Substrate Mix: Coconut husk and...

[Ace Conan]

Greetings all! This is my first post, so here goes:

I have used coconut husk (eco earth) as a substrate with good results. I know a lot of people seem to prefer peat moss or vermiculite, but i have not tried these. I have searched on the forms but haven't found a thread that tackles this specific question.

What have you used to mix with coconut husks as a substrate to achieve a more realistic/balanced substrate? That is, a substrate that breathes better, remains fluffy, and resists clumps and mold. I've heard of sand and forest moss being used, but I was curious if anyone else has used other items. Perhaps gravel, orchid bark, etc? Or are cocnut husks good enough on its own? Thanks for any info or suggestions.

 

[saminthemiddle]

I use eco earth straight. The only times I seem to have trouble with mold is in sling vials that are difficult to aerate properly.

Also, I thought that eco earth was the ground up husks from the coco plant and not coconut husks.

Either way the stuff is pretty good. My spiders, especially my burrowers dig it up. Bad pun! ;P

 

[venomous.com]

I like doing a mixture of good top soil and the coco thread stuff. It seems to hold together a little better than just the coco thread

 

[JMoran1097]

coco fiber is just fine on its own. if the T wants to burrow, they will web the substrate accordingly so that it creates a strong hold/support.

 

[saminthemiddle]

Just as an observation on burrowing Ts in coco coir:

I have a 1" B vagans who is a burrower at this stage. While she webs the dirt that she has previously excavated the dirt that I packed in there myself isn't webbed at all, at least not that I can tell.

The stuff really does pack well if you press hard enough, just look at that block they sold it in!

 

[JMoran1097]

I have a 1" B vagans who is a burrower at this stage. While she webs the dirt that she has previously excavated the dirt that I packed in there myself isn't webbed at all, at least not that I can tell.

wait... huh?

 

[saminthemiddle]

You said that if it's not packing well enough the spider will reinforce the burrow with silk. I was just pointing out that if it's done right the spider shouldn't need to even go that far and that packing isn't an issue with this substrate unless it's *bone* dry!

 

[Ace Conan]

Thanks for the replies, Its nice to hear everyones thoughts on the subject. While we are at it, has anyone ever had a T that showed an aversion to the coconut fiber bedding? I've heard of a few people having T's that seemed do dislike vermiculite... but never heard of any T's shying away from coconut fiber...

 

[saminthemiddle]

My Avicularia might have an aversion. She climbs the walls a lot and I have been told that's a sign of something wrong with the substrate but I'm not sure...

All my other spiders seem to love hanging out on or in it.

 

[JMoran1097]

avics are arboreals. They shouldnt be on the ground

 

[Morkelsker]

I mostly use coconut fiber mixed with grinded shell, it makes a good substrate. Soil is perfect too, but you have to make sure that it is sterile, no manure or other chemicals in it.

 

[saminthemiddle]

avics are arboreals. They shouldnt be on the ground

It was a joke, my dear Moran!

 

[Robert Jordan]

I use straight coco-fiber on adults and slings alike with no issues. I also line the bottom half inch or so of the tank with large, rounded gravel to allow a bit of drainage, particularly in my avic. tank since I keep it around 85 for humidity... And because I use heat mats on especially cold nights in the winter, the gravel also serves as a buffer between the mat and my burrowers. As far as burrowing goes, its true they tend to web for structure, but less if its not needed... My b. albo juvie just built a wall twice her size with the stuff and with minimal webbing...

I'm curious is there is a cheaper source for the stuff than eco-earth...?

 

[vvx]

I currently have peat, eco-earth, and vermiculite in various mixtures. I'm moving towards straight eco-earth though. I had to throw out most of a 4 cubic foot bag of peat moss because it was molding (in the bag itself, so not "leftovers" in a cage causing it.) On the other hand the eco-earth that I have that's been in use even longer than the peat is still fine.

The vermiculite is straight in some cages (arboreals) and mixed with peat or eco-earth in others. I like the way a little bit of it looks mixed in, but it's hard to find and fairly expensive. I don't see any real advantage over eco-earth at this time so I'm not buying vermiculite anymore and just using straight eco-earth for everything.

 

[JMoran1097]

It was a joke, my dear Moran!

Lol wut?

 

[betuana]

I'm curious is there is a cheaper source for the stuff than eco-earth...?

Gardening supplies seem to run in larger quantity and cheaper than pet supplies for the same thing! We set up a container garden using coir (eco-earth, bed-a-beast, etc) and perlite, and since we were going to be making LOTS of containers, we ordered a large quantity of supplies. Specifically, we placed orders for "bales" of compressed coir (5kg bales).

We ordered them here (and this link is HARD to find - can't find it on their main page):
http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_center/product_details.asp?item_no=PS15807

Its $16 for a 5 kg/11 lb bale which expands to 50-70 quarts of material. It has to be soaked to reconstitute (as any brick form of coir), but can be dried out again in its "fluffy" state for dry species.

We like that site because they focus on organic gardening, so there is no chance the bales are stored next to nasty pesticides and chemicals...

However, a google shopping search for '5 kg coir' found other places selling the bales for $10-15. So those are possibilities too.

I've found that getting them in large bales from gardening places seems to be ALOT cheaper than the little bricks sold at pet supply shops (at least around here!). And you don't have to expand it all at once, you can just chip off a chunk of it to expand as you need it!

Good luck, hope that helps!

 

[beardslykrew]

i like to use half echo earth, and half vermiculite. holds humidity really well, but just echo earth will do fine.