen, Bronx)
1.0.0 Russian tortoise
(Ivan)
1 Great Dane
(Koko)

 

[wellington]

Look on ebay or just surf the net for it. Lot cheaper if you find it for sale as worm bedding or for other types of gardening. It will come in bricks. It expands when placed in water. I bake the bricks, 300 for a couple hours. Them I will put in water and expand it and then place in enclosure. One brick covers alot of area. Some places will tell how much one brick will cover. There are about three different size bricks, so to get the best prices, compare the size bricks along with price.

 

[Rramagge]

Hi would you use that with a horsefield tortoise inside aswell?

 

[alysciaingram]

I personally wouldn't use any of the large bags of substrate from the stores in my indoor enclosure. There are too many bugs already in the substrate that I do not want to keep as pets in my home. I second the coco coir. I buy several large bricks and soak them, then let them dry a bit in the sun to dry a little. I think my last bundle of coco cost me 7 dollars and expands up to 8 liters.

 

[gregcalverley0327]

Hmm alright ill do some searching for some bulk quantities


0.3.0 sulcata tortoise
(Manavi, Aspen, Bronx)
1.0.0 Russian tortoise
(Ivan)
1 Great Dane
(Koko)

 

[Len B]

When it gets cold and I bring the tortoises inside I have been using cypress mulch for their enclosures for many years and love it. It holds moisture well without molding or supporting fungus growth, and as for bugs it wont have any more than any other substrate, in fact I believe it will have less bugs than most others. I buy it in the 3 cubic feet bags from the farm and feed store. The only thing I may do different than other people is buying it a year in advance and letting it age outside in the weather in the original bag for that year, I believe it makes a better substrate by aging it this way. Back in the spring another member posted about Big Lots having a coconut nut husk mulch, I bought 10 blocks of it, I opened 1 block, wet it and left it in a closed tupperware container to see if it spoiled and it never did, it is still in the closed container and is doing fine. I am going to try this in the coming winter with the yellow foots to see how they do with it.

 

[gregcalverley0327]

Hm alright, yeah I was gonna try the mulch for my larger sulcatas because I figured they'd do fine with it, also helps with humidity and such. Ill definitely check out big lots though or just stick with straight sphagnum moss, doesn't seem to be dusty


0.3.0 sulcata tortoise
(Manavi, Aspen, Bronx)
1.0.0 Russian tortoise
(Ivan)
1 Great Dane
(Koko)

 

[mainey34]

Cypress mulch is better for sulcatas. Cocoir is very messy. I only use cypress...

 

[gregcalverley0327]

Alright and I know some bags have like pine or cedar mulch mixed in, if it doesn't say anything on the bag then is it straight cypress?


0.3.0 sulcata tortoise
(Manavi, Aspen, Bronx)
1.0.0 Russian tortoise
(Ivan)
1 Great Dane
(Koko)

 

[Len B]

This is what my bags of cypress mulch look like, all it says is 3 cubic feet of cypress mulch.