anyone use this?

[pdrake]

 

[stu]

is that that coconut 'brick' thing you add water too and it expands yeah?

If so, then yeah, thats what I use. Seems to be fine for me, Ive never had any problems with it.

It does tend to dry out quickly but I just overfill my water dishes a couple times a week.

My T's seem to be fine with it.

Stu.

 

[pdrake]

yes, it's the coconut stuff. smells and feels just like regular peat, but stores great. i mist it everyday and can see how dry it is through the glass.

i just started, so wanted to make sure it was okay. it has a pic of a T on the label, so it has to be good, right?

 

[nemesis6sic6]

yeah

Hai! I use it. It does dry out fast though. any ways have an ice day
geo

 

[jwb121377]

I tried something like it one time, and could never get it to dry out. So now I use regular peat moss, the peat is cheaper and I don't have to soak the block in water and then try to ring the mess out.

 

[atavuss]

I use forest bed (same thing, different brand). I bought a few bricks of coconut noir that black jungle sells, they claim it goes through a few extra steps to make it safer for terrariums and it is cheaper so I have been using the black jungle brand stuff.
www.blackjungle.com
Ed

 

[Frostbyte]

we talkin regular peat moss you'd get at a nursery for outdoor plants? Isnt something like that likely to carry small mites and stuff?

 

[abstract]

Not if you microwave it prior to putting the T in there (allow it to cool of course first).

 

[Dafne]

I use this kind of substrate all of the time for my T's... Not even because I can not find anything else in my pet store (unfortunatelly) but as far as I can see my T's are doing great with it It does dry rather fast but I moist it every other day and it is fine And I have never had any other problems with this coconut stuff...

 

[caligulathegod]

Most of what I've read suggests microwaving causes more problems than it cures. Regular peat from the garden supply store is just fine. No need to sterilize it.

 

[SpiderTwin]

I have always used the shredded coconut or organic growing medium in the bricks and never had any problems with it. I use it for my arborelas too and it seems to hold the moisture well enough.

A freind gave me some jungle mix to try, but it seems to dry out faster than the above stuff.

 

[abstract]

Originally posted by caligulathegod
Most of what I've read suggests microwaving causes more problems than it cures. Regular peat from the garden supply store is just fine. No need to sterilize it.

I'm interested - I haven't heard anything negative about microwaving.....

 

[caligulathegod]

Palespider and Buspirone said it best a couple days ago.

originally posted by Palespider:

There is no point in sterilizing substrate because
you're keeping it in non-sterile air. As soon as you microwave it you're reexposing it to all the things you're trying to get rid of. And from what I've read by doing that you can actually be killing good bacteria that will help keep the bad bacteria populations in check.

Just keep your cages clean from remains and you should have no problems. Clean up *all* remains within 24 hours and they'll have no chance to settle in.

originally posted by Buspirone

(snipped instructions on how to go about microwaving soil-see link)
Like palespider said, you may also kill off some beneficial organisms that will open up your substrate to be more likely to grow molds or fungii depending on how damp you keep your substrate and the amount of ventilation.

 

[RugbyDave]

Frost -- the peat thing is another T-thing thats on the fence...

I don't have mites with mine, and i know many people swear by Peat keeping mites out, and then other people say that peat brings in mites -- I remember a thread about 2 or 3 months ago about that. maybe try searching for it.

I use Eco Earth and the Bed-A-Beast and the stuff in the picture mixes with straight peat, some vermiculite and some potting soil...

I never notice it drying out... i mean if its been in there for weeks with no misting or water spillage then yes, it gets DRY as a rock and looks like eastern california or something, but that takes a while.

good stuff.
and also, just because it has a pic of a T on it, doesn't neccesarily mean its good for Ts

peace
dave

 

[abstract]

Thanks caligulathegod - I'll remember that.

It also will save me from melting the plastic containers that i'm heating the peat in

 

[Charlie]

I do

I have been using that stuff since I got started in the hobby about 2 years ago. I really like it. I does take a while to dry out but if you put it in the sun it will dry out faster.

Sometimes I spread it out over a cookie sheet and it takes a lot less time to spread dry.


-Charlie

 

[Code Monkey]

It's ok but lousy for burrowing/hide building by your Ts. It also has the unfortunate side effect of being quite edible to some species of fly larvae if kept too moist, particularly if it becomes contaminated with any bug parts.

Still, works fine so if it's what you want to use, go for it. Ts just ain't that picky about things.

As for the sterilizing stuff, I'll just concur that it's an utter waste of time that if it does anything, it will be to make things worse. With a nice population of natural flora and fauna things break down quickly and you're less likely to wind up with a pathogenic fungus/bacteria/mite getting a foot hold.

As for mites, your best defense against mites is both to keep tanks on the dry side and not to sweat every little crawling thing you see. Most mites are harmless scavengers, the only harm that comes from them is the stress to the T from paranoid owners that take a scorched earth approach every time they find one. If you don't actually see both mites (and not collembola insects) and mites *on* your T, they're not actually a problem imo.