Coconut Hide

[Daniel_h]

I have started using out a hollowed out coconut as a hide for my l.parahybana and yesterday when i woke up i noticed a bit of white fungus i guess (looked like white fluff) along the coconut where it met the substrate.

before i put the coconut in i put it in boiling water.

is there any way i can stop this happening?

 

[Shayna]

Are you sure it isn't poo?

 

[Daniel_h]

yeh i am positive...it was like white fluff

 

[KaineSoulblade]

despite the fact that you boiled the coconut, they bear fruit and even a thorough scraping and cleaning could leave behind something that reacts with the substrate, especially if its damp. I would say stick to bark, pots and other man-made terrarium products to avoid growth of bacteria and funguses.

 

[JungleGuts]

yeh i am positive...it was like white fluff

sounds like some kinda fungus or mold type growth

 

[icenola]

If your substrate is damp or wet...my guess is that its possibly fungus starting. I'd make sure both the coconut and the substrate is totally dried out.

 

[Daniel_h]

would a parahybana be ok on dry coco fibre if i keep a water dish full in the corner?

 

[KaineSoulblade]

would a parahybana be ok on dry coco fibre if i keep a water dish full in the corner?

They generally prefer damp substrate. I use forest bed or eco earth and keep it slightly damp in addition to a water dish. They seem to like that best and avoid the places that get too dry.

I would reccomend that you stay away from coconuts and coconut fiber as a substrate.

 

[Daniel_h]

what is eco earth...for some reason i have always thought it was coco fibre

 

[KaineSoulblade]

what is eco earth...for some reason i have always thought it was coco fibre

For eco earth I'm not sure, I don't have anymore left. I've got a pile of forest bedding and it has coco fiber mixed in, but it isn't strands of dry fiber.
So if this is what you were referring to as coconut fiber then you are good to go. Just keep it slightly damp. I mix other things in with this as well such as moss.

 

[JungleGuts]

They generally prefer damp substrate. I use forest bed or eco earth and keep it slightly damp in addition to a water dish. They seem to like that best and avoid the places that get too dry.

I would reccomend that you stay away from coconuts and coconut fiber as a substrate.

Forest bed and eco earth is coconut fiber.......

what is eco earth...for some reason i have always thought it was coco fibre

It is.

 

[mikeymo]

and you're SURE it's not just webbing?

 

[Daniel_h]

right ...tomorrow then i will throw the coconut and use a plant pot or something like that hand hopefully problem solved

the coconut looked good too

 

[Daniel_h]

and you're SURE it's not just webbing?

yep it was definately some type of fungus

 

[neanyoe]

instead of boiling try baking it to sterilize. so when you put it into the enclosure it isnt damp and makes mold in the next few days.

i accidently sprayed the corkbark in my Ts tank and a few days later mold was growing on it. ..due to the moisture. so maybe it came from the moisture within the coconut/substrate

 

[mikeymo]

yep it was definately some type of fungus

ah alright. i only mentioned it because i use the coconut hide in my B.smithi and G.aureostriata tanks and they both have webbed along the seem where the coconut meets the substrate

 

[KaineSoulblade]

Forest bed and eco earth is coconut fiber.......

I looked up the Eco earth I used and its NOT 'eco earth coconut fiber substrate'.

I used the bricks of eco earth forest bedding, ingredients are as follows;
Natural forest bed earth, coconut bark, calci-sand, and vermiculite
Similar to the forest bed I currently use.

So you are wrong in that they are coconut fiber and correct in that they contain some, among other things.

 

[JungleGuts]

I looked up the Eco earth I used and its NOT 'eco earth coconut fiber substrate'.

I used the bricks of eco earth forest bedding, ingredients are as follows;
Natural forest bed earth, coconut bark, calci-sand, and vermiculite
Similar to the forest bed I currently use.

So you are wrong in that they are coconut fiber and correct in that they contain some, among other things.

Oh well according to zoomeds website Eco Earth is "a compressed coconut fiber substrate" and it appears to be the exact same stuff that ive used from other companies. Ive also use a forest bed with the coconut bark, sand, and all that other stuff in one, though i forget what company made it. It was in a bag when i bought it and not compressed. Im pretty sure the compressed kind is pure cocofiber as seen here: http://www.zoomed.com/html/eco_earth.php

edit- T-rex jungle bed has the cocobark,calci-sand,and forest bed http://www.t-rexproducts.com/Dynamic/product_detail.asp?item=81566&series=1

 

[KaineSoulblade]

Oh well according to zoomeds website Eco Earth is "a compressed coconut fiber substrate" and it appears to be the exact same stuff that ive used from other companies. Ive also use a forest bed with the coconut bark, sand, and all that other stuff in one, though i forget what company made it. It was in a bag when i bought it and not compressed. Im pretty sure the compressed kind is pure cocofiber as seen here: http://www.zoomed.com/html/eco_earth.php

That stuff is the coco fiber I referred to above, and I didn't use that or anything with the long strands in it. The stuff I have almost looks like soil with bits of fine bark in it. The Fiber seemed to cause growths and dry out far quicker than forest bedding. And that is why I don't reccomend the pure coco fiber.

On that note forest bed isnt the best sibstrate for all T's either. I try to match thier more natural habbitats. So all my jungle T's have wood and forest bed substrate. Desert T's get more soil and gravel substrates to match the rougher terrain. But no T's have a natural substrate of chopped coco fibers.

 

[JungleGuts]

oh well im just confused what what your saying because I thought Eco-earth was pure cocofiber and your saying its not. Do you have a link to the stuff your using that you say has all that other stuff in it?