Were do you get your cypress mulch?

[Yasha]

We want to do a 50/50 of cypress and peat/sphagnum. I can't find cypress anywhere. It seems a lot of people are boycotting it out here because of the receding swampland so stores have stopped carrying it. If you live in northern CA please let me know were you get yours or a place that still sells it.

OR...what can I mix with the peat? We don't have a tegu yet but I want to know what we are doing before and have it all set up. Can I mix red wood bark? Or is there an issue with it? Fur bark is hard to find out here as well.... :doh :doh :doh I need to find something that I can do all the way up to adult size tank. I don't want to have to switch because of the price of filling the tank.

Any help would be great!

TTFN
Sarah & Jake

 

[jose2187]

i live in san diego and it is all over here i got a bunch of bags from a pet store that had themmarked down to 5 bucks

 

[shiftylarry]

I live in Northern California, and you can get mulch, dirt etc. at Home Depot for very cheap. I would not use peat moss, because it is acidic and could bother the lizards. I would mix mulch, topsoil, and play sand together. If you're trying to make a mixture that will hold a burrow, you're going to have to mess around with it.

 

[Yasha]

I have called 3 home depots they don't carry cypress mulch they have forest mulch with is a mix of different woods not just the one. Is that okay? I use peat in all my gecko tanks and have never had a problem, is there that much bigger of a risk w/ a tegu?

 

[shiftylarry]

Well, I wouldn't worry, It's not the best substrate anyway. Natural dirt is better. It has naturally occurring bacteria in it that breaks down waste. Throw in some earth worms and maybe some pill bugs and you have a clean up crew doing the work for you. My buddy Mike, who keeps and breeds peachthroat monitors has had the same dirt in one of his cages for 5 years. Just make sure that the dirt you get is away from pesticides.

I still think peat moss isn't a good idea. Maybe someone else will chime in to back me up.

 

[Yasha]

Cool, I do a lot of my gecko tanks as natural vivs but was unsure if we could do them in a tank with no plants. That works out better anyway thank you.

 

[shiftylarry]

Hey, you can still do plants. I house plants in all my enclosures, even with my spiny tail iguana. Does he shred them? Yes, but I just keep buying more. The plants will do fine in natural dirt.

-Chris

 

[VARNYARD]

You can check and see if any of these stores have eucalyptus mulch, it works great as well.

 

[Taydeon]

walmart has tons of eucalyptus mulch

 

[COWHER]

I found a great place online.. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.thegreathardwarestore.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=568766&CartID=1">http://www.thegreathardwarestore.com/Pr ... 6&CartID=1</a><!-- m -->

 

[DZLife]

I have called 3 home depots they don't carry cypress mulch they have forest mulch with is a mix of different woods not just the one. Is that okay? I use peat in all my gecko tanks and have never had a problem, is there that much bigger of a risk w/ a tegu?

Yasha, LLLReptile almost always has it in. Is there one of those anywhere near you?

 

[DaveDragon]

I didn't know peat moss was acidic! :shock: I've been using a cypress mulch/peat moss combo for my Dumeril boa.

 

[Mvskokee]

so topsoil is ok it doesn't carry any parasites or anything