- Joined
- Mar 9, 2010
- Messages
- 14
Hey, A quick question about bedding.
This would be the Coconut Coir Bedding right?
This would be the Coconut Coir Bedding right?
GBtortoises said:Coconut coir is a good addition to other substrate materials but most peole don't use it as a stand alone substrate. Mixing water into it is a good idea but even in doing so it stll dries out very quickly especially with the heat and lights associated with most tortoise enclosures.
It gets so dry in a very short period of time that it will often produce dust when tortoises walk through it or it is disturbed which leaves a fine dust on everything nearby, which also means that they are breathing it in. In addition, when it gets too dry, it gets very loose and gives less support for tortoises to walk on.
I mix it with organic potting soil and ground up sphagnum moss. The combination absorbs and retains more moisture then either of them alone and it gives a solid substrate for them to walk on and burrow into. It never completely dries out either if it's sprayed twice a day. I've never had to pour water in and mix the substrate up. It's always semi-moist. To some degree the amount of moisture it will retain depends upon the ambient temperature in the enclosure and room that it's in.